Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the West: A Review Essay

ALIGARH JOURNAL OF QURANIC STUDIES • VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 1 • MARCH 2020

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Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the West: A Review Essay

Tauseef Ahmad Parray*

Books Reviewed:

1) Abdur Raheem Kidwai. Images of the Prophet Muhammad in English Literature (New

York: Peter Lang, 2018). 168 Pages. ISBN: 9781433147487.

2) John V. Tolan. Faces of Muhammad: Western Perceptions of the Prophet of Islam from the

Middle Ages to Today (Princeton & Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2019). xiv +

309 Pages. ISBN: 9780691167060.

The Western scholarship (both in prose and poetry) on Islam and Muslims is

expounded in the literary genre known as ‗Literary Orientalism‘, a significant and fast

emerging sub-genre in English Literature, which, in simple terms, means ‗the study of

the (mis)representation of Islam and Muslims in the English (literary) works‘. This

scholarship is rightly labelled by Matthew Dimmock, in his Mythologies of the Prophet

Muhammad in Early Modern English Culture (Cambridge University Press, 2013, p. xii;

hereinafter mentioned as Mythologies) as ―the misrepresentation of a biography‖ or

―the biography of a misrepresentation.‖ There have been many attempts, both in the

past and the present as well, by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, to explore, evaluate,

examine and critique the Western, especially the English writings falling in the

category of ‗Literary Orientalism‘, which range from the (mis)representation of Islam,

its sources and its last prophet to Muslims and Muslim societies. ―Some of these

studies take readers far and deep into Western travellers‘ imagined and real accounts

of Islam and Muslims; some recount their (mis)representation in English, French and

American literary texts and movies, and some unravel the cultural apathy of the West

in their depiction.‖ (See, Abdur Raheem Kidwai‘s review on Frederick Quinn‘s The

Sum of all Heresies: The Image of Islam in Western Thought, Oxford, 2008 [hereinafter

* Assistant Professor, Islamic Studies, Higher Education Department, Jammu & Kashmir


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mentioned as The Sum] in his Orientalism in English Literature, 2016: 253-56; hereinafter

mentioned as Orientalism).

Since the appearance of Norman Daniel‘s Islam and the West: Making of an Image

(Edinburg, 1962; republished Oxford Oneworld, 2009), which is considered as one of

the path-breaking and magisterial works on this discourse and ―holds the distinction of

being the first such study‖ (Kidwai, Orientalism, p. 264), this sub-field has considerably

grown. In the 21st century, there have been many attempts to gauge this scholarship

and two newly published books, in this genre, which are the focus of this review essay,

are: Abdur Raheem Kidwai‘s Images of the Prophet Muhammad in English Literature (2018;

hereinafter mentioned as Images) and John V. Tolan‘s Faces of Muhammad (2019;

hereinafter Faces). Before presenting a detailed evaluation of these two works, with the

objective to know the 21st century tenors, trends and tendencies in the literature on the

image of the Prophet (pbuh) in the West, it is necessary to present a brief description of

some prominent works in this sub-field (viz., Quinn‘s The Sum; Ahmad Gunny‘s The

Prophet Muhammad in French and English Literature, 2010 and Dimmock‘s Mythologies).

This will be helpful in understanding well Kidwai‘s and Tolan‘s books under review

and positioning them in this specific genre of scholarship.

Frederick Quinn (b. 1935), Adjunct Professor of History at Utah University, USA,

in his The Sum has presented a better perception of Islam and the Prophet (pbuh) in the

West, by depicting ―the image of Islam as it has developed in the West‖ (p. 3). In this

book, Quinn highlights and promotes the common grounds between Christians/

Westerners and Muslims, and advocates a dialogue ―among members of different

faiths, by showing the historical roots of such misperceptions and origins of such

religious and cultural mistrust and hatred‖ (p. 6). Attributing the current Islamophobia

to ―a general lack of knowledge about Islamic history, beliefs, and politics, and a

sharply negative image of Islam often held by policy makers, religious leaders, and the

general public‖ (p. 3), his superb description of the negative portrayals of Islam in the

West, the Prophet (pbuh) and Muslims is based, in Kidwai‘s evaluation, on ―his

judicious scrutiny of a plethora of religious writing, histories, travelogues, literature,

visual arts and films, from the Middle Ages to the present‖ (Kidwai, Images, p. 134).


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Kidwai, in his Orientalism (2016, pp. 253, 256) has described The Sum as a ―well-

nuanced study‖ which not only explores ―the image of Islam and the West from the

Middle Ages to our post-9/11 turbulent times‖, but also analyses ―perceptively the

image of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Western writings over the centuries.‖ For

example, in its chapter 1, it presents ‗The Prophet as Antichrist and Arab Lucifer‘ (pp.

17-54) with a focus on earliest times to 1600 CE, and in chapters 3 it explores ‗The

Prophet as Hero and Wise Easterner‘ (pp. 91-124), focusing on the period between 1800

and 1900. In his review, Kidwai (Orientalism, p. 256) praises Quinn‘s work in these

words: ―…copious notes tracking down and guiding readers to almost all that is there

to know about the subject; …. For its coverage of relevant material, for its lucid style

and for its honest appraisal of the issues under discussion Quinn‘s work should prove

highly rewarding for all those interested in the subject.‖

Another significant work in this genre is Ahmad Gunny‘s The Prophet Muhammad

in French and English Literature, 1650 to the Present (Islamic Foundation, 2010). Kidwai

(Orientalism, pp. 257-61), in his review on this book describes Gunny‘s work not only

extensive in its ―chronological coverage‖, than his previous works—which are

described by Kidwai as ―impressive‖ works and acclaims them for their ―perceptive

analysis‖—namely Images of Islam in Eighteenth Century Writings (1996) and Perceptions

of Islam in European Writings, (2004)—, but very ably filling ―the gaps left in the

previous studies‖ (p. 257). Kidwai has summarized its overall import in these words:

―Gunny‘s is a masterly work of solid scholarship and critical insights, which enables

readers to comprehend why and how the West falters in appreciating Islam and the

Prophet (peace be upon him) to this day.‖ (pp. 260-61)

One more significant work, which needs a brief mention here, is Matthew

Dimmock‘s Mythologies. Dimmock is a Professor of Early Modern Studies at University

of Sussex (UK) and his book is a good source of authentic information, as it tracks

down all that is there to know about the ―grotesque version‖ of the Prophet (pbuh)—

being the ―product of vilification, caricature and misinformation placed at the centre of

Christian conceptions of Islam‖ in England between 1500 and 1700 CE (p. xii). He has

aptly described his work as ―a study of the misrepresentation of a biography‖ or ―the


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biography of a misrepresentation.‖(p. xii). Dimmock has accomplished ―the

commendable task of tracing out the distorted image of the Prophet [pbuh].‖ His book

presents ―an amazing spectacle of substantial and insightful scholarship, recounting

how the image of the Prophet [pbuh] was fabricated in early literature, during the

Reformation period, on stage through plays of the Elizabethan period and in the

seventeenth-century literature, religious texts and popular culture‖ (Kidwai, Images,

pp. 134, 135). Moreover, Kidwai (Orientalism, pp. 264-68) summarizes the aim and

content of this book in these words: A ―valuable book … [it] surpasses all the earlier

studies in both range and depth of coverage as well as its judicious, sympathetic

engagement with the subject‖ (p. 264); and ―Dimmock‘s masterly work both exposes

and explodes the myths concocted about the Prophet [pbuh] in early modern England.

Dimmock deserves accolades for his originality, his masterly coverage, his brilliant and

insightful analysis and above all, his laudable call for studying the Prophet

Muhammad (pbuh) afresh in the West.‖ (p. 268).

It is gratifying to see that Kidwai has applauded the objectivity of all the three

authors and their works. In his Orientalism, he calls Gunny‘s work as an ―analytical and

well researched‖ and ―valuable work‖ (p. 261); in his Images, he has counted the works

of Quinn and Dimmock as the ―first-rate studies on history and cultural studies.‖ (p.

128). While as Quinn‘s work is characterized by Kidwai as a ―brilliant work‖ which

ensures ―a better perception of Islam and the Prophet in the West‖ (p. 133), Dimmock‘s

contribution is applauded as ―the commendable task of tracing out the distorted image

of the Prophet [pbuh].‖ (p. 134).

Besides Quinn‘s and Dimmock‘s, there have been many other attempts during the

last decade (2008-18) and some of these works are: Suzanne Conklin Akbari‘s Idols in

the East: European Representation of Islam and the Orient, 1100—1450 (Ethica, 2009); Fahd

Mohammed Taleb Saeed al-Olaqi‘s ―Image of the Messenger Muhammad (peace be

upon him) in the English Literature: From Early Ages to Present‖ (Insights, 2, 4, 2010);

Michelina Di Cesare‘s The Pseudo-Historical Image of the Prophet Muhammad in Medieval

Latin Literature: A Repertory (2012); Avionamm Shalem‘s Constructing the Image of


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Muhammad in Europe (2013) and Christian Gruber and A. Shalem‘s The Image of Prophet

between Ideal and Ideology: A Scholarly Investigation (2014).

It is interesting to note that there have been also many seminars and conferences

on the same theme between 2009 and 2019: ―Crossing Boundaries, Creating Images: In

Search of the Prophet Muhammad in Literary and Visual Traditions‖ (Kunsthistorisches

Institut, Florence, 2009); ―Representations of Muhammad‖ (University of Edinburg,

2015), ―The Prophet Muhammad in the Eyes of Europeans‖ (University of Isfahan, 2016),

etc.

Parallel to this trend, one sees the works by Muslims and non-Muslims on

explicating the images and representations of the Prophet (pbuh) among the Muslims.

Some prominent examples are: Annemarie Schimmel‘s And Muhammad is His

Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety (University of Carolina Press,

1985); Tarif Khalidi, Images of Muhammad: Narratives of the Prophet in Islam across the

Centuries (Doubleday, 2009); Kecia Ali, The Lives of Muhammad (Harvard University

Press, 2014) and Christiane Gruber, The Praiseworthy One: The Prophet Muhammad in

Islamic Text and Images (Indiana University Press, 2019). These works, as Tolan

mentions perceptively in the Introduction to his Faces (p. 8), illustrate that Muhammad

[pbuh] has always been for Muslims not only a prophet who announced God‘s word

but also a role model. Muslim perceptions of him have varied immensely over time

and have led to divergent portraits: a Sufi might see him as a model mystic; a ruler

might see him as a sacred king; a pious Muslim as a model to follow in everything

from how to pray, to how to greet one‘s neighbour, to how to brush one‘s teeth. His

very name means ―the praised one‖ and he is variously ―praised as a divinely sent

apostle, …, statesman and community leader, …, arbiter of disputes, dispenser of

justice, or quintessential mystic.‖ The history of these rich and diverse Muslim

traditions about Muhammad [pbuh] has been chronicled and analysed by a number of

scholars, most recently, Christiane Gruber.

From these titles, it is obvious that the scholarship in the former category

dominates the scene and these works illustrate, in John Tolan‘s (2019: 2) words, that

―[Prophet] Muhammad [pbuh] has always been at the centre of European discourse on


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Islam‖, in which he ―occupies a crucial and ambivalent place in the European

imagination; he figures as the embodiment of Islam, alternatively provoking fear,

loathing, fascination, or admiration, but rarely indifferent.‖ In the Western scholarship

on Islam, especially in English, the Prophet (pbuh) is portrayed, variedly, contrarily

and defiantly, from ―an impostor‖, ―a paedophile‖, ―a psychopath‖ to ―a reformer”, ―a

great man‖, ―a sort of Arab national hero‖, etc. (Tolan, Faces, pp. 2, 3) or as Kidwai

(Images, p. xii) summarizes it, the Western texts, of twelfth to twentieth centuries,

―represent a variety of responses to the Prophet‘s life and mission‖, which are ―often

vitiated by serious errors and sheer prejudice.‖

Abdur Raheem Kidwai, Professor of English and Director, K. A. Nizami Centre for

Quranic Studies (KAN-CQS), Aligarh Muslim University (India), is one of the

prominent Muslim writers from India who has contributed tremendously to the field

of the Qur‘anic Studies (especially, regarding the critique of the translations of the

Qur‘an in English) and Literary Orientalism. Moreover, he is a regular contributor,

since 1985, to The Muslim World Book Review (The Islamic Foundation, London) and one

definitely finds his reviews in almost every issue of the MWBR, either on a new

translation of the Qur‘an in English or on any latest work related to the Qur‘anic

Studies, Sirah, etc.

Kidwai‘s Images (a review of mine was published on it in The American Journal of

Islamic Social Sciences, 36: 4, 2019, pp. 125-28) narrates and scrutinizes the images of the

Prophet (pbuh), as reflected in the English literary texts (published in between 12th to

20th centuries) and ―seeks to promote a better understanding between the Muslim

world and the West against the backdrop of the Danish cartoons and the deplorable

tragedy of 9/11, which has evoked a general interest in things Islamic.‖ (See

description on the back page).

It is interesting to note here that back in 1980s Kidwai published a research article,

―Orientalists‘ Works on the Prophetic Sirah‖ (in Urdu: ‗Sirat-e Tayyiba par Mustashriqin

ki Tasanif‘), in Islamabad, Pakistan-based Urdu quarterly, Fikr va Nazr (Vol. 19, June

1983, pp. 28-42). In this article, he remarked, by way of conclusion, that ―the Western


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(polemical) works, whether of Medieval era or of the modern times, present the

Prophet‘s Sirah in a distorted manner. Therefore, Muslim researchers must be aware of

such approach in the Orientalist works not only to refute them and to rebut them by

presenting an accurate image of the Prophet (pbuh), but in order to bring to the

sharper light the Orientalists‘ distortions and allegations against the Prophet (pbuh).‖

(p. 42). He has also contributed a book chapter on ―Perceptions of Islam and Muslims

in English Literature: A Historical Survey‖ to the volume Muslims and the West:

Encounter and Dialogue edited by Zafar Ishaq Ansari and John L Esposito (2001, pp. 52-

86). In his review on Ahmad Gunny‘s Perceptions of Islam in European Writings (2004)—

(Kidwai, Orientalism, p. 243)—, Kidwai notes:

Orientalism by definition is an innocent and innocuous field of

learning, embodying the fruits of the Western scholars‘ specialized

study of the Orient, with emphasis on Islam. However, it is shot

through with intense religious and cultural bias. Since its beginning

Islam has been regrettably misrepresented in Orientalist writings.

Religious, polemical, military, political, commercial, colonial and

imperialist motives and more recently the ‗clash of civilizations‘

syndrome account, in the main, for the negative image of Islam and

Muslims. … [T]he scholarly tradition of Orientalism, from the

earliest to our times, abounds in deplorable instances of distortions,

half-truths and stereotypes [italics mine].

Kidwai‘s Images consists of a Preface (pp. xi-xiv) and three chapters. The author

presents his work as a modest new addition to other works ―portraying in odious light

the blessed [life of] Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)‖ (p. xi), including Byron

Porter Smith‘s Islam in English Literature (1937), Adnan Muhammad al-Wazzan‘s Surat

al-Islam fi‘l-Adab al-Inklizi (‗Image of Islam in English Literature‘; 2 vols., 1998), and

Dimmock‘s Mythologies (2013). However, from a look on its references/ bibliography,

one observes that Kidwai has heavily relied on the works of Quinn (2008), Dimmock

(2013) and Abdul-Settar Abdul-Latif Mal-Allah‘s ―The Image of Islam and Muslims in


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Medieval Writings with Reference to Chaucer‘s Man of Law‘s Tale‖, Journal of Basrah

Researches (34: 1, 2010). This becomes clear after reading the excerpts/ quotes from their

writings on pages 11, 18, 19, 29, 30, 31, 40, 41, 62, 98, 111; xiii, 1, 6, 8, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26,

28, 30, 40, 47, 70, 71, 111 and 2, 3, 7, 10, 39, 41, 124, respectively.

Chapter One, ―The Distorting Mirror: Representation of Prophet Muhammad

(Peace Be Upon Him) in Medieval and Other Writings in the West‖ (pp. 1-35)

comprises an investigation of some of the earliest and medieval era sources that led to

the construction of the ‗hate-inspired portrait‘ of the Prophet (pbuh). Some of the

works/authors cited are: Chanson de Geste, La Chanson de Roland, Dante‘s Divine

Comedy, Peter the Venerable, Thomas Aquinas, John Mandeville, Alexander Ross,

Edward Gibbon, Voltaire and Goethe. For example, Kidwai finds Peter the Venerable

as ―the key figure in the production of polemical and fabricated material against

Islam/ the Prophet‖ (p. 16). It was Peter who ―sponsored‖ projects related to studying

Islam and one of these projects was on translating the Qur‘an, taken by Robert of

Ketton, which ―served as the principal source for the study of Islam in the West.‖ (p.

16). Similarly, Kidwai also notices that while Aquinas ―re-echoes Peter‘s view‖ (p. 19),

Ross ―contributed much to maligning the [image of the] Prophet [pbuh]‖ (p. 25), and

Voltaire, the French Rationalist historian and writer, ―resurrected the Medieval

hostility towards the Prophet in his play Mahomet.‖ (p. 30). He also opines that while

Sale was an ―influential figure that facilitated better understanding of Islam and the

Prophet [pbuh] among the [18th century] English speaking people‖ (p. 29), Gibbon, the

distinguished British historian, ―paved the way for positive perception of Islam and the

Prophet [pbuh]‖ (p. 30) and Goethe, the German literary figure, ―surpasses all Western

writers in presenting a sympathetic, nay favourable estimate of the Prophet [pbuh].‖

(p. 31).

In this chapter, Kidwai puts forth the observation that in the literary works

published between 7th and 19th centuries, the ―English men of letters conceived and

projected their image of the Prophet [pbuh]‖, against the backdrop of tropes, already

―coloured, rather tainted by the misconception, misperceptions and half-truths about

the Prophet [pbuh]‖ in circulation. (p. 31). The Prophet‘s (pbuh) representation in most


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of these writings, Kidwai rightly concludes, is ―regrettably shot through with

distortion of facts, invention of scurrilous reports, slanderous stories, and

misinterpretation with the objective of disparaging him [the Prophet (pbuh)].‖ (p. 31).

On the basis of this evaluation, one feels tempted to agree with Kidwai‘s claim that the

similarity one finds in this representation is ―their unconcern for facts or history and

their hatred for Islam‖, as they ―did not or could not reconcile to the meteoric rise of a

highly successful rival to the Christian theology and power‖ (p. xi). In the works of this

era, one thus finds, as Kidwai rightly claims in the Preface, representation of ―the

Prophet as the object of their vilification and invectives.‖ (p. xi).

In continuation with the first chapter, Kidwai analyses and scrutinizes the works

of more ‗Englishmen of letters‘ in Chapter Two, ―The Crescent in the West:

Representation of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in the Literary Works‖

(pp. 36-119). It recounts the representation of the Prophet (pbuh), in a chronological

order, by making a critical evaluation of these literary figures: William Langland,

Geoffrey Chaucer, William Dunbar, Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare, John Dunn,

Robert Southey, Samuel Coleridge, Thomas Moore, Lord Byron, P. B. Shelley and

Thomas Carlyle. This account is reflective of the dictating impact of the Medieval

legacy and that is the prime reason that one finds the portrayal of the Prophet (pbuh),

by these writers‘, as ‗largely hostile, teeming with factual errors, opprobrious

stereotypes, and even malicious fiction‘, because they were ―fed on the [above-

mentioned] sources, of which hostility towards the Prophet [pbuh] is the hallmark‖ (p.

32). This chapter, in a nutshell, surveys ―the evolution of the Prophet‘s image, from an

impostor to that of a hero in the annals of English literature.‖ (p. 112).

For example, Chaucer in his works, especially in his The Treatise on the Astrolabe

and General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, makes an ―acknowledgment of Islam,

especially its role in the dissemination of knowledge‖ (p. 42), while the latter work

holds, in Kidwai‘s evaluation, ―the distinction of being the inaugural English literary

text which set in motion cross-cultural understanding between the West and the

Muslim world.‖ (p. 43). In a ―stark contrast to Chaucer‘s‖ works, Lydgate‘s Fall of

Princes, in Kidwai‘s opinion, presents an ―outright negative, rather loathsome


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treatment of Islam and the Prophet‖, as he ―hurls all sorts of false allegations with the

only objective of discrediting, even demonizing him‖ and thus, ―presents the Prophet

[not only] in the darkest colours‖, but projects him as ―an impostor‖ as well (pp. 43,

48). Dunbar ―appears to be following in the footsteps of Lydgate, as he depicts the

Prophet [pbuh] as the devil in his ‗Dance of Sevin Deidly Synnis‘‖ (p. 48) and in

Marlowe‘s writings, one comes across the representation of Islam and Muslims as

―patently negative.‖ (p. 52). Similarly, in Shakespeare‘s Plays, one finds a ―devastating

and pernicious attack on the Prophet [pbuh]‖ when he speaks of him, as recorded in

Henry IV and King Lear, ―as an idol or false.‖ Thus, Shakespeare‘s representation of

Islam and the Prophet (pbuh), not only ―re-echoes the centuries-old Western/

Christian misperception about the Prophet‖ (p. 59), but also ―is reflective of the

popular misconceptions and misperceptions.‖ (p. 63).

About Southey, Kidwai notes that he has ―written most about Islam and Muslims‖

among the Romantic writers but he also re-echoes the ―medieval polemics in his

opinion of the Prophet‖ (pp. 81, 82) and Byron‘s ―allusions to Islam, the Prophet [pbuh]

and Muslims‖, who is famous for his Turkish Tales having a ―preponderance of Muslim

characters‖, are, ―reflective of Byron‘s cross-cultural sympathies‖, and it is these

qualities which are found in ―scarcity in both his predecessors and contemporaries.‖(p.

96).

One exception to this list, nonetheless, is Thomas Carlyle (d. 1881)—the British/

Scottish statesman and man of letters. About Carlyle‘s ground-breaking Lecture of

1840, ―The Hero as Prophet Mahomet: Islam‖ (which forms a part of his On Heroes,

Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History, 1927 [1861], pp. 38-69), Kidwai is of the opinion

that it is ―essentially historical‖; … like a milestone, [and] a trend setter‖, because, ―it

helped the West [in] perceive[ing] the Prophet‘s life and achievements in a clear light,

free from the air of prejudice and half-truths.‖ (p. 105). Carlyle‘s lecture, he further

adds, highlighted ―the Prophet‘s exemplarity… [and thus] helped many … [to]

appreciate the Prophet‘s sincerity of purpose, nobility of his mission and universality

of his teachings.‖ (p. 107).


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Nonetheless, Kidwai notes a significant development in these writings, i.e., ‗their

gradual realization of truth‘, which is more ‗evident‘ in Carlyle‘s above–mentioned

lecture. In the 20th century, several biographies and/ or inter-cultural and historical

studies by ‗Western writers‘, such as William Montgomery Watt, Annemarie

Schimmel, Karen Armstrong, John L. Esposito, Michael Hart, John Adair, Norman

Daniel, John Tolan, Frederick Quinn and Matthew Dimmock, and others, were

published, and Kidwai (in the Preface) claims that such works ―represent the new

tolerant perspective which recognizes the Prophet‘s greatness and glory.‖ (p. xii). In

this context, Kidwai devotes Chapter Three of his Images to this positive trend, aptly

entitled ―Towards Fairness and Truth: Recent Trends in Representation of Prophet

Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him)‖ (pp. 120-141). This chapter begins with an

interesting and insightful note based on the evaluations, analyses and critical

comments on the previous two chapters:

Notwithstanding the highly regrettable and detestable portrayal of

the Prophet [pbuh] down the centuries … which makes a sad,

depressing reading, it is gratifying that since early twentieth

century there has been some fairness in the West‘s treatment of the

Prophet [pbuh]—in literary texts, academic publications

particularly in the broad field of Islamic studies, and more

importantly in a spate of historical and cultural studies,

acknowledging the gross injustice and hostility in the West‘s

representation (p. 120).

Divided into two parts, this chapter first discusses the works of R. V. C. Bodley (d.

1970), Hart (b. 1932), Schimmel (d. 2003), Armstrong (b. 1944), Donner (b. 1945) and

Adair (b. 1934) under the sub-heading, ‗Works on the Prophet‘s Illustrious Life and

Career‘ (pp. 123-128) and is followed by the ‗Historical and Cultural Studies‘ (pp. 128-

135) as produced by the scholars, including Daniel (d. 1992), James Kritzeck (d. 1986),

Albert Hourani (d. 1993), Watt (d. 2006), Esposito (b. 1940), Quinn (b. 1935), Tolan (b.

1959) and Dimmock (b. 1975).


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In Kidwai‘s evaluation, for instance, ―Bodley‘s presentation of the Prophet [pbuh]

touches upon several illuminating facets of the Prophet‘s exemplary character and

conduct‖ (p. 123); Hart‘s is the ―most glowing tribute imaginable to the Prophet

[pbuh]‖ by any non-Muslim (p. 124); and Schimmel‘s work ―brings out the centrality of

the Prophet [pbuh] in Islam‖ and thus, ―helps readers [to] appreciate his importance,

his impeccable character and conduct, and his greatness‖ (p. 125). In the same vein, he

applauds Armstrong‘s works for having ―contributed much to breaking the negative

stereotypes about the Prophet [pbuh]‖ (p. 126); Donner‘s work is appreciated as a

recent example of ―positive biography of the Prophet [pbuh]‖, as his ―recounting of the

Sirah … is on the whole accurate and comprehensive‖ (p. 126), and the ―chief merit of

Donner‘s work‖, in Kidwai‘s overall evaluation, ―resides in his refutation of the

theories propounded by the French Orientalist, Ernest Renan‖ (p. 127) and Adair‘s

work is appreciated for highlighting and celebrating, on the basis of many episodes in

his life, ―the Prophet‘s exceptional leadership traits‖, concluding that ―he [the Prophet

(pbuh)] exemplified the universal principle of good leadership‖, and thus, Adair‘s

book, indeed, ―adds a new dimension to Sirah studies‖ (p. 127).

Similarly, the works selected and evaluated in the second section (Daniel to

Dimmock) are, in Kidwai‘s analysis, ―some first-rate studies‖, which have ―contributed

substantially‖ in ―breaking the Medieval stereotypes about the Prophet [pbuh] and in

facilitating a better understanding of both his personality and mission.‖ (p. 128). To

substantiate this claim, a brief account of Kidwai‘s evaluation of these works is

provided here: all the works of Daniel are ―highly valuable books on cross-cultural

encounter‖ (p. 128) and ―document the prejudices against Islam, the Quran and the

Prophet [pbuh]‖ (p. 129); however, his Islam and the West (1961), in particular, ―is a

mine of authentic information … especially [about] the misperceptions about his being

a pseudo-prophet, the motives of misrepresentation, particularly the imputation of

idolatry to the Prophet, and the survival of Medieval biased concepts up to our time‖

(p. 129); while Kritzeck has ―extended further‖ the ―noble mission undertaken‖ by

Daniel (p. 130), Hourani‘s writings not only ―contributed to representing Arabs better


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in the West‖ but also helped in calling ―for a better understanding and coexistence

between Islam and the West.‖ (p. 130).

In a similar vein, Kidwai appreciates Watt for ―presenting a balanced image of the

Prophet in the West‖ (p. 130) and for his substantial ―contribution to promoting better

cross-cultural understanding‖ (p. 131); he calls Esposito as one of ―the outstanding

Western scholars‖ of present times ―who has depicted an objective, refreshingly

positive image of Islam, the Prophet [pbuh] and Muslims, particularly in the post 9/11

Islamophobic American academia‖ (p. 133) and Quinn is described as an outstanding

―scholar of history, cultural studies and Islam‖ for his The Sum, which is termed by

Kidwai as a ―brilliant book‖ as it ―has ensured a better perception of Islam and the

Prophet in the West‖ (p. 133). Quinn‘s book is based on ―his judicious scrutiny of a

plethora of religious writing, histories, travelogues, literature, visual arts and films,

from the Middle Ages to the present‖ (p. 134) and, consequently, provides the

―Westerners with an important portrayal of their own prejudices about Islam.‖ (pp.

133-34). Similarly, Tolan‘s scholarship is considered ―valuable‖ for pointing out ―the

bias against Islam and the Prophet in the Western writings‖ and Dimmock‘s

Mythologies placed among the first-rate studies, ―has accomplished the commendable

task of tracing out the distorted image of the Prophet [pbuh].‖ (p. 134).

All these works, in Kidwai‘s assessment, have done ―justice, to a large extent, to the

Prophet‘s genius and his life-ennobling message‖ (p. 120) and thus, ―reflect a sea-

change in the representation of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)‖ in 20th/ 21st

century English literature. These works also ―indicate the welcome trend of

acknowledging the Prophet‘s greatness and glory‖ by the Westerners (p. 123).

After reading Kidwai‘s Images, one observes that although most of the literary texts

of earliest and medieval eras have portrayed the image of the Prophet (pbuh) in a

ridiculous, damaging and fabricated way, yet the works of the last and the present

centuries illustrate, to speak in the Qur‘anic dictum, that ―truth ultimately prevails‖

and ―falsehood eventually vanishes‖ (al-Qur‘an, 17: 81, ―And say, ‗The truth has come,

and falsehood has passed away: falsehood is bound to pass away‘‖). This has become more

evident from several Western writings of the present time, as they are almost


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―unanimously seen‖, as Kidwai claims in the Preface, ―regretting and condemning the

earlier hate-inspired portraits of the Prophet [pbuh] and instead celebrating the

Prophet‘s illustrious contributions.‖ (p. xiii).

Through this assessment, Kidwai infers that ―Peaceful coexistence is the only way

forward for both the West and Muslims. For, in the first place it was mainly the lack of

communication and authentic sources which had prompted such otherwise humane,

sensitive creative writers as Dante, Shakespeare, Voltaire and others to include in their

works vituperative, grotesque and, of course, absolutely baseless stories directed

against the Prophet‖ (p. xii). Kidwai also rightly opines that ―Islamophobia‖, ―the

gruesome events of 9/11, 7/7, and 26/11, mindless violence in the name of faith, the

burning of a copy of the Quran and Danish cartoons‖, etc., have all ―exerted its evil

influence upon their perception of Islam and the Prophet [pbuh]‖. However, in the

charged contemporary context, what is ―more reassuring and refreshing to note‖ is

that ―a host of Western scholars [are] identifying and highlighting new positives about

Islam and the Prophet [pbuh]‖, (p. xii), as becomes much evident from the works

evaluated and examined in the third chapter. It is within this broader perspective that

one of the major objectives of Kidwai‘s Images is to ―make a modest attempt … of

bridging gaps and facilitating a better cross-cultural understanding‖ (p. xii). It is

gratifying to note that the author has aptly described the book as a means ‗to promote a

better understanding between the Muslim world and the West‘.

John V. Tolan (b. 1959), a historian of religious and cultural relations between the

West and Islam, is presently Professor of History at the University of Nantes, France

and a member of Academia Europea. Through his books and papers, he has contributed

significantly to the subject under discussion. He is discussed and counted, by Kidwai

(Images, p. xii) among those ―Western writers‖, who ―represent the new tolerant

perspective which recognizes the Prophet‘s greatness and glory‖. Some of his previous

books are Saracens: Islam in the Medieval European Imagination (2002), Sons of Ishmael:

Muslims through European Eyes in the Middle Ages (2008) and Saint Francis and the Sultan:

The Curious History of a Christian–Muslim Encounter (2009). Through these ―significant


62

works‖, he has ―pointed out the bias against Islam and the Prophet [pbuh] in the

Western writings‖ (Kidwai, Images, p. 134).

In his Faces of Muhammad, Tolan provides a scholarly overview of the history of

European perceptions of the prophet of Islam and has rightly described it as the ―fruit

of a [long] career working on the history of how European Christians have understood

Islam.‖ (p. xi). The prophet of Islam, ―Muhammad [pbuh] has always been at the

center of European discourse on Islam‖ (p. 2, Cf. p.259), as he has been ‗vilified‘

variedly in ‗changing, complex, and contradictory visions‘—ranging from (negative

portrayals like) ‗a heretic, an impostor and a pagan idol‘ to (positive depictions such

as) ‗a visionary reformer and an inspirational leader, statesman, and lawgiver‘—in the

Western literary and academic works. It is this ―hostility toward Islam and its prophet‖

(p. 2) which is narrated, scrutinized and critiqued by Tolan in this book. In other

words, the book is more ―about ‗Mahomet‘, the figure imagined and brought to life by

non-Muslim European authors‖, between 12th to 21st centuries, and less ―about

Muhammad [pbuh], prophet of Islam‖, or it is about examining ―the changing faces of

Mahomet, the many facets of Western perceptions of the prophet of Islam.‖ (p. 3).

[italics mine].

Consisting of nine (9) chapters, it is preceded by an Introduction (pp. 1-18) and

ended by a Conclusion (pp. 259-63), Notes (pp. 265-99) and Index (pp. 300-309). One of

the principal goals of this book is restoring ―the variety, ambivalence, and complexity

of European views of Muhammad [pbuh] and Islam‖, as much of ―what they [read

‗Westerners‘] have to say [about the Prophet (pbuh)] is negative, but much is

ambivalent or praiseful.‖(p. 16).

In the Introductory chapter, the author provides the rationale behind this book,

highlights the aim and goals of his study, outlines its structure and points out, very

precisely, both the Muslim and non-Muslim perceptions of the Prophet (pbuh). ―For

non-Muslim Europeans and Americans‖, Tolan points out, ―Muhammad [pbuh] has

been the object of everything from indifference, fear, or hostility to curiosity and

admiration‖, therefore, the author intends ―to offer an overview of these ‗Western‘


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views of Muhammad [pbuh].‖ (p. 8). It is noteworthy to see that the author has not

only raised question over and has given explanation for, the use of the term ‗Western‘,

but has provided an alternative phrase to it, as well (see, pp. 8-9). He prefers to use

―non-Muslim European and American perceptions of the prophet of Islam‖ (p. 9),

instead of ‗Western Perceptions‘ (pity that he has used the latter in the title himself).

Keeping such ―caveats in mind,‖ Tolan, in chapters 1—9, attempts ―to trace the history

of European perceptions of the prophet of Islam.‖ (p. 10). Moreover, after providing a

succinct outline of the chapters in this Introduction (see, pp. 10-15), Tolan claims: ―The

portrayals of the prophet Muhammad [pbuh] that I address in this book represent only

a sampling of the rich and varied portraits that European authors and artists have

sketched of the prophet of Islam.‖ (p. 15). [italics mine]. This is out of his humility, as

this book is a thorough and extensive study and one might genuinely hope that it

represents not only a sample but will be a ‗reference work‘ in this field for a long time.

One more striking feature of this introductory chapter is that Tolan, here, provides his

own perception, projection and opinion about the Prophet (pbuh), as well (see, pp. 4-8).

Chapter 1, ―Mahomet the Idol‖ (pp. 9-43) illustrates, by presenting and evaluating

the works and chronicles like Chason de Roland, Jean Bodel‘s Jeu de Saint Nicolas, and

other such writings, how Europeans portray Islam as a cult of idols or as a ―debauched

form of pagan idolatry‖ and imagine ―Mahomet‖ as the ―chief idol‖ of the Saracens (p.

21). In Chapter 2, ―Trickster and Heresiarch‖ (pp. 44-72), the author evaluates the

polemical works of such polemists as Laurent de Premierfait (1409), Petrus Alfonsi‘s

Dialogi/ Dialogues against the Jews (1110), Riccoldo da Montecroce‘s Contra legem

sarracenorum (ca. 1300) and, especially, the crusade chronicle of Guibert de Nogent‘s

Dei gesta per Francos/ Deeds of God through the Franks (1109). On the basis of his

evaluation, Tolan recapitulates the discussions of this chapter in these words: From the

12th to 16th centuries, ―the perception of Muhammad [pbuh] that dominates in Europe

is that of a heresiarch and false prophet‖ (p. 48), first presented by Nogent and

reworked by Laurent, John Lydgate and others, revealing that these ―polemical

legends … prove[d] even more tenacious‖ than the legends of the Prophet as ‗idol‘.

(pp. 71-72).


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Chapter 3, ―Pseudoprophet of the Moors‖ (pp. 73-100) focuses on the works of the

13th to 16th century ―Christian Iberian authors … jurists and chroniclers‖ (p. 74),

including Rodrigo Jimenez de Rada, the archbishop of Toledo, Mark, Alfonso el Sabio,

Pedro Pascual, Jean Germain, Nicola of Cusa, Juan de Segovia, Cardinal Juan de

Torquemada, and Juan Andres, and evaluates their denigration and (mis)

representation of Prophet‘s narration ―in order to justify the conquest of Muslim

territory and the submission of Muslim subjects to the power of Christian kings.‖ (p.

74). For example, Mark was commissioned by Rodrigo to ―translate the Qur‘an in

Latin‖ (p. 75) and in the preface to his translation he presents ―a brief hostile biography

of ‗Mafometus‘, [as] a skilled magician‖, who ―seduced barbarous peoples through

fantastic delusions‖ (p. 76); Rodrigo, in his Historica Arabica/ History of the Arabs, offers

a biography of ―Mahomat‖ with the purpose ―to show the reader ‗how, through false

revelation the sly man Mahomat from his heart crafted a pestilential virus‘‖, which

clearly shows, as Tolan highlights, that ―the essential image is same: a psuedoprophet

who concocted bogus revelations in order to obtain power‖ (p. 76); Sabio‘s Esoteria de

Espansa ―paints Mahomat as a heresiarch‖ (p. 80), but is ―relatively free of many

legendary polemical elements‖ as it includes ―elements from Muslim tradition,‖ such

as ―the story of angels purifying his heart, …, [and] the story of the miraj‖ (pp. 80-81);

Pascual‘s anti-Islamic tract Sobre la seta Mahometana includes ―a hostile description of

the life and teachings of ‗Mahomat‘‖, which is ―invariably hostile to the prophet‖ as he

intends to ―discredit Islam in the eyes of his Christian readers‖ (pp. 82, 84, 85);

Germain, in his Debat du Chrestien et du Sarrazin (1451), describes the prophet of Islam

as ―vile and dishonest Mahomet‖ (p. 88) and urges Christians ―to wage a double war

against the ‗Saracens‘: by the sword, ..., and by the pen.‖ (p. 86).

However, in the works of Nicholas and Juan de Sagovia one observes ―quite

different approach‖ (p. 87), especially in former‘s De Pace Fidei (1453), the Prophet

(pbuh) is mentioned in ―very neutral terms, as one whom the Arabs believe has

transmitted divine commandments.‖ (p. 87). About Nicholas, Tolan writes that he is

―the first Latin Christian author to see the prophet‘s life and mission as positive.‖ (p.

90). Similarly, Torquemada, in his Contra principales errors perfidy Machometi (1459)—a


65

long and verbose diatribe—―seeks to identify Machomet with the Beast from the earth

(Revelation 13: 11) and structures his tract accordingly‖ (p. 89); Andres‘s Confusion o

confutaction … del Alcoran (1515), who was reportedly a convert from Islam to

Catholicism, is (in his own words) a collection of the ―fabulous fictions,…, absurdities,

filthiness, impossibilities, lies and contradictions that Mahoma‖ prepared, principally

from the ―Alcoran‖, ―in order to dupe simple people‖ (p. 93). It became ―a best seller‖

work, which ―offered a view of Muhammad [pbuh] and the Qur‘an … based on

Muslim sources.‖ (p. 95).

This chapter ends with a note on 17th century Spain, a land that had seen ―nine

centuries of Islam‖ turned into a ―purely Catholic country‖ which is ―at pains to

expunge remaining traces of Judaism and Islam‖ and thus, replaced the ―Morisco

Muhammad with the charlatan and false prophet of northern European legend‖—the

―Mahoma.‖ (pp. 99, 100).

Chapter 4, ―Prophet of the Turks‖ (pp. 101-131), looks at ―how Catholics and

Protestants used the prophet as a rhetorical tool in their polemics against Christian

adversaries and how the study of Islam, in particular the Qur‘an, served to feed these

polemics.‖ (p. 103). The authors evaluated in this chapter are: Hans Schiltberger,

Martin Luther, Calvin, Guillaume Postel, William Rainolds, Theodore Bibliander, etc.

Take here, for example, the portrayals provided by Bibliander—whose translation

of the Qur‘an became ―an important source of information on Islam and Muhammad

for generations of Europeans‖ (p. 119)—from his Ad nominis (1542) in which he

described the prophet of Islam as a preacher, reformer, and visionary (see, pp. 111,

113). Tolan, thus, concludes with these remarks: ―The prophet was a figure of

contention among rival Christians, Protestants and Catholics…. Muhammad [pbuh]

was a positive (if flawed) figure for a few of these reformers, and even more so for

Unitarians‖ and this portrayal is totally in contrast with ―Medieval Christian portrayals

of Muhammad [(pbuh) which] were almost invariably negative.‖ (p. 131).

Chapter 5, ―Republican Revolutionary in Renaissance England‖ (pp. 132-154),

evaluates the writings of some prominent figures of 17th century England, including

Henry Stubbe, Humphrey Prideaux, Thomas Ross, etc. Among these Stubbe (1632-


66

1676), author of Originall & Progress of Mahometanims (1671), is credited, in the analysis

of Tolan, for having produced a ―glowing portrait of the prophet of Islam, indeed the

first wholly positive biography of Muhammad [pbuh] written by a European

Christian‖, in which he presented the ―Muslim prophet as a reformer and visionary.‖

(p. 133). For Nabil Mattar, Stubbe effected a ―Copernican revolution in the Study of

Islam‖ by undertaking a ―complete reassessment of Muhammad‘s [pbuh] mission and

life‖ by basing his study on Arabic sources translated into Latin (mostly), and thus

―vindicating him against earlier Christian polemicists.‖ (p. 142). Stubbe presents the

Prophet (pbuh) as ―an ‗extraordinary person‘ with a ‗great soul‘‖; one who is

―sagacious and just ruler‖ one who erected a ―prophetical monarchy‖ in Madina and

this ―Mahomet is unrecognizable to those familiar with standard European Christian

polemical biographies.‖ (pp. 142, 44, 45). In contrast to this, Ross, who is famous for his

Alcoran (1649), described the Prophet (pbuh) as a ―vicious pagan‖ (p. 137), but it was

Stubbe, and his description and depiction of the Prophet (pbuh), which ―transformed

the prophet of Islam into a republican revolutionary and the subsequent writers …

would confirm and elaborate upon this transformation.‖ (p. 154).

In Chapter 6, ―The Enlightenment Prophet: Reformer and Legislator‖ (pp. 155-183),

Tolan focuses on the 18th century France, with reference to such works as The Treatise of

the Three Impostors (1719), Vie de Mahomed of Henri, Count of Boulaimvilliers (1730), The

Koran by George Sale (1734), De religion Mohammedica of Adrian Renald (1705), Le

fanatisme of Voltaire (1741), etc. While Henri, in his work, credits the Prophet (pbuh) for

presenting ―a model of religion free from ‗priestcraft‘‖ (p. 159) and as ―a reformer who

abolished the power of clergy in order to return to direct relationship between God and

His faithful‖ and for being ―an enemy of idolatry‖ (p. 160), Sale, whose new translation

of the Qur‘an ―represented a landmark in the European study of Islam‖, presented a

―scholarly presentation of the life of Muhammad [pbuh]‖ (p. 160), for he had a

different perspective which was influenced by the scholars who had ―much more

positive view of Islam.‖ (pp. 162, 63). Though Sale presents the Prophet (pbuh) as a

―great law giver‖ (p. 164) and admires him and the Qur‘an, as well, he sees Qur‘an as

his handiwork and not as the word of God (p. 166). Similarly, Renald, Professor of


67

Oriental languages at University of Utrecht, wrote De religion in 1705, which served as

a ―mine of information for Enlightenment readers with an interest in Islam.‖ (p. 163).

Voltaire (Francois-Maried Arouet), in his drama Le fanatisme (1741), presented the

Prophet (pbuh) as ―archetype of fanaticism‖ and ―as a crass impostor, [and an]

incarnation of fanaticism.‖ However, for Tolan, what is ―much less known‖ is that in

his Philosophe he ―subsequently revised his view of the Muslim prophet‖ and came to

―see Muhammad [pbuh] as a sort of role model, a great man‖ who shaped history and

reformed religion and as a ―figure of renewal, a foil against fanaticism.‖ (p. 168).

However, it was Edward Gibbon, the British parliamentarian, essayist and

historian, who in his fifth volume of History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

(1788) provides a ―detailed portrait of Muhammad [pbuh] and the rise of Islam.‖ (p.

176). While reading his description it becomes evident that, unlike his predecessors or

contemporaries, Gibbon is ―doing history‖ (p. 182) and these statements from his

History (3: 176, 177; as quoted in Tolan, pp. 178-79) are testimony to it: ―From his

earliest youth Mahomet [Muhammad (pbuh)] was addicted to religious contemplation;

…. The faith which, under the name of Islam, he preached to his family and nation, is

compounded of an eternal truth, … . The creed of Mahomet is free from suspicion or

ambiguity; and the Koran [Qur‘an] is a glorious testimony to the unity of God. The

prophet of Mecca rejected the worship of idols and men, of stars and planets, on the

rational principles….‖ Tolan describes Gibbon‘s narrative as ―a simple, graceful

reproach to the polemical tales‖ (p. 181) and his presentation, though not fully free

from polemics, as ―a meticulous scholarship and careful exposition of the errors of his

predecessors.‖ (p. 182). He concludes this chapter with these remarkable insights: ―In

the Enlightenment, Mahomet and Islam are objects of intense interest and debate,‖

because for the writers of this period, ―Islam is ‗good to think with‘; it helps them

imagine … better ways of regulating the relations between political power and

religious authority.‖ (p. 183).

Chapter 7, ―Lawgiver, Statesman, Hero: The Romantics‘ Prophet‖ (pp. 184-209)

focuses on the works of Napoleon Bonaparte, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Victor

Hugo, Alphonse Lamartine, Thomas Carlyle, etc.—the ―romantic authors‖ who present


68

the Prophet (pbuh), mostly, in a positive way. While evaluating the works of these

writers, Tolan is of the opinion that Napoleon made the Prophet (pbuh) ―something of

a role model‖; Goethe was fascinated by Prophet‘s ―eloquence‖ and saw him ―as a poet

and a prophet‖ and Carlyle, Hugo, Lamartine and others ―dismissed the traditional

Christian polemics against the prophet [pbuh]‖ and presented him as a ―sincere,

virtuous visionary, one of the great figures of history.‖ (p. 185). For instance, in

Goethe‘s writings, the ―Muslim prophet [pbuh] and the Qur‘an were recurring

themes.‖ (p. 195). He finds and presents the Prophet (pbuh) as a ―reformer and

legislator‖, ―archetypal figure of the prophet and patriarch‖ and above all, ―as a

prophet and poet‖ (see, pp. 195, 96, 98, 202). Goethe equally admires the Qur‘an when

he writes: ―The style of the Qur‘an, in keeping with its content and purpose, is stern,

majestic, terrifying, and at times truly sublime.‖ (p. 197). He also considers the Qur‘an

as a ―miracle‖ of the Prophet (pbuh) calling it ―the prophet‘s poetic genius‖ (p. 197),

thus, he considers it as his own work, not a revealed Book.

Besides Napoleon and Goethe, numerous other 19th century ―writers of Romantic

movement‖ portrayed the Prophet (pbuh) ―in both veins, echoing the assessment of

Gibbon that he was a ‗great man‘, or, in the words of Thomas Carlyle, a ‗hero‘‖ (p. 202).

Carlyle, for instance, in his Lectures (1840) rejects the ―ridiculous legends of Mahomet

the impostor‖ and presents him ―as a hero and indeed the archetype of prophet.‖ (p.

203). Similarly, Lamartine presents the Prophet (pbuh) as ―a convinced ecstatic, a

visionary of good faith, a political enthusiast‖ (p. 206) and refuses, in Tolan‘s words,

―to see in Mahomet an impostor or hypocrite‖, but sees him as ―the greatest of men‖

(pp. 206, 07); and on the same lines, Hugo‘s Muhammad (pbuh) is a figure of ―modesty

and asceticism‖ and ―a pillar of sagacity and justice.‖ (p. 207).

Tolan ends the chapter by asserting that the Romantic writers ―painted Muhammad

[pbuh] as inspired poet, legislator, genius of the Arab nation‖—―A genius and a

reformer, yes, but, to his nation, the Arabs.‖ (p. 208).

Chapter 8, ―A Jewish Muhammad? …‖ (pp. 210-232), focuses on what the sub-title

clearly reveals: ―The view from Jewish Community of nineteenth-century Central

Europe‖ (p. 210). It evaluates the works of Abraham Geiger, Gustav Weil, Heinrich


69

Graetz and Ignaz Goldziher, manifesting how ―inevitably linked‖ are their portrayals

of Islam and Muslims, especially the Prophet (pbuh), to the ―social and intellectual

upheavals in Europe around them.‖ (p. 210).

Geiger, a leader and a founding member of ‗the reform movement in Judaism,‘

portrays the Prophet in a positive way and calls him a reformer who was ―inspired by

Jewish teachers‖ and ―transmitted to the Arabs versions (sometimes modified) of

biblical narratives and laws‖ (p. 212); Weil, for Tolan, is the ―first non-Muslim author

to take a close look at Muslim traditions‖ (p. 217), who presents the Prophet (pbuh) not

as an ―impostor, but a sincere reformer‖ (p. 219) and Graetz, in the third volume of his

massive 11-volume History of the Jews (1863-70), describes him in these words:

―Mahomet, the prophet of Mecca and Yathrib, was, it is true, no loyal son of Judaism,

but … was induced by it to give the world a new faith, founded on a lofty basis and

known as Islam.‖ (p. 222). Moreover, Goldziher, the first European enrolled in Al-

Azhar, who is famous for his Muhammedanishe Studien/ Muslim Studies (1889-90),

portrayed the Prophet (pbuh) as ―the bearer of a universal message of pure

monotheism‖ (p. 225) and he acknowledged that he ―believed in the prophecies of

Muhammad [pbuh].‖ (p. 226). It was his view of ―Islam‖ and ―his vision of

Muhammad [pbuh] as reformer and purifier of Abrahamic religion‖, which, for Tolan,

―clearly played a role in his conception of the reform needed for Judaism.‖ (p. 229).

Thus, in the opinion of Tolan, for these writers, ―thinking and writing about

Muhammad [pbuh] and Islam is inseparable from thinking and writing about Judaism

and Christianity. … Just as contemporary European Christians looked to Muhammad

[pbuh] as a spiritual hero, ..., for some nineteenth-century Jews the Muslim prophet

could serve as a heuristic model for reforming Judaism.‖ (p. 232).

In Chapter 9, ―Prophet of an Abrahamic Faith‖ (pp. 233-258), Tolan assesses and

evaluates the works of some prominent 20th century Christian writers who ―tried to

reconcile their Christian faith with the recognition of the positive, spiritual nature of

Muhammad‘s [pbuh] mission‖ and thus, begins with the French Orientalist Louis

Massignon (d. 1962) and his followers like Giulio Basetti-Sani (a Franciscan who

studied theology and Arabic in Paris) and Hans Kung (a Swiss-Catholic theologian)


70

and finally ends with Montgomery Watt (d. 2002), the ―distinguished scholar of Islam

and priest of the Scottish Episcopal Church.‖ (p. 237).

For instance, though Kung raises the question about ―Muhammad‘s [pbuh] status

as a prophet‖, yet he compares him with other ―biblical prophets‖ and considers him

―a model and an inspiration‖ for Muslims: ―In truth, Muhammad [pbuh] was and is for

persons in the Arabian world, and for many others, the religious reformer, lawgiver,

and leader; the prophet per se.‖ (p. 244). [Italics in original]. Tolan concludes his

evaluation of these writers with these remarks: ―Watt, like Massignon, Basetti-Sani,

and Kung, was committed to ecumenical dialogue and struggled to find ways to

eliminate (or at least reduce) doctrinal barriers to that dialogue. For all of them,

Christian recognition of the prophetic role of Muhammad [pbuh] was central.‖ (p. 258).

This is followed by a 5-pages ‗Conclusion‘ (pp. 259-264) in which Tolan summarizes

the overall import and impressions of the book and puts forth the following assertions,

arguments and contentions:

1) That ―the shifting perceptions of the prophet of Islam in European discourse and

culture‖, clearly reveal both the ―emerging trends in the portrayal of Muhammad

[pbuh]‖ as well as the ―great variety of conflicting images [that] coexists.‖ (p. 259).

2) A ―plethora of books [have been] written about Muhammad [pbuh] in the last two

centuries in English‖ only, ranging from ―the pious to scholarly to the polemical.‖ (p.

259).

3) It was the (de) colonization, immigration and globalization which ―brought negative

European perceptions of Islam and its prophet to the attention of Muslims.‖ (p. 259).

4) Readers may be ―surprised‖ and at times ―confused‖ by the ―sheer multiplicity and

diversity of European perceptions of the prophet of Islam‖ encountered in the

different chapters of this book, which range from the Prophet‘s (pbuh) portrayal ―as

idol, heresiarch…‖ to ―reformer, statesman, mystic, or poet‖ and one sees that ―the

lines between these portrayals are blurred‖, which have been ―crossed‖ frequently

and, at times, deliberately. (p. 260).

5) ―Polemical portraits‖ which form a significant portion of this book, cast the Prophet

(pbuh) as a ―golden idol to be toppled by righteous crusades; a scheming heresiarch; a


71

lustful, power-hungry impostor‖—images which ―live on in European and American

cultures‖ even today. (p. 260). But there are, as discussed in different chapters, many

portraits showing the Prophet (pbuh) as ―reformer, charismatic leader, wise law

giver‖, ―visionary‖ and ―a model and an inspiration.‖ (p. 261).

6) ―What emerges from this survey‖, the author projects with confidence, ―is that

Muhammad [pbuh] and Islam are integral elements of European culture‖ and that the

―Europeans have been talking about him [the Prophet (pbuh)] and arguing about him,

for centuries‖; therefore, a rethinking is needed by those who ―think that Islam and

Muhammad [pbuh] are somehow marginal to Western culture.‖ (p. 261).

7) Muslim readers will ―realize‖, instead of thinking that ―European perceptions of the

Muslim prophet were invariably hostile‖, the ―richness, variety, and ambiguity of

European perceptions of the prophet [pbuh].‖ (pp. 261-62).

Tolan ultimately concludes his book with these remarks: ―Jews, Christians, Muslims,

and others have, for almost fourteen centuries, portrayed the prophet in a great variety of

ways. … The sheer variety and diversity of portraits of Muhammad [pbuh] have become

both major fields of research and important elements in the dialogue of religions and

cultures. … [The] prophet of Islam [pbuh] appears as a mirror for European writers,

expressing their fears, hopes and ambitions. He is an integral part of ‗Western‘ culture, an

object of fascination and speculation for writers and artists for centuries: a European

Muhammad [pbuh].‖ (p. 263).

Kidwai, as a specialist in the English literature, focuses on the literary works, mostly in

Chapter 2, of medieval and modern era (including Chaucer, Marlowe, Shakespeare,

Dunn, Southey, Coleridge, Moore, Byron, Shelley, etc.) and 20th/ 21st centuries academic

works dealing (fully or partially) with the Prophet‘s biography/ Sirah in chapter 3 (like

Bodley, Hart, Schimmel, Armstrong, Donner, Adair, Daniel, James Kritzeck, Hourani,

Watt, Esposito, Quinn, Tolan, and Dimmock). Tolan, being a historian, evaluates and

analyses the Western perceptions of the prophet of Islam in the academic (mostly

polemical in nature) works of European and American authors (Latin, French, German,

English, etc.), published between 12th to 20th centuries (including Laurent de Premierfat,


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Boccaccio, Nogent, Lydgate, Alfonsi, Montecroce, Rada, Sabio, Pascual, German, Nicolas

of Cusa, Toruemeda, Andres, Luther, Calvin, Poster, Rainolds, Stubbe, Ross, Bibliander,

Prideaux, Henri, Sale, Renald, Voltaire, Gibbon, Bonaparte, Goethe, Hugo, Lamartine,

Carlyle, Geiger, Weil, Graetz, Goldziher, Massignon, Kung and Watt). Kidwai‘s book

consists of around 170 pages, and Tolan‘s is double its size (over 320 pages) and thus, is

more broad in coverage, contents, analysis and evaluation. While Kidwai focuses more on

the poetry works of the medieval and modern men of letters, naturally due to his field of

specialization, Tolan focuses on the prose works—many of them less evaluated, analysed

and critiqued earlier.

To conclude, it may be argued that Kidwai‘s Images of the Prophet Muhammad in English

Literature is an insightful, lucid and well-defined investigative critique of the

(mis)representations of the Prophet (pbuh) in the English literature, by a Muslim

specialist in the same field. Similarly, Tolan‘s Faces of Muhammad is 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, by a European non-Muslim historian. Both these works share similarities

in their theme and subject-matter; however, both are different and unique, in many ways,

in their methodology, objectivity, content-analysis and critique. Both these works are a

welcome addition to the literature on this subject and will be received with great interest

and zeal by the students and scholars of Literary Orientalism, Cross-Cultural Studies,

Islamic/ Religious Studies, alike. Thus, both are helpful in understanding fairly the

tenors, tendencies and trends in this sub-field of Literary Orientalism—aptly termed by

Mathew Dimmock as ‗the misrepresentation of a biography‘ or ‗the biography of a

misrepresentation‘.

Documents

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the West: A Review Essay