Thirteenth-century Christian pilgrims read the Koran and stressed its affinity with Christian doctrine

Evidence

Burchard, in the midst of describing a church devoted to Saint John the Baptist, explains that the Saracens revere John as a holy prophet. They also, he continues, believe that Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, is the word of God but not God, “and they say that Machomet was the messenger of God and was sent by God only to them; I read this in the Alchoran, which is their book.” The emphasis here is on the fundamental compatibility of Christian and Muslim doctrine. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1071

Categorization

• XREF: Grounds in primary-source reading a non-polemical medieval encounter genealogy — that actual reading of the Alcoran could yield compatibility rather than demonization.