Pride, Prejudice, And Ignorance.Pdf Download

Pride, Prejudice, And Ignorance by M. Fahmy Raiyah

About the Book

Spanning eleven centuries of conflict between Islam and the West, this book presents an account of the development of the Western image of the Muslim Orient from the advent of Islam to the eighteenth century.

In an introductory chapter, the book goes even beyond the emergence of Islam to trace the Eurocentric outlook that characterized the Western views of the Muslim world to the Graeco-Roman’s conception of Eastern cultures as essentially different and inferior, despotic and morally decadent.

For Eastern Christians and medieval Europeans alike, the Bible was a source of some of the most hostile interpretations of the coming and meteoric spread of the Islam.

Against the backdrop of the Crusades, some of the most offensive material and absurd fantasies were created about Islam and the Prophet.

Many medieval prejudices persisted during the Renaissance and beyond. The rise of the Ottomans and their rapid advance in Europe resulted in the resurgence of antagonistic feelings against the Muslims.

At the same time, the first-hand experience accompanying the spread of trade and diplomatic relations with the Ottomans helped ameliorate the otherwise totally negative image of Islam.

The extension of travel to the Ottoman provinces provided the West with more objective and accurate accounts of the Muslim Orient.

The book shows how a reappraisal of Islam and its prophet was an indirect outcome of the Enlightenment project.

The book sheds lights on the origins of the stereotypical image of Islam as reflected in the different manifestations of European culture.