Thomas of Chobham argued Saracens differed from Roman pagans

Evidence

Some thirteenth-century authors looked askance at the Franciscan missionaries’ rush to embrace martyrdom. Thomas of Chobham criticized the Franciscan approach in his Summa de arte praedicandi, which he probably wrote while master in theology in Paris between 1222 and 1228.59 In the third chapter of this preacher’s manual, Thomas defines the appropriate audiences for the preacher’s sermons. He acknowledges that according to the Gospel, preachers must be sent to infidels everywhere to preach the Word without regard for danger to their own lives. Yet the Gospel’s injunctions referred to missions to the Roman pagans; today’s Saracens are different: It seems that the Universal Church sins when it does not send its preachers to such places [infidel lands], and it may not excuse itself by saying that in these places it has been proclaimed that the preachers who preach Christ are to be put to death. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1169

Categorization

• QUESTION: What was Chobham’s actual distinction between Saracens and Roman pagans that justified caution? The paragraph cuts off right at the payoff.