The Cross and the Crescent: Christianity and Islam from Muhammad to the Reformation

by Richard Fletcher

Richard Fletcher is one of today’s most renowned medieval historians. In his latest book, he offers a brilliant survey of the relationship between the Islamic and Christian worlds from the seventh to the sixteenth centuries. He shows how, despite long periods of coexistence and overlap, religious misunderstanding between “the peoples of the book” has been present since their earliest encounters. He argues that though there were fruitful trading and cultural interactions between Islam and Christianity during the period when Arabs controlled most of the Mediterranean world, neither side was remotely interested in the actual religion of the other. Christians portrayed Muslims as bloodthirsty pagans and Muhammad as a false prophet while Islam viewed Christianity as a jumble of sects and conflicting stories.

Fletcher’s lucidity, scholarship, and gift for compression make this one of the most elegant and clear-sighted contributions to its subject for many years. It will appeal to readers of Karen Armstrong’s bestselling Islam: A Short History and to all readers looking for a better understanding of the Islamic world’s relationship to the West.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Islam, Medieval History, Medieval, Christianity

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Richard Alexander Fletcher was a historian who specialized in the medieval period. He was Professor of History at the University of York and one of the outstanding talents in English and Spanish medieval scholarship.

Reviews

[ADALBERTO DE QUEIROZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Li com grande interesse a tradução deste livro de R. Fletcher em português, trad. de Andréa Rocha (1), sobre as relações entre o Islã e o Cristianismo, dos tempos de Maomé até à reforma Protestante.
O que me entusiasmou a partir para a leitura do segundo livro deste autor ("The Conversion of Europe: From Paganism to Christianity, 371-1386 AD", ainda não traduzido em português)foi seu estilo.
A proposta de Fletcher é contar a história com o propósito de alcançar o leitor leigo e não ficar falando para (e entre) historiadores.
Ele cria um estilo, reconhecido por um crítico que lembra da expressão de Gibbon "stylist of distinction" para superar o mal-estar que Fletcher viu ser superado também em seus tempos de Academia. Como aluno de R.W.Southern ("naquela época Professor Chichele de História Medieval), parte do triunvirato que incluía Samuel Stern e Richard Walzer (time ao qual, nos avisa Fletcher, se juntavam às vezes Albert Hourani e Lorenzo Minio-Paluello, ou ambos) em aulas memoráveis (grupos de discussão informais) da Oxford University (UK).
Do desejo do adolescente encantado pela história de entender "o confronto cultural" entre o Cristianismo e o Islã na idade Média, nasce o livrinho ora traduzido (ao que saiba, o único do autor traduzido e publicado no Brasil).
Recomendo entusiasmado a leitura deste livro e outros de Richard Fletcher.
Uma nota final do humor do autor:
"...Estou ciente que a outros autores também ocorreu a adequação da expressão 'a cruz e o crescente' como um título para trabalhos sobre o assunto. No prefácio ao seu romance Summer Lightning (1929), P.G.Wodehouse admitiu a vergonha que sentiu ao ser informado de que dois romances com esse mesmo título haviam sido publicados na Inglaterra e três nos Estados Unidos. Aproveito a sua deixa e arrisco a modesta esperança de que o presente trabalho seja considerado digno de ser incluído entre os cem melhores livros chamados 'A Cruz e o Crescente'"(p.16).
(1)FLETCHER, Richard. "A Cruz e o Crescente..." Ediouro, col. Pocket de Ouro, 2010. Trad. Andréa Rocha.

[Katherine 黄爱芬 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saya bingung dgn determinasi buku ini. Setiap paragraf ke paragraf berikutnya tidak ada koherensi satu sama lain. Bab demi bab juga sama, tidak ada korelasinya. Ironisnya, inti cerita tidak sama dgn judul buku, relasi antara Islam dan Kristen sepanjang waktu selalu penuh ketegangan, peperangan dan pada masa damai juga dipenuhi syak wasangka dan saling tidak peduli. Dan sesama penulis sejarah saling menjatuhkan dan menjelekkan pihak agama yg lain. Kesimpulannya, menunggu perdamaian antara kedua agama ini sama saja seperti mengharapkan matahari terbit dari barat.

Dan yg paling menjengkelkan dari buku ini adalah ukuram font kecil sekali.

[El-Jahiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise, yet, highly informative, and a balanced view of interaction between Muslims and Christians since the 7th century. The very rich timeline, and bibliography at the backend is a huge bonus!

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It is an easy read, but it is very informative--a perfect overview of Christian/Muslim relations.

[John Russon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well-written. Very informative discussion of the relationship between the Christian and Islamic worlds in the Middle Ages.

[Reiza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Agak kurang sesuai dengan judulnya, karena hampir yang diperlihatkan sebenarnya hanyalah sebatas interaksi yang terjadi antara Islam dan Kristen serta bagaimana hubungan kedua umat beragama ini di Eropa & Timur Tengah terjalin.

Rentang waktu yang dituliskan dalam buku ini mencakup sejak zaman tumbuhnya Islam di abad ke-7 sampai ke masa keemasan Utsmani, sekitar abad ke 16. Dengan fokus geografis di daerah Eropa dan Timur Tengah. Buku ini memberikan gambaran tentang bagaimana hubungan antara kedua agama terbentuk.

Damai yang dimaksud disini sebenarnya hanyalah keadaan tanpa konflik semata, atau hidup bersinggungan tanpa ada ketegangan. Bukan konsep damai seperti saling mengerti satu sama lain dan saling berdialog. Saling curiga, menyalahkan, sinis dan hingga tahap paling tinggi - konflik bersenjata - kerap kali terjadi antara kedua belah umat beragama ini.

Apa akar permasalahan dari hubungan yang dinamis ini? Penulis menitikberatkan kepada kedua landasan otoritas yang berbeda antara Islam dan Kristen. Umat Islam mengklaim bahwa mereka adalah yang paling terakhir menerima wahyu Tuhan, sehingga merekalah pewaris wahyu Tuhan yang paling sempurna bagi umat manusia. Beberapa orang dan pemimpin Muslim pada masa itu menganggap dengan otoritas yang sedemikian, maka status umat beragama lain, khususnya Kristen, menjadi lebih rendah dibandingkan dengan mereka.

Sementara, dari pandangan umat Kristiani saat itu, umat Islam adalah umat yang tersesat dari firman Tuhan yang asli, menyimpang dari ajaran yang murni. Beberapa lalu membentuk cerita-cerita tentang perilaku umat Islam dan kebudayaan bangsa Arab yang nomaden dipandang lebih rendah dibanding umat Kristiani yang menetap di perkotaan. Pandangan ini membuat mereka sinis terhadap Islam.

Walaupun begitu, tidak berarti bahwa tidak ada upaya untuk membangun dan meningkatkan hubungan yang lebih jauh lagi antara kedua umat beragama. Kerjasama antara ilmuwan Arab Muslim dengan ilmuwan yang beragama Kristen & Yahudi di instutisi-institusi pendidikan Kekhalifahan Abbasiyah & Umayyah di Spanyol membuktikan bahwa hubungan yang lebih tinggi bisa terjadi antara keduanya. Pun di dunia Kristen Eropa, terdapat beberapa orang yang lebih suka dengan pendekatan dialog dan saling mempelajari antara satu kebudayaan dengan kebudayaan lainnya.

Buku ini juga menggambarkan bagaimana umat Islam mengalami kemunduran, sementara umat Kristen Eropa justru mulai merangkak naik. Analisis yang diajukan adalah bahwa umat Islam tidak pernah secara serius tertarik dengan nilai-nilai dan kebudayaan Kristen Eropa. Disaat yang sama, kaum cerdas cendekia mencoba menggali ilmu dan nilai-nilai Islam di beberapa tempat di dunia Islam seperti Spanyol, Sisilia, Suriah & Mesir. Gairah menggali ilmu yang diperlihatkan Islam mencapai puncaknya pada saat masa Abbasiyah, yaitu ketika banyak ilmuwan-ilmuwan Muslim yang mencari dan mendapatkan sumber keilmuan dari naskah-naskah dan pemikiran kuno para cendekiawan Yunani Kuno. Setelahnya, pencarian ilmu yang lebih tinggi lagi perlahan-lahan redup dan hilang. Ini diperlihatkan dari semakin menurunnya teks terjemahan dari bahasa Arab ke bahasa Latin pada abad-abad setelah abad ke 14-15. Menggambarkan bagaimana Eropa mulai dapat menggali dan mengolah ilmunya sendiri. Ini kemudian membentuk jalan bagi hubungan Islam-Kristen yang baru, tetapi sangat disayangkan, tidak dijelaskan lebih lanjut.

Buku ini bermanfaat bagi kita yang ingin mengetahui sudah seberapa jauh kita sebagai umat beragama, khususnya Islam dan Kristen, melangkah. Mengetahui masa lalu dapat membuat kita belajar tentang bagaimana seharusnya kita melangkah kedepan. Tentu setelah mempelajari kesalahan-kesalahan yang dibuat para pendahulu kita, demi memastikan kita tidak akan mengulangi kesalahan yang sama, demi hubungan yang semakin harmonis antara kedua penganut agama yang besar ini.

[Evaristo Montero · Rating 2 out of 5]

English review at the end


Me asombra la cantidad de calificaciones con cuatro y cinco estrellas que dan a este libro las personas que han escrito reseñas.
Personalmente, a mi me ha resultado dificil discernir si darle una o dos estrellas. Al final he decidido darle dos porque el libro se lee con mucha facilidad.
Sin embargo, lo que me ha quedado es que el señor Fletcher pontifica mucho sobre otros historiadores, y parece que se arroga ser el quien tiene toda la razon en lo que relata.
Partiendo de lo que he leído en otros libros por otros historiadores, me da la impresión de que dulcifica la relación de moros y cristianos.
Y a la hora de sacar los aspectos negativos de los musulmanes, los iguala a los de los cristianos. Pues no parece que sea asi No hace falta irse al pasado. Creo que es imposible comparar ningun pais cristiano con Iran, Afganistán, Sudan...

English review a


I am amazed at how many four and five star ratings people who have written reviews give this book.
Personally, I have found it difficult to discern whether to give it one or two stars. In the end I decided to give it two because the book is very easy to read.
However, what has remained with me is that Mr. Fletcher pontificates a lot about other historians, and it seems that he claims to be the one who is completely right in what he relates.
Based on what I have read in other books by other historians, I get the impression that it sweetens the relationship between Moors and Christians.
And when it comes to bringing out the negative aspects of Muslims, he equates them with those of Christians. Well, it doesn't seem like that. There's no need to go to the past. I think it is impossible to compare any Christian country with Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan...

[Peter Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cross and the Crescent

By Richard Fletcher

Given the state of the world and the Middle East in particular, this seemed like a relevant book to read. I also have an interest in the history of philosophy. Much of the West's knowledge of Ancient Greek philosophy comes to us via the Muslim scholars of Bagdad.

Let me quote three paragraphs from the book's Epilogue:

Wherever and whenever we direct our gaze we find a diversity in the type or the temperature of encounter. Perhaps the only safe generalization is also a blinding revelation of the obvious: the relations between Christian and Muslim during the Middle Ages were marked by the persistent failure of each to try to understand the other.

Christians first encountered Muslims as conquerors: it is readily intelligible that they should have perceived Islam as inherently martial. Given the intellectual and religious climate of the age, the only manner in which Christians could explain Islam in a fashion convincing to themselves was as an aberrant form of Christianity.

Muslims were from the first imbued with the supreme self-confidence born of the conviction that they had been chosen to receive God’s last and most complete revelation; necessarily, therefore, they looked upon Christians with scorn.

If you have an interest in the subject then I can recommend The Cross and the Crescent. It's well written and clearly well researched. It's not a very long book so would be ideal for someone starting out their own research of the interaction between Islam and Christendom.

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

Purely subjective. This book probably isn’t as bad as a 2 star rating but I really did not grasp a single thing cause I have no background in history of Christian / Islamic relations in the Middle Ages and felt like the names, years, groups etc were being thrown all over the place.

Maybe it was my own non-interest too soon, maybe something else I don’t know. Just didn’t learn too much although it was packed with info. Would’ve loved to give it a different review but subjectively speaking I did not enjoy this at all. Thankfully it was only 160 pages tho.

[George Sink · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one struck me as much more of a history book detailing events than I expected. It was compelling and illuminating, though not as "dramatic" as the title suggests. As someone who wasn't particularly knowledgeable about that period of history, I found it to be quite interesting and easy to read and understand. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone curious about the early interactions between those two faiths.

[Izaz Haque · Rating 5 out of 5]

highly recommend.

[Bill Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and contains many leads to further reading

[Taekkyu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comparison of both sides' view.

[Karolína Sagarová · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dobré porovnání vývoje křesťanství a islámu.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Fletcher does, indeed present a balanced and very well supported picture of the early encounters between Islam and Christianity. I was unaware, given all the hysteria and finger-pointing of today, that the Muslims paid very little heed to the Crusades. The Muslims had a vast empire, and considered the Crusades pinpricks against their borders. So when Muslims screech and scream about the Crusades, or Obama apologizes for them as though they were a major and devastating event in the history of Islam, I will shake my head and sigh.

The Muslims basically ignored Europe and Christendom until it was too late to catch up in terms of economics, warfare, culture, technology, and reach. Fletcher's last paragraph states that in just a matter of a few generations, "[o]ne cultural identity was exchanged for another. Such an extraordinary feat of moral redrafting or self-invention required a cultural suppleness, an adaptability, which seemed to run out in later epochs. Why did this happen?" He prompts the reader to return to the opening paragraphs of the book.

In the opening paragraphs, Fletcher describes Christian history in terms of a lot of arguing, debate and disagreement over the multiplicity and diversity of Christian texts. Christianity also established the Church, an institution with its own "organization funding and staffing." That institution contained the potential for conflict (more arguing and disagreement) over who had the authority to govern what aspects of life.

In Islam, the Koran and the Hadith were considered authoritative and only required interpretation. There was no bickering over which texts were theologically correct. There was bickering over the source of authority in terms, but not over the fact that authority over people is indivisible, There is no division between church and state.

Fletcher does not explicitly say so, but the conclusion he seems to imply is that the divisions in the Christian, later the European world, and the tradition of debate and disagreement allowed the Europeans to make much faster progress in science, technology, philosophy, economics, commerce and international conquests.

[Ardi Pierik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dit boek biedt een kort overzicht van de onderlinge relaties tussen christenen en moslims in de middeleeuwen. Het is in 2001 geschreven, maar vanwege 9/11 later gepubliceerd. Het boek is chronologisch opgezet en gaat geografisch gezien vooral over de mediterrane wereld. De voornaamste stelling van Fletcher is dat christenen en moslims op allerlei manieren onderlinge banden hadden (zowel vreedzame als vijandige), maar geen poging deden om elkaar te begrijpen.
Vlak na de veroveringen in de zevende eeuw kregen christenen relatief veel vrijheden in het door de Arabieren veroverde gebied. Toch waren zij wel duidelijk tweederangsburgers en verslechterde de situatie toen de islam groeide en het rijk meer en meer een eigen bureaucratisch apparaat kreeg.
In de grensgebieden van het Byzantijnse rijk lijkt er wel sprake te zijn geweest van een meer harmonieuze vorm van culturele uitwisseling. Ook in Spanje was er ook een vorm van vreedzaam samenleven, al wordt deze door Fletcher wel gespannen genoemd. In beide gebieden bleken mensen wel vrij gemakkelijk te wisselen van religieuze identiteit. Dit is verder ook een constante in het werk van Fletcher.
Op intellectueel niveau vond er daarentegen geen serieus godsdienstgesprek plaats. Men volstond met verwijten en spot.
Met de kruisvaardersstaten ontstond een nieuwe periode in de onderlinge betrekkingen. Aan het samenleven in die gebieden zelf besteedt Fletcher niet veel aandacht, maar hij markeert wel het ontstaan van handelsrelaties en de christelijke interesse in klassieke teksten, die men begon te vertalen. De handel bleef, maar in de late middeleeuwen nam de wetenschappelijke interesse af. Europese intellectuelen waren zelf op gang gekomen.
Fletchers werk is over het geheel genomen overtuigend. Hij sluit ook af met suggesties om verder te lezen. Tegelijk had er meer aandacht voor de kruisvaardersstaten kunnen zijn en had hij iets meer kunnen annoteren. Toch is het boek als introductie op dit interessante debat zeker aan te raden.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good short overview history of early Muslim-Christian relations, such as they were. Most of the facts are well-known (and covered separately and in greater detail in other sources.) There is nothing so much "new" here, but The Cross and the Crescent is impressive for being both concise and cogent. Fletcher's overall thesis is that relations between Islam and Christianity (or between the Dar-al-Islam and Christendom) were neither of existential hostility nor of "multiculturalism. " The Islamic world coalesced--both militarily and culturally--at a time when the "Christian" world was fragmented and incurious. The "tolerance" accorded to "people of the Book" was granted as much out of convenience as of magnanimity. The early Muslim rulers saw little in the Christian territories that they needed (with notable exceptions, of course. ) Meanwhile the horizons of the Christians were narrow by comparison. The Crusades were a disastrous example of contact between the two spheres; Mediterranean trade fostered more useful cultural cross-pollination (aside from making Venice very wealthy). By the time the Europeans were rediscovering the Greek classics (often from earlier Arabic translations,) the Arabs had become less curious and more hostile to innovations like the printing press. Though minorities in both spheres were at times tolerated or protected, relations were always tense. The medieval Christians, blinkered by their narrow worldview, sought glory in making war against "pagans." They did not understand Islam in terms of a rival monotheism with common roots with theirs. The Muslims, for their part, were indifferent to Christian narratives and as often as not occupied with conflicts amongst themselves. The Cross and the Crescent is accessible and a good underpinning to further reading on the medieval and Renaissance world.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really well-written history book. It explores the relationships between the Christian and Islamic worlds during the Middle Ages. It is a masterpiece of conciseness. In its brevity, it covers an immense amount of scholarly material without ceasing to hold the reader's attention.

The worlds of Islam and Christianity looked at each other with mutual incomprehension, but interracted in many ways from hostility in the form of the Crusades to the exchange of knowledge as well as in trade. The Arab world 'rescued' the intellectual heritage of the ancient Greeks and Persians from disappearing into obscurity, and, later, Christian scholars re-discovered these works by translating the often annotated Arabic versions of them. Muslims converted to Christianity and vice-versa. Christians explored the world of Islam, but, apparently, the Muslims were less interested in what went on outside their own sphere. In the end, the western Christian world overtook the Islamic world in many respects. This book, amongst other things, tries to look at why this happened.

This short book is full of surprises, and makes for a wonderfully informative and enjoyable read.

[John]

An excellent and very readable introduction to the porous frontiers of these two empire building monotheisms. How the East and West competed, communicated, and misunderstood each other by illustrating trade, intellectual development, and proselytizing wars. Fletcher's concentration was based on how Islam thrived and dominated, while the Westerner's Xianity stooped and slouched, until Italy and Spain came into their own economic and political power/consolidated statehoods.

The last two chapters are the most compelling to me, since I am most interested in hoe intellectualism and ideas compete; are formed in contest with each other. How the history and development of knowledge was held back or propelled forward by the confines of dogmatic religious thinking.

The other exciting aspect of Fletcher's book is that he gleefully examines how these two religions are/were fundamentally textual oppositions. How the history is intimately bound to their respective scared texts!

- from journal entry.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fletcher offers a good and reasoned examination of Christian-Muslim relations, explaining (among other things) why it has been historically that Christians saw Muslims as violent and Muslims, at least until the modern period, thought little of Christian Western Europe. The vantage may be skewed a little toward the Christian in number of details (not in point of view), maybe because the Muslim world saw so little to take notice of in Western Europe until after the period he surveys (which really ends with the Renaissance and not the Reformation). Full of small details that add up to a position of understanding that does not condescend from a modern vantage of supposed fullness of wisdom and tolerance.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy-to-read essay about the relations between Christians and Muslims, trying to explain the roots of the misunderstandings among these 2 cultures. Despite the strong links and interactions between both worlds, the coexistence has been (and undoubtedly is) difficult. It is clear that it could be a fruitful relation, but it has been poisoned historically by powerful interest.
Although the book concentrate on a remote time, it is interesting to verify that some of the arguments are still valid today. Nothing new.
Personally, it has been my second encounter with Adelard of Bath, an interesting figure that I will try to investigate about.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history of the middle east and attempts to explain some of the reasons behind the continual conflict and hatred that is so prevalent in that part of the world. I learned a great deal that I was not aware of and understand more, even though violence and hatred are never a path to meaningful life.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a fairly simple and easy to read historical account of the early relationship between the European Christian and Asian/North African Muslim civilizations, however the author failed to do any real analysis. It seemed to be just another account of the history, and fairly abbreviated, with no real thought into the effects or meaning of the interactions.

[Benji · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldnt call this book a simplistic look, its just so short that it's easy to see it this way. Similarly, he chooses a very few small goals and accomplishes them, so in that sense the book is a success. Lots of good anecdotes and the chapters are all orderly, though he speeds up in the last 50 pages.

[David Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome little book. It is essentially a snapshot (much more and larger books have been written on the subject) of the history and tension between Islam and Christianity and I think explains a lot without going into serious detail. If you read it with this in mind, it works well. I really enjoyed and certainly felt a lot more knowledgeable on the subject without being an expert.

[Katrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short book on a complicated subject but it manages to say a lot and give a great backgrounder on the way that Christianity and Islam grew to be two of the worlds most dominant religions. It just covers up to the Crusades and a little before and beyond, so just the tip of the iceberg I suppose, but it covers it well.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely insightful book, providing some much needed historical context for the conflict between the West and Islam raging today. Despite the density of the information and the serious subject matter, this is a fairly quick read.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a short book on such a large subject is bound to be cursory. It was interesting and well-written but definitely for people who haven't read anything about the topic before.

[roland simarangkir · Rating 2 out of 5]

No comment.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides and overview of Muslim-Christian relations during the Medieval period. It was well-written, but most of the information in it was not new to me.