Muhammad’s alleged false prophecy legitimized Christian political rule over Muslims

Evidence

In this schema, a key role is played by the affirmation of the superiority of Christianity and the denigration of Judaism and Islam. In the latter, the polemical biography of Muhammad is central: because Muhammad fails to show the signs of prophecy, because he fabricated a false religion as “an insult to God” there can be no political legitimacy under Muslim rule, and Muslims must recognize the political superiority of Christian rulers. … The “proof” of this is offered not only in the biography of Muhammad in the Estoria de España but also in the Castilian translations of the Mi’râj and of the Koran, undoubtedly conceived as tools in the polemical confrontation with Islam. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 996

Categorization

• XREF: Grounds the genealogy in Anidjar/Aziz/Razack vault claims: the tropes of Muhammad as false prophet and fabricated religion that surface in modern Islamophobic discourse already structured Castilian royal ideology in Alfonso X’s time.
• DEFINE: The passage shows the specific medieval polemical trope—Muhammad lacks prophecy’s signs—that readers will recognize in modern variants.