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this is a sub-article to Non-Islamic views of Muhammad

This article is concerned with the historical changes and development of the Christian view of Muhammad. Mawlid, Mawlid an-Nabi or Milad al-Nabi (Arabic: ‎) is the celebration of the birthday of Muhammad, the final prophet of Islam; also known as The Seal of the Prophets. Shia Muslims celebrate this day on the 17th of Rabi-ul-Awwal, coinciding with the birth date of the... Islamic poetry is rich in the praise of prophet Muhammad. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... The historicity of Muhammad concerns the historical authenticity of Muhammad. ... This is a sub-article to Criticism of Islam and Non-Muslim view of Muhammad Muslims consider Muhammad to be the final and greatest prophet, the messenger of the final revelation that he called the Qur’an. ... Depictions of Muhammad, drawings of Muhammad are often contentious. ... There is no singular non-Muslim view of Muhammad. ...

While Muslim tradition has glorified Muhammad over centuries, Christian tradition has widely vilified him.^{[1][citation needed]}

Middle Ages

"Of all the world's great men none has been so much maligned as Muhammad", Watt states.^[2] The medieval scholars and churchmen held that Islam was the work of Muhammad who in turn was inspired by Satan. Fantastic legends and fables emerged. For example, in order to show that Muhammad was the anti-Christ, it was asserted that Muhammad died not in the year 632 but in the year 666 - the number of the Beast. A verbal expression of Christian contempt for Islam was expressed in turning his name from Muhammad to Mahound, the "devil incarnate". ^[3] This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

Muhammad was frequently calumnized and made a subject of ridiculous legends taught by crusading preachers to stir up hate against Muslims as fact, and usually confirmed to pious Christians that Muhammad had come to a bad end.^[4] According to one version after falling into a drunken stupor he had been eaten by a herd of swine, and this was ascribed to the reason why Muslims proscribed consumption of liquor and pork.^[4] Leggenda di Maometto is an example of those in which he is taught from childhood the black arts by a heretical Christian villain who escaped imprisonment by the Church to Arabia and set up a false religion by selectively choosing and perverting text from the Bible and the Old Testament to set up Islam. It also ascribed the Muslim holiday of Friday "dies veneris" (day of Venus) vs. the Jewish (Saturday) and the Christian (Sunday) to his followers depravity and reflected in their multiplicity of wives.^[4] During the Middle Ages, especially in places where there was frequent Christian-Muslim conflict, it was popular to depict Muhammad being tortured by the demons in Hell. One such example is in Dante's The Divine Comedy in which Muhammad is in the ninth ditch of the eighth circle of hell, the realm for those who have caused schism. One common allegation laid against Muhammad was that he was an impostor, who to satisfy his ambition and his lust propagated religious teachings which he himself knew to be false. At one point Muhammad was transformed into Mahound, the prince of darkness.^[5] A somewhat different interpretation appears in the 13th century Estoire del Saint Grail, the first book in the vast Arthurian cycle, the Lancelot-Grail. In describing the travels of Joseph of Arimathea, keeper of the Holy Grail, the author says most residents of the Middle East were pagans until the coming Muhammad, shown here as a true prophet sent by God to bring Christianity to the region. This failed when Muhammad's pride caused him to alter God's wishes, thereby deceiving his followers. Nevertheless, Muhammad's religion is portrayed as greatly superior to paganism.^[6] A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... St. ... The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library of Congress. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... Marble Venus of the Capitoline Venus type, Roman (British Museum) Venus was a major Roman goddess principally associated with love and beauty, the rough equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. ... Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180) A hell, according to many religious beliefs, is an afterlife of suffering where the wicked or unrighteous dead are punished. ... Dante redirects here. ... Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, with the spheres of Heaven above, in Michelinos fresco. ... In Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, Malebolge is the eighth circle of Hell. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... A bronze Arthur in plate armour with visor raised and with jousting shield wearing Kastenbrust armour (early 15c) by Peter Vischer, typical of later anachronistic depictions of Arthur. ... The Lancelot-Grail, also known as the prose Lancelot, the Vulgate Cycle, or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is a major source of Arthurian legend. ... Joseph of Arimathea, according to the Gospels, was the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. ... For historical artifacts associated with the cup of the Last Supper, see Holy Chalice. ...

Some Christians believed Muslims worshipped Muhammad, while others simply believed he was a Christian heretic.^[7]Still other medieval European literature often referred to Muslims as "pagans", or by sobriquets such as the paynim foe. These depictions such as those in the Song of Roland represent Muslims worshipping Muhammad (spelt e.g. 'Mahom' and 'Mahumet') as a god, and depict them worshipping various deities in the form of "idols", ranging from Apollo to Lucifer, but ascribing to them a chief deity known as "Termagant".^[8] John of Damascus coined the pejorative phrase "false prophet".^[9] and Alvarus of Cordoba proclaimed him the Anti-Christ in the 9th century. The number of the beast "666" was used to represent the period of time Muslims would hold sway of the land. In the 12th century Peter the Venerable saw him as the precursor to the Anti-Christ, and successor of Arius.^[7]When the Knights Templar were being tried for heresy reference was often made to their worship of a demon Baphomet, which was notable by implication for its similarity to the common rendition of Muhammad's name used by Christian writers of the time, Mahomet. All these and other variations on the theme were all set in the "temper of the times" of what was seen as an Muslim-Christian conflict as Medieval Europe was building a concept of "the great enemy" in the wake of the quickfire success of the Muslims through a series of conquests shortly after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, as well as the lack of real information in the West of the mysterious east.^[5] Pagans may mean: Paganism, a belief in natural religion. ... The Song of Roland (La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th century Old French epic poem about the Battle of Roncevaux Pass (or Roncesvalles) fought by Roland of the Brittany Marches and his fellow paladins. ... The term idol (from Latin idolum: image, form) is used in various contexts: In religion, man-made worshipped articles are idols; their worship is called idolatry. ... Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Ancient Greek , Apóllōn; or , Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros, was the archer-god of medicine and healing, light, truth, archery and also a bringer of death... Lucifer, as depicted in Collin de Plancys Dictionnaire Infernal (1863). ... Termagant, in European fantasy, was the fictional name given to a supposed deity worshipped by Muslims. ... John of Damascus (Latin: Iohannes Damascenus or Johannes Damascenus also known as John Damascene, Chrysorrhoas, streaming with gold—i. ... False prophet is a label given to a person who is viewed as illegitimately claiming charismatic authority within a religious group. ... Alvaro of Córdoba (Alvarus Paulus Cordubensis) (d. ... In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist is a person or other entity that is the embodiment of evil and utterly opposed to truth. ... The Number of the Beast is a concept from the Book of Revelation of the New Testament of the Christian bible. ... Peter the Venerable (about 1092 - December 25, 1156 in Cluny), also known as Peter of Montboissier, was born to Raingarde in Auvergne. ... Arius (AD/CE 256 - 336, poss. ... The Seal of the Knights Templar This article is about the medieval military order. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Mahomet is an old spelling of Muhammad a community in Illinois This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Age of the Caliphs The initial Muslim conquests (632-732) began after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and were marked by a century of rapid Arab expansion beyond the Arabian peninsula under the Rashidun and Umayyad caliphs, ending with the Battle of Tours— resulting in a vast Muslim... The Western Roman Empire is the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 286. ...

There are accusations that the Knights Templar worshipped an idol named Baphomet. The etymology of this idol is questioned, and some speculate that it is a variation of a deformation of the Latinised name of Muhammad. The Seal of the Knights Templar This article is about the medieval military order. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

Early Middle Ages

Translation of the work of John of Damascus provided West with some information about Muhammad's life but "was nearly always used abusively." Another influential source was the “Letters of a Saracen” written by an Oriental Christian and translated into Latin from Arabic. From the 9th century onwards, highly negative biographies of Muhammad were written in Latin. ^[10] John of Damascus (Latin: Iohannes Damascenus or Johannes Damascenus also known as John Damascene, Chrysorrhoas, streaming with gold—i. ...

West also gained some knowledge of Muhammad through the Mozarabs of Spain in the 11th century. In 12th century, the Qur'an was ordered to be translated into Latin so that its teaching could be refuted by Christian scholars. ^[10]

See also

• Islamic view of Jesus
• Louis Massignon

Islam holds Jesus (Arabic: ‎ `Īsā) to have been a messenger and a prophet of God and the Messiah (The concept of prophecy in Islam is broader than Judaism and Christianity since Muslims distinguish between messengers and prophets. Unlike prophets, messengers are assured of success. ... Louis Massignon (July 25, 1883–October 31, 1962) was a French scholar of Islam and its history. ...

References

Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable - sometimes referred to simply as Brewers - is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions and figures, whether historical or mythical. ...

Further reading

• Ernst, Carl (2004). Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-5577-4. 
• Esposito, John (1998). Islam: The Straight Path. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511233-4. 
• Esposito, John (1999). The Islamic Threat: Myth Or Reality?. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513076-6. 
• Reeves, Minou (2003). Muhammad in Europe: A Thousand Years of Western Myth-Making. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0814775646. 
• Schimmel, Annemarie (1992). Islam: An Introduction. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-1327-6. 
• Schimmel, Annemarie (1995). Mystische Dimensionen des Islam. Insel, Frankfurt. ISBN 3458334157. 
• Watt, W. Montgomery (1961). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-881078-4. 
• Watt, W. Montgomery (1974). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-881078-4.  New Edition.

Carl W. Ernst is a scholar of Islamic studies. ... Professor John Esposito John Louis Esposito (born 19 May 1940, Brooklyn, New York City) is a professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. ... Professor John Esposito John Louis Esposito (born 19 May 1940, Brooklyn, New York City) is a professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. ... Annemarie Schimmel (April 7, 1922 - January 26, 2003) was a well known and very influential German Iranologist and scholar who wrote extensively on Islam and Sufism. ... Annemarie Schimmel (April 7, 1922 - January 26, 2003) was a well known and very influential German Iranologist and scholar who wrote extensively on Islam and Sufism. ... William Montgomery Watt is a English Islamic scholar. ... William Montgomery Watt is a English Islamic scholar. ...

Encyclopedias

• "Various articles". Encyclopedia of Islam Online. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912.
• "Various articles". The New Encyclopedia Britannica. (2005). Encyclopedia Britannica, Incorporated; Rev Ed edition. ISBN 978-1593392369.