Faces of Muhammad: Western Perceptions of the Prophet of Islam from the Middle Ages to Today

Description

Heretic and impostor or reformer and statesman? The contradictory Western visions of Muhammad In European culture, Muhammad has been vilified as a heretic, an impostor, and a pagan idol. But these aren't the only images of the Prophet of Islam that emerge from Western history. Commentators have also portrayed Muhammad as a visionary reformer and

John Tolan is professor of history at the University of Nantes and a member of the Academia Europaea. His previous books include Saracens: Islam in the Medieval European Imagination and Saint Francis and the Sultan. Twitter @JohnVTolan

"Faces of Muhammad is a learned, panoramic and fascinating book."---Tom Holland, The Spectator "[A] highly readable book."---Paul Hunt, interLib "A well-timed and long-awaited survey of the European portrayal of the Prophet of Islam."---Elmira Akhmetova, Muslim World Book Review "A perceptive, meticulous and unbiased critical assessment of the 'changing, complex, and contradictory visions' of the prophet of Islam in European and American/ 'Western' literary and academic works."---Tauseef Ahmad Parray, Aligarh Journal of Quranic Studies