Synopsis
Six years after the death of Gregory the Great, a Bedouin named Muhammad proclaimed a new monotheistic revelation to the tribesmen of Arabia, promising eternal life in exchange for holy war. By 750, adherents of the new religion of Islam had conquered from Spain to Afghanistan. Although military defeats at Constantinople in 672 and Tours in 732 contained Islam's expansion, the loss of much of the Mediterranean basin to hostile forces forced Christian missionary efforts to shift north and west. Western Europe became the new heartland of Christendom.
Key Quotes
- "According to Islam, no one can know with certainty whether they will be accepted into paradise until their deeds are weighed on the last day. Participating in jihad—“struggle”—against the enemies of Islam, however, greatly improves one’s chances. (N.B. Many Muslims interpret jihad as an internal struggle.)"
- “Muslim forces made deep advances into Frankish [French] territory until they were finally halted by Charles Martel (“the Hammer”), who drove them back across the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain, which they would continue to rule until shortly before the time of Christopher Columbus."
- "By 700, the once-solid North African church, which had produced leaders like Origen, Tertullian, and Augustine, had almost disappeared."
- How did the collapse of the Roman Empire make the rise of Islam possible?
- How does Islam agree and how does it disagree with Christianity?
- What kind of treatment did Christians living in Muslim lands receive? What was the long-term effect of Islamic conquest on the church (both within & beyond the Islamic domain)?
Click the link below to read a transcript of a two-day debate between Caliph Mahdi and Timothy, the Christian patriarch of Baghdad. While it's a bit long, it will give you a good sense of how Christians sought to engage their Muslim conquerors and what objections Muslims had to Christian doctrine.
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