Voluntary martyrdom against Muslim rulers was a conscious Christian strategy of cultural resistance

Evidence

For Eulogius, the good Christian does not seek out a modus vivendi with the Saracen; nor should he condemn the martyrs or discourage those seeking martyrdom. On the contrary, he should openly preach the gospel and accept death if it comes. Eulogius eventually becomes a martyr himself: along with Leocritia, an apostate Muslim who had taken refuge with him, he is executed on March 11, 859. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 537

Categorization

• XREF: This is the historical root-source for the martyrdom-as-political-resistance framing that Tolan’s later chapters and modern Islamophobia scholars trace forward; connects to Anidjar on the theological-political boundary.