The Image of Islam in Early Christendom

ISLAM IN WESTERN LITERATURE portrayal persisted until 1503 when Ludovico di Varthema, the first European visitor born into Christianity to visit Makkah and Madinah, expressed surprise at not finding the suspended coffin. Di Varthema, who converted to Islam and joined the holy pilgrimage, substituted the coffin fable with a strange piece of misinformation: “Babacher [referring to Abu Bakr, the first caliph] was a cardinal and wanted to be Pope.” Other unreliable sources even portrayed Muhammad himself as a cardinal. The anti-Muslim sentiment reached its peak during the Crusading period of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, solidifying the deeply ingrained image of Islam. This Islamic stereotype became so entrenched that it became challenging to eradicate. As the Crusaders failed to eliminate Islam through military conquest, a new approach emerged: to destroy it through persuasion. The idea was to replace eviction with conviction, giving rise to the missionary movement. The Carmelite friar order was founded by a Crusader in 1154 on Mount Carmel, from which it derived its name. The Franciscans followed the Carmelites, and in 1219, St. Francis of Assisi visited Cairo and initiated Franciscan missionary activities. In the same year, his followers arrived in Acre. However, the most influential missionary of the era, and indeed medieval Europe, was Raymond Lull, a Spanish (Catalan) church figure. Born around 1232 and