This much-needed succinct overview of the Christian-Muslim encounter places the emphasis on the context within which perceptions and attitudes were worked out and provides a depth of historical insight to the complexities of current Christian–Muslim interactions on different continents.

The relationship between the Christian and Muslim worlds has been a long and tortuous one. Over the course of the centuries the balance of power has swung in pendulum fashion—at times the initiative seems to have lain with the Muslim community, with the Christian world simply being compelled to react to developments outside itself, while at other points the opposite has been true and Muslims have found themselves having to respond to Christian challenges in different forms. Today Christians and Muslims comprise the world's two largest religious communities. Although they can coexist fairly peacefully, at times they still engage in violent confrontation, such as in the recent conflicts in Bosnia and the Sudan. This book investigates the history of the relationships between Christians and Muslims over the centuries, from their initial encounters in the medieval period, when the Muslims were the dominant group, through to the modern period, when the balance of power seems to have been reversed. This much-needed overview of the Christian-Muslim encounter places the emphasis on the context within which perceptions and attitudes were worked out and provides a depth of historical insight to the complexities of current Christian-Muslim interactions on different continents.

Part 1 Preface vii
Part 2 Note on Transliteration and Dates viii
Part 3 Chronology ix
Part 4 Map 1: The Christian and Muslim Worlds c. 830/215 51
Part 5 Map 2: The Christian and Muslim Worlds Today 178–9
Part 6 Introduction 1
Part 7 The Christian Background to the Coming of Islam 5
Chapter 8 Early Christian Thinking about Other Religions 5
Chapter 9 The History of the Christian Church in the Middle East 11
Part 10 The Islamic Impact 19
Chapter 11 Muhammad's Contacts with Christians 19
Chapter 12 The Qur'an's View of Christians 24
Chapter 13 Precedents for Muslim Treatment of Christians 29
Part 14 The First Age of Christian–Muslim Interactions (-c. 830/215) 34
Chapter 15 Christain Reponses to the Coming of Islam 34
Chapter 16 Muslim Treatment of Christians I 41
Part 17 The Medieval Period I: Confrontation or Interaction in the East? 50
Chapter 18 Contacts and Exchanges 50
Chapter 19 Developing Mutual Perceptions 56
Chapter 20 Muslim Treatment of Christians II 66
Chapter 21 Conversion to Islam 68
Part 22 The Medieval Period II: Confrontation or Interaction in the West? 79
Chapter 23 Western Christian Reactions to the Coming of Islam 79
Chapter 24 The Crusades 84
Chapter 25 Alternative Perceptions of Islam 92
Chapter 26 The Transmission of Knowledge from the Islamic World to the West 96
Part 27 The Changing Balance of Power: Mission and Imperialism? 109
Chapter 28 The Growth of European Power 109
Chapter 29 The Establishment of Christian Missions 113
Chapter 30 The Heyday of European Influence 123
Chapter 31 Muslim Responses 127
Part 32 New Thinking in the 19th/13th and 20th/14th Centuries 142
Chapter 33 The Growth of Western Academic Study of Islam 142
Chapter 34 Changing Christian Thinking about Islam 149
Chapter 35 Changing Muslim Thinking about Christianity 158
Part 36 Dialogue or Confrontation? 177
Chapter 37 The Dialogue Movement 177
Chapter 38 The Political Context 186
Chapter 39 Fellow-Pilgrims? 188
Part 40 Bibliography 199
Part 41 Index 201