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Christian-Muslim Relations Historical
Issues
Survey of History of Christianity (Liberty University)
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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Christian-Muslim Relations: Historical Issues and Contemporary Issues in the
Church Submitted to Dr. Edward L. Smither
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
CHHI 510
Survey of the History of Christianity
by
John Smith
October 10, 2020
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Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................1
Origins of Christianity and Islam................................................................................................1
Origins of Christianity.................................................................................................................1
Origins of Islam...........................................................................................................................2
Similarities of Christianity and Islam..........................................................................................3
Differences of Christianity and Islam..........................................................................................4
Historical Conflicts........................................................................................................................5
The Byzantine Empire...................................................................................................................6
Early Islamic Battles................................................................................................................6
Christian Response and the Birth of the Crusades...................................................................6
The Crusades............................................................................................................................7
Battle of Constantinople...........................................................................................................8
Current Christian-Muslim Relations...........................................................................................9
Contemporary Challenges of the Church...................................................................................10
Conclusion....................................................................................................................................11
Bibliography.................................................................................................................................12
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Introduction
Since September 11, 2001, the United States (U.S.), along with other professing Christian
nations around the world, have seen an increase in the number of terrorist attacks carried out in
the name of Allah, the god of Islam; however, these attacks by Muslims are not new. In fact,
Christianity is partly to blame for past and present bloodshed between Muslims and Christians.
In order to understand the current state of the religious conflict between Islam and Christianity,
there must be a fundamental understanding of each religion and the history between the two
largest religions in the world. The purpose of this paper is to explore the differences between
Christianity and Islam, the historical conflicts between these two religions, the current state of
this conflict and contemporary issues in the church. It is critical to note that this paper will not
address all historical conflicts between Islam and Christianity nor will it be possible to cover all
the details of the conflicts mentioned in this paper; however, the intention is to provide a quick
overview to the deeply rooted historical conflict, in order to discuss the current state of
Christianity and Islam.
Origins of Christianity and Islam
Origins of Christianity
Christianity was born out of Judaism in the first century. Christianity started after Jesus
was crucified, raised from the dead, and ascended to heaven. Christianity expanded throughout
the Middle East. Acts of the Apostles in the Bible discusses the origins of Christianity and the
spread of the gospel away from Jerusalem. Christianity and Judaism are strongly related, as
Christianity is rooted in the Old Testament. While Judaism and Christianity both believe in the
Old Testament, Christians believe that God’s promised Messiah came in the form of Jesus. Both
Jews and Christians can point to a perfectly created universe by God, the fall of mankind by
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Adam, and use of prophets to warn His people. When sin entered the world through Adam, the
first man, there was a break in the intimacy between God and man. Because of this separation,
God set into action a rescue plan to redeem His people and to bring salvation to all who believe.
Christians believe God’s ultimate plan of redemption was through the virgin birth, perfect life,
crucifixion, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ the Nazarene. Jews, however, do not believe
Jesus was the Messiah and are still awaiting God’s promised Savior. Furthermore, Christianity
believes in one God, monotheism, and the triune nature of God: God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit.
Origins of Islam
Much like the Jews, Islam and Christian differ on how to define who Jesus was. Islam
was created by a man named Muhammad in the seventh century. Mohammed said that he
received visions that were given to him by the angel Gabriel in 610 A.D. For the next 22 years,
Mohammed put together the Islamic scriptures known as the Quran. Islam believes in one god,
monotheism, who is called Allah. In the religion of Islam, Muslims believe salvation is earned,
but not guaranteed. They practice their religion through the five pillars of faith. These pillars
include their declaring faith in Allah, praying five times a day toward Mecca, giving to the poor,
fasting during Ramadan, and traveling to Kaaba, a sacred place of worship in Mecca called the
Hajj. While Muhammad is seen as a very important prophet in Islam; he is not looked at as
divine, rather it is the Quran that is divine. In addition, Islam acknowledges Jesus Christ the
Nazarene; however, this religion believes Jesus was a good teacher and prophet, but does not
acknowledge His deity, the crucifixion, or resurrection from the dead. Islam believes in one god,
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Allah, and that the triune God of Christianity does not worship one god, monotheism, but
multiple gods, polytheism, which goes directly against what Muslims believe.1
Similarities of Christianity and Islam
Although Islam and Christianity are very different in their interpretation of Jesus, they
are similar in their zealous pursuit of spreading their religion. When Jesus ascended into heaven,
He told His disciples and followers in Acts 1:8, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth.” This begins the spread of the gospel, or good news of Jesus Christ
and His redemptive sacrifice, to the ends of the world. Similarly, the Quran tells Islamic
followers to “Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation, and reason with
them in the better way. Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is
Best Aware of those who go aright.” (16:125) Just as Jesus told his disciples the spread the
Gospel to the ends of the earth, the Quran increases this mandate by adding that Muslims should
reason or argue with those who do not share their beliefs. Further comparisons between these
religions will be excluded from this paper due to the necessary brevity on the background of
Christianity and Islam and the conflicting evidence between scholars on the comparisons
between the religions2. Conflicts between two of the largest religions in the world3 battling to
share their good news with zeal was bound to cause issues. Since both of these religions started
in the Middle East, the beginnings of these conflicts between Muslims and Christians started
there.
1Fred Donner (2010). Muhammad and the believers: At the origins of Islam. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press
2Samuel L. Boyd (2019). Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: The problem of “Abrahamic religions” and
the possibilities of comparison. Religion Compass
3Hugh Goddard (2000). A History of Christian-Muslim Relations. New Amsterdam Publishing
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Differences of Christianity and Islam
The differences between Islam and Christianity’s interpretation of Jesus and the similar
message between the two religions to create followers has caused numerous conflicts over the
years. This tumultuous history is summed up by listing the interactions between Christians and
Muslim in A History of Christian-Muslim Relations by Hugh Goddard4. The following table has
been adapted for this paper from his book in order to show the numerous conflicts between the
two religions that are not covered in this paper:
Historical Christian Muslim Interactions
Date Description
634 Fall of Jerusalem to Muslims
711 Muslim invasion of Spain
1099 First Crusade captures Jerusalem
1187 Salah al-Din recaptures Jerusalem
1204 Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople
1291 Fall of Acre – end of crusading kingdoms
1389 Battle of Kosovo
1453 Ottoman conquest of Constantinople
1492 Fall of Granada – completion of Reconquista
1497 Vasco da Gama sails around Cape of Good Hope
Historical Conflicts
During the conception of Islam, Muhammad was a well-known and successful
commander5. Historian Richard Gabriel notes, “the idea of Muhammad as a military man will be
new to many. Yet he was a truly great general. In the space of a single decade he fought eight
major battles, led eighteen raids, and planned another thirty-eight military operations where
others were in command but operating under his orders and strategic direction” (2007). Gabriel
attributes the birth of insurgency warfare, or unconventional warfare tactic, to Muhammad6. This
4Hugh Goddard (2000). A History of Christian-Muslim Relations. New Amsterdam Publishing
5Richard A. Gabriel (2007). Muhammad: The Warrior Prophet. HistoryNet. Retrieved
from https://www.historynet.com/muhammad-the-warrior-prophet.htm
6Richard A. Gabriel. (2007) Muhammad: Islam's First Great General Volume 11 of Campaigns and
Commanders. University of Oklahoma Press
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military tactic transformed the traditional Arabian warfare and “resulted in the creation of the
ancient world’s first army motivated by a coherent system of ideological belief” due to
Muhammad’s belief in Islam and status as a messenger of god (Gabriel, 2007, para. 4).
Muhammad believed in the necessity of holy wars, called jihad7 and martyrdom, called shahada,
for Muslims to defeat Christianity and Christian strongholds in Spain and France8. This ideology
awoke the Christian pacifistic view on war and provided the justification needed for the
Crusades9.
The Byzantine Empire
Early Islamic Battles
During an early conflict in 1071 between the Islam and Christianity, the most powerful
force of the Muslim world, the Seljuk Turks, at the Battle of Manizkert successfully overtook
the Byzantine army. In addition, the Seljuk Turks under Sultan Alp Arslan gained control over a
large portion of Asia Minor, which mostly consists of modern-day Turkey. This defeat cause
great concern for Alexios Komnenos the current Byzantine Emperor. Interestingly, Manuel II
Palagilogos the 15th censure Byzantine emperor stated "Show me just what Muhammad brought
that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to
spread by the sword the faith he preached.10" This points directly back to Muhammad’s belief in
insurgency warfare, ethnic cleansing, and guerrilla tactics. This Byzantine loss cause great
concern because this defeat gave the Turks a stronghold near Constantinople, the capital of
7Gabriel (2007). Muhammad.
8Richard A. Gabriel. (2007) Muhammad: Islam's First Great General Volume 11 of Campaigns and
Commanders. University of Oklahoma Press
9Ibid.
10 Steven Gertz. (2008) Christians and Muslims: Divided by History. Retrieved from
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2008/august/christians-and-muslims-divided-by-history.html
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Eastern Christianity. This victory by the Seljuk Turks allowed them to establish the Sultanate of
Rûm, which allowed the Turks to continue over taking the Byzantine Empire little by little.
Christian Response and the Birth of the Crusades
In 1095, Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus requested assistance from Pope Urban II
in driving out the Turks, because the Muslims had conquered Syria, northern Mesopotamia, and
Palestine, including Jerusalem by this time. Comnenus had watched his empire shrink, and knew
he needed help pushing the Turks out. During this time there were also reports of Christians
being mistreated and persecution against Christians living in the area or traveling to Jerusalem
by Muslims. During this time, Christians and Jews were protected under the Islamic dhimmi
status, which translates as “protected ones” and allowed Christians and Jews protection under
Muslim control. Before the First Crusade began, Muhammad and his men overtook parts of the
Middle East, Africa, and Europe, Christians lived in these areas without being persecuted11.
Christians did have to pay additional taxes and could not convert non-Christians to Christianity.
Christian men were not permitted to marry Muslim women; although, Muslim men could marry
Christian women. Both Islam and Christianity preach the same message of living peacefully.
This dhimmī12 status allowed Christians and Jews to own property and were equal under the law
in contracts; however, the reports to the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus that were
contrary to the protected status for Christians and Jews nullified the protection and led to Pope
Urban II to proclaim the first crusade at Council of Clermont. According to historian Sidney
Griffiths (2010) for almost 400 years from the rise of Muhammed to the beginning of the
Crusades, Christians lived under protected Muslim rule influencing the culture and commerce of
the land13; however, this relationship changed with the first crusade.
11 Sidney Griffith. (2010). The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of
Islam. Princeton University Press.
12 Ibid.
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The Crusades
The Pope’s call to arms was encouraged even more by French priest, Peter the Hermit
who led a futile attempt to drive out the Turks. The attack was not successful and those who
lived retreated to Constantinople, where Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother Baldwin of
Boulogne lead a well-organized army to regain to Holy Land. Reports of the number of soldiers
are around 60,000 to 100,000. The crusaders first victory was Nicaea where they regained the
city from the Turks, in 1097. In 1098 Count Bohemond and his army of crusaders captured
Antioch. The crusade then makes its way down to Jerusalem where they were met with great
resistance. The Fatimid governor Iftikhar al-Dawla who was in control of the armies in
Jerusalem heard of the crusaders coming. In preparation Iftikhar poison many of the wells and
water sources. This had a major impact on the crusaders as they were not able to have easy
access to water during the 7- week siege. However, the crusaders were able to slip their armies
into two divisions, thus requiring al-Dawla to divide his forces. The crusaders were able to
overtake the City of Jerusalem in July of 1099. The people elected Godfrey to be king of
Jerusalem; however, he refused to be called king or wear a crown. Godfrey did not want to
disrespect what Jesus went through in Jerusalem, as the true king.
The capture of Jerusalem in 1099 was the last real success of the crusaders. However,
there were several attempts by Christians to retake the city including the Third Crusade in which
Richard the Lion Heart made great advances and retook much of Palestine. However, Richard
and his army were not able to retake Jerusalem which made this crusade a failure. During the
Sixth Crusade in 1229, Emperor Frederick II negotiation with al-Kamil, and Jerusalem was
13 Sidney Griffith. (2010). The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of
Islam. Princeton University Press.
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peaceably transferred to the crusaders. They made a peace treaty that would last 10 years.
Muslims regained control of Jerusalem in 1244 and held onto the city till World War I, 1917.
Battle of Constantinople
Another historical conflict between these two religions occurred in 1453 when the
Muslim Ottoman Empire overtook Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire's capital, notably
Christian. The battle over Constantinople was a 53-day battle that was led by Sultan Mehmed II
of the Ottomans, and the defenders of Constantinople were led by Emperor Constantine XI
Palaiologos. This battle ended with the Ottoman Empire defeating and pushing back the
Byzantine Empire, many of whom retreated to Italy. This was not just a blow to the Byzantine
Empire, but also a strategic military move. This allowed the Ottoman Empire to control a key
piece of land that separated Europe and Asia Minor. The Muslim Ottomans use the position as a
springboard to advance into Europe and spread Islamic faith and ideology.
Current Christian-Muslim Relations
These conflicts continued between Muslims and Christians and this conflict is far from
over, as evidenced by numerous current conflicts in the Middle East. A vast majority of these
current conflicts are due to the ideology first presented by Muhammad in jihad and ethnic
cleansings in the seventh century. In the U.S., September 11th, 2001, stands as a stark reminder
of the terrorist attacks by members of the Taliban, Islamic extremist fighters and the ruling group
in Afghanistan14, carrying out Muhammad’s martyrdom to push the Islamic faith forward. In
response to these attacks, the United States saw an increase in anti-Muslim incidents15. The U.S.
military responded by sending men and women to Afghanistan with the intention to stop the
14 Jürgen Kleiner (2000) The Taliban and Islam, Diplomacy & Statecraft, 11:1, 19-32,
DOI: 10.1080/09592290008406139
15 Costas Panagopoulos. (2006). Trends: Arab and Muslim Americans and Islam in the Aftermath of 9/11.
The Public Opinion Quarterly. Vol. 70, No. 4, pp. 608-624. Retrieved from
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4124213
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Taliban attacks in Operation Enduring Freedom16. Operation Iraqi Freedom began on March 20,
2003, after the United Nations found Saddam Hussein in breach of the policy which “prohibits
stockpiling and importing weapons of mass destruction” (Clyde, 2003). Iraqi Freedom ended on
December 15, 2011; however, after the withdrawal of military troops by coalition forces, Islamic
State of Iraq (ISIS), Muslim extremist, went into Iraq and Syria and started destroying the
infostructure the coalition forces helped establish while occupying Iraq. ISIS also cause
“widespread casualties” (Clyde, 2003) to the citizens; with this Operation Inherent Resolve was
launched on October 17, 2014.
Contemporary Challenges of the Church
The increased anti-Muslim attitude and fears caused by 9/11 in the U.S. and the current
wars between the U.S. and Afghanistan have impacted ministry opportunities for Christians.
Many missionaries are having to find creative ways to get into Muslim countries because “most
Muslim countries do not issue visas to people who identify themselves as missionaries. So
Christian missionaries list their occupation as teacher, doctor, nurse, geologist, urban planner,
artist, businessperson or engineer17”. This reveals the high tension between Christians and
Muslims. Future missions should focus on strategic employment in these Muslims countries.
Christians must excel in a profession to have an opportunity to enter Middle Eastern historically
Muslim countries. This will permit Christians to build relationships with their Muslim co-
workers and earn the opportunity to talk to these co-workers about their Christian faith.
16 Mark Clyde. (2003). Islam: A Primer - Congressional Research Service Report for Congress. Naval History and
Heritage Command. Retrieved from https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-
al phabetically/i/islam-a-primer-congressional-research-service-report-for-congress.html
17 Bill Broadway. (2001). Missionaries Go Quietly Where Gospel Is Unwelcome. The Washington Post.
Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2001/12/01/missionaries-go-quietly-where-gospel-
is- unwelcome/c26c8108-8b3b-477a-b0c8-8e75596a51a0/
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In addition to the shift in how the church sends missionaries to the Middle East, the
contemporary church lacks a full understanding of the 400 years of peaceful coexistence between
Christians and Muslims from the time of Muhammed until the start of the first crusade18.
Historian Michael Penn (2015, 2017) argues that much of the Arabic-Christian theologians who
lived during this time spoke and wrote in Arabic19 20and thus, traditional historians did not focus
much attention on writings outside the tradition Greek or Latin writings. Because of this, the
church has a very limited view of how the early church impacted the Muslim communities they
lived in and under prior to the start of the Crusades.
Conclusion
While this paper was just a brief overview of some of the many and devastating conflicts
that have occurred over the years between Muslims and Christians, it is easy to see how and why
there is still tensions between these two religions today. The lack of historical context of the
peaceful living between the two groups has impacted the view of Christians towards Muslims
today. Both religious groups are still feeling the impact of many of the documented historical
battles and crusades that were fought in the name of their religion. Middle Eastern Islamic
countries continue to deny entry to Christians while Christians continue to lack the
understanding of the historical view of their forefathers on how to peacefully live with Muslims.
Sidney Griffiths’ (2013) Bible in Arabic focuses on the early life of Christians and the writings of
the Bible in Arabic that allow the church to see a small glimpse of the religious life of Christians
18 Michael Phillip Penn. (2015). When Christians First Met Muslims. University of California Press.
19 Ibid
20 Michael Phillip Penn (2017) Envisioning Islam: Syriac Christians and the Early Muslim World. University
of California Press.
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under Muslim rule21 because the earliest Christians to encounter Muslims spoke Arabic22 and
were fully integrated into the culture. There is a large call-to-arms for Christians to equip
themselves for the peaceful living between Muslims and Christians by understanding how Arabic
Christians thrived centuries ago, in order to spread the only true gospel of Jesus Christ today.
21 Sidney Griffiths. (2013) The Bible in Arabic: The Scriptures of the "People of the Book" in the Language
of Islam (Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World. Princeton University Press.
22 Patrick Madigan (2016), Envisioning Islam: Syriac Christians and the Early Muslim World. By Michael
Philip Penn. Pp. 294, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press
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Bibliography
Boyd, S.L. (2019). Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: The problem of “Abrahamic religions” and
the possibilities of comparison. Religion Compass.
Broadway, B. (2001). Missionaries Go Quietly Where Gospel Is Unwelcome. The
Washington Post. Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2001/12/01/missionaries-go-quietly-
where-gospel-is-unwelcome/c26c8108-8b3b-477a-b0c8-8e75596a51a0/
Clyde, M. (2003). Islam: A Primer - Congressional Research Service Report for Congress.
Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved from
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-
alphabetically/i/islam-a-primer-congressional-research-service-report-for-congress.html
Donner, F. (2010). Muhammad and the believers: At the origins of Islam.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Gabriel, R.A. (2007) Muhammad: Islam's First Great General Volume 11 of Campaigns and
Commanders. University of Oklahoma Press
Gertz, S. (2008) Christians and Muslims: Divided by History. Christianity Today.
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Amsterdam
Publishing.
Griffith, S. (2008). The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the
World of Islam. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Griffith, S. (2013). The Bible in Arabic: The scriptures of the “People of the Book” in the
language of Islam. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
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Kleiner, J. (2000) The Taliban and Islam, Diplomacy & Statecraft, 11:1, 19-32, DOI:
10.1080/09592290008406139
Madigan, P. (2015). Envisioning Islam: Syriac Christians and the Early Muslim World.
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org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1111/heyj.121_12307
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9/11. The Public Opinion Quarterly. Vol. 70, No. 4, pp. 608-624. Retrieved from
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4124213
