The background to further strife?
The Cross and the Crescent: Christianity and Islam from Muhammad to the Reformation, Richard Fletcher. London: Penguin and Allen Lane, 2002. pp 183
The publishers have chosen for the front cover of this book the picture from a 13th-century Spanish manuscript illumination that depicts a Moor and a Christian playing chess. It is particularly appropriate to this book in that it illustrates two persons sitting down to play a game in which one side seeks totally to defeat the other. Chess requires that the players be in close proximity, sitting opposite each other, in what appears to be an amicable pastime. In their several real- life contests, however, the Moors and the Christians have played for the highest stakes and have prepared the ground for the present atmosphere of distrust.
This short and easily read book seeks to show how these two religions, with similar roots and teachings, have lived for centuries in an atmosphere of hostility brought about by incomprehension. In general the two worlds were separated by the Mediterranean and remained self-contained. Only in such places as Palestine, Sicily and Spain did Christians and Muslims come into direct contact and rub shoulders.
The writer highlights in a few pages those essential differences between Christianity and Islam which have been the cause for tension and conflict. Muslims -- and indeed many Christians as well -- find such doctrines as the Trinity and Incarnation difficult to understand and unacceptable. Among Christians the followers of the new religion, because of the roots which it shared with Christianity and Judaism, were for long regarded as mere deviants, it being unthinkable that a new religion had suddenly come into being. Right from the start, Christian Europe felt threatened by "the very terrible plague of Saracens" as Bede, writing in 731, called the early Muslims, quite ignorant of the teachings of the Qur'an which demanded respect for the People of the Book. The Arabs, on the other hand, were of course familiar with Christian teachings and with pockets of Christians in their midst and allowed both Christians and Jews to continue to practise their religions, albeit under certain conditions. In fact, many Christians were not only accepted into Arab society but were able to make substantial contributions to the civilisation into which they were incorporated, a civilisation in which Arabic, the language of government and commerce, was a unifying factor.
In time, Europe was to benefit from the achievements of this new civilising force that had made its appearance. Among the examples given by the writer is the simple water-raising which was to revolutionise agriculture in Andalusia. He also cites the abacus which, though known from earliest times in the Roman Empire, had somehow disappeared from use. This simple piece of technology for aiding mathematical calculations was reintroduced from the Arab world. Perhaps most important of all, though, was the technique of paper-making which spread from Baghdad, where paper was being manufactured as early as the end of the eighth century, to Andalusia and so to Europe via Christian Spain.
Though in many societies Muslims and Christians lived side by side, they never blended. This is most vividly shown where sexual relationships were concerned, and the present book gives several examples -- from both sides -- showing that in this respect at least no crossing of boundaries was permitted and that the penalties for doing so were dire. Attitudes in general remained rigid and essentially hostile, also remarkably ill-informed.
In this respect it is of particular interest to read about the reactions to the first translation that were made of the Qur'an. The very first was not made till the middle of the 12th century and was a rendering into Latin. It might be thought that this was at last an attempt to understand "the other", an act showing a modicum of toleration. It was, in fact, done solely for the purpose of being better equipped for refuting the enemy. The minds of both sides were, sadly, irrevocably made up.
It is of interest that the Gutenberg Bible was first printed in 1455 and that 50 years later there were more than 100 towns in Western Christendom with printing presses. At the same time, in the Dar Al- Islam, the Sultan in Constantinople issued a decree threatening any Muslim with death who sought to learn the science of printing. The writer points out that in this and in other fields the Arabs set their face against benefiting from the advances made by Christendom in contrast with the way in which the Christians had eagerly taken to themselves Arab achievements in the sciences and medicine. (Usamah Ibn Munqidh, writing in the 12th century, records with scathing amusement several anecdotes that reveal the ignorance of the Franks in the field of medicine.) Ibn Battouta is referred to as exemplifying the aloofness of Islam from Europe during the Middle Ages. Describing him as "one of the most tireless travellers who ever lived", the writer reminds us that he showed not the slightest curiosity in anywhere north of the Mediterranean; for him, Christian Europe could hold nothing of interest or benefit.
During this same period Christendom continued to be interested in Dar Al-Islam, with chairs in Arabic being set up in various European universities. The disdain felt by the Muslim Arabs for the Christian West has extolled a heavy price. Thus, almost unnoticed by the Muslim East, a world hegemony was established that rested on economic dominance, military might and mastery of communications, thus producing a dramatic reversal of power. The resultant exploitation of the Dar Al-Islam, with the inevitable resentments that grow day by day is the situation with which we are faced today.
The writer tells us in his bibliography that he has confined himself to works in English. Thus, where Arabic sources are concerned, he has had to content himself with quoting from sources that happen to be available in translation. It is in fact obvious that he does not possess a knowledge of Arabic , as evidenced by his unfortunate lapses in suggesting , in a quotation he gives from an early source, that "Emir Al-Mummenin" is not, as is written, the name of "the Saracens' king", but is an attempt at rendering "Umayyad". It is surprising that, before the book went to press, there was no one to tell him that it merely meant "Commander of the Faithful", the title given to the Caliph.
While The Cross and the Crescent may not present us with any additional information about its central theme, it does nonetheless serve a useful purpose in providing us with a clear and succinct picture of the historical background to the further likely scenarios that lie ahead. Suffice to say that both sides have a lot to learn -- and unlearn.
Reviewed by Denys Johnson-Davies
