The social character of Islamic practice went unrecognized by medieval Christian writers

Evidence

This brings out forcibly the contrast between what was observed and what was inferred; between what was accepted on evidence and what was believed even without an adequate authority. At the beginning of this chapter it was said that both modification and confirmation of theory were found in practice. What is really remarkable is that this did not happen more. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1281 (#expands, via linked claim)

Most conspicuous to us is the inability of any of these systems of thought [European Christian] to provide a fully satisfying explanation of the phenomenon they had set out to explain [Islam]—still less to influence the course of practical events in a decisive way. At a practical level, events never turned out either so well or so ill as the most intelligent observers predicted; and it is perhaps worth noticing that they never turned out better than when the best judges confidently expected a happy ending. Was there any progress [in Christian knowledge of Islam]? I must express my conviction that there was. Even if the solution of the problem remained obstinately hidden from sight, the statement of the problem became more complex, more rational, and more related to experience.… The scholars who labored at the problem of Islam in the Middle Ages failed to find the solution they sought and desired; but they developed habits of mind and powers of comprehension which, in other men and in other fields, may yet deserve success. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 168 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Christian polemicists portrayed medieval Muslim sexuality as wholly unregulated; Medieval Christian polemicists fixated on Islam’s legal theory while knowing nothing of its practice; Medieval writers mostly ignored that shared terms hid different meanings (+8 more)

Related

• Theory outweighed direct observation in medieval European writing about Islam (similarity 0.90)
• Medieval writers ignored Islamic ritual because praising it served no polemic purpose (similarity 0.88)
• Medieval Christian distaste, not ignorance, distorted portrayals of Islam (similarity 0.88)
• Medieval Christians understood Islam only as a distorted copy of Christianity (similarity 0.87)
• Medieval Christian polemicists fixated on Islam’s legal theory while knowing nothing of its practice (similarity 0.87)
• Even well-informed medieval authors chose implausible stories when framing Muslims (similarity 0.86)
• Medieval Christian knowledge systems failed to explain or influence Islam (similarity 0.86)
• Medieval Christians weaponized accurate Islamic learning for polemics (similarity 0.85)
• Medieval Christians viewed Islam only as a negative foil to Christianity (similarity 0.85)
• Medieval Christian writers recognized Islam shared their moral precepts (similarity 0.85)
• Medieval Christian knowledge of Islam served polemics, not understanding (similarity 0.85)
• Medieval storytellers assumed Muslims shared Christian moral standards. (similarity 0.84)
• Medieval Christian polemics could only read Islam as affirming or negating Christianity (similarity 0.84)
• Medieval Christian critics of Islam derived claims from literary sources, not observation (similarity 0.84)
• Medieval Christian critics of Islam lacked Arabic competence and historical perspective (similarity 0.84)

Broader Connections

• Individual writers’ contexts, not grand narratives, explain medieval portrayals of Islam #expands (0.80)
• Medieval Christian knowledge systems failed to explain or influence Islam #expands (0.80) — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 168
• Theory outweighed direct observation in medieval European writing about Islam #expands (0.80) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1281
• Medieval Christian storytelling presumed Islam’s moral standards could judge Christians #exemplifies (0.75) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1104
• Medieval Christian writers assumed Muslim doctrine derived from misinterpreted Scripture #qualifies (0.75) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 315
• Early Christian accounts of Islam were written without any contact with Muslims #expands (0.75) — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 143