Some medieval Christians saw Muslims as near-conversion-ready believers close to salvation

Evidence

Yet when he describes the contents of the Koran, in the following chapters of his tract, he emphasizes the common points between Christian and Muslim doctrine. He is particularly interested in the Koran’s praise of Christ and the Virgin Mary; much more frequent, he says, than any praise of Machometus. This shows, he says, that Saracens in their hearts believe in the goodness of Jesus Christ, his doctrine and his Gospels, his Virgin mother, and that they are “close to the way of salvation.” The author goes on to describe what he sees as the main errors in their doctrine: the belief in carnal delights in heaven and the failure to believe in the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the divinity of Christ. Yet bringing the Saracens to the truth should not prove difficult: “By virtue of the simple word of God, without philosophical arguments or military weapons, they ask for baptism of Christ and cross over into the God’s sheep pen. This was said and written by one who through God has already baptized a good thousand. Amen.” … The anonymous author claims that converting Saracens to Christianity is easy and that he himself has baptized “a good thousand.” — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1069

Categorization

• XREF: Reverses the standard medieval Christian crusade/antagonism narrative toward Islam — connects to the reader’s interest in how religious others get framed for political purposes. — connects to: Medieval Christians saw Islam as salvation by faith without works; Medieval Christian praise of Muslims often promoted conversion theory.
• QUESTION: How historically typical was this irenic, conversion-optimistic strand among 13th-century mendicant writers like William of Tripoli?