Western lay readers found outsider-written scholarship on Islam most satisfying

Evidence

It is perhaps for this reason that, for the Western lay reader at least, the Islamic section is by far the most satisfying, the Jewish section a poor second, and the Christian third. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1310

Categorization

• QUESTION: Does this suggest outsider analysis reads as more ‘objective’ or ‘accessible’ to lay audiences, while insider treatments get mired in internal debates the outsider doesn’t need?