Western view of Islam: A troubled history

[PsychoDad]

Western view of Islam: A troubled history
By Soumayya Ghannoushi
"Why is it still acceptable to say things about Muslims that would simply be deemed unacceptable of Jews, Christians, or Buddhists?"


http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/CA6B3D95-164F-401A-A7C7-786402E273CE.htm

I have spent much of the last four years scavenging for medieval manuscripts, in an attempt to study medieval European representations of Islam.

I am generally averse to sweeping statements, but I will say this: I am yet to encounter a tradition and historical experience as profoundly distorted as Islam's has been and continues to be to the present day.
...
Indeed, much of what is said of Islam today is in reality medieval in origin. The terms might have a modern ring to them, but the content remains very much medieval in essence. The roots stretch as far back as the 7th century, to Christianity's earliest encounter with Islam.
...

Much to the oft-repeated claim that Western consciousness has broken free from the medieval grip of the sacred, its outlook on Islam has remained quintessentially Christian and medieval.

All secularisation did was recycle the wild, sparse notions of "Saracens" and "Turks" within a new profane, modern language.


Very interesting article.