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University of Konstanz, International Conference (25 October, 31 October, 8 November 2024): Emerging Historical Perspectives on Christian-Muslim Interactions in and Around the Mediterranean (c. 630–1614)

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A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2025) | Viewed by 29835

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. James Wilson

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Guest Editor

Department of the History of Religions, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
Interests: history of the medieval Mediterranean; Christian-Muslim relations; interreligious communication

Dr. Eric Böhme

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Guest Editor

Department of the History of Religions, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
Interests: history of the medieval Mediterranean; Christian-Muslim relations; interreligious communication

Dr. Alejandro Peláez Martín

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Guest Editor

Department of the History of Religions, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
Interests: history of the medieval Mediterranean; Christian-Muslim relations; interreligious communication

Dr. Marco Demichelis

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Guest Editor

Department of Cultures, Languages and Literatures, Alma Mater University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Interests: history of the Arab–Islamic world; Islamic studies; Qur’anic studies; history of Islamic–Christian dialogue and relations
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For much of the medieval millennium, interfaith Muslim and Christian groups coexisted in urban centres and rural areas in and around the Mediterranean. The Special Issue focuses on the various exchanges that took place between these diverse religious communities during the Middle Ages (c. 630–1614) across several geographical areas, including Iberia, Sicily, southern Italy, and the Near East.

Over the past three decades, a new wave of revisionist and interdisciplinary methodologies, ranging from gender and global history to medievalism and the history of emotions, have broadened our epistemological horizons, creating innovative avenues of enquiry that provide new ways of thinking about the historical roots of Christian-Muslim relations. Yet despite these recent methodological advances, and the various ways in which they enhance our understanding of oecumenical interactions, few studies have attempted to apply these new approaches in a trans-Mediterranean context from the Umayyad-Abbasid age to the Ottoman period.

By exploring the complex and much-studied topic of Christian-Muslim relations through the shifting lens of methodologies, this Special Issue aims to foster an interdisciplinary debate that, through comparison and collaboration between scholars from different fields, bridges rigid geographical and temporal frameworks. The main objective is to provide a platform for multi-disciplinary, trans-epochal approaches, which will expand ongoing academic debates relating to this complex, multi-faceted subject.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors (emerging-historical-perspectives@uni-konstanz.de) or to Religions editorial office (religions@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors to ensure that it fits within the scope of the special issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. James Wilson
Dr. Eric Böhme
Dr. Alejandro Peláez Martín
Dr. Marco Demichelis
Guest Editors

Hossameldin Ali
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Umayyad Christianity
“Convivencia”-al-Andalus
Christian “Conciliarism” and Islam
approaches to translation
Islamic law and Christian otherness
trade activities
knights and literature
early European oriental studies
communication at times of crisis or hardship
medieval soundscapes
urban environments

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 283 KB

Open AccessArticle

Christians and Muslims of Sicily Under Aghlabid and Fāṭimid Rule: A Cultural and Historical Perspective

by Nuha Alshaar

Religions 2025, 16(10), 1291; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16101291 - 11 Oct 2025

Viewed by 3092

Abstract

Looking into early Christian–Muslim relations seems to be the outcome of greater interest in Islam transcultural encounters due to current issues of mass migration. Sicily presents an informative example of the interaction between different ethnic and religious groups over centuries. Several scholars, including Jeremy Johns, Alex Metcalfe and Julie Taylor, have explored the social and administrative position of Christians and Muslims within the complex society of Sicily, although their contributions were largely from the umbrella of Norman Sicily from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries. Thus, there is a need to shift away from the Normans’ experience to exploring Christian–Muslim relations in Sicily during the ninth through eleventh centuries, especially the expansion, society and activities during the rule of the Fāṭimids of Ifrīqiya (909–965) and their Kalbid allies (948–1053). These forms of relationships are not only important for Sicily but for the whole region of the central Mediterranean. This paper will build on the works of Umberto Rizzitano and other scholars to explore the relations between the Arabs and Muslims and the Christians in Sicily during the Muslim rule of the Island. Using Arabic and Islamic sources, including travel accounts by the Muslim geographer Ibn Ḥawqal (d. 988), this paper aims to discuss the lives of Christians and their dynamic exchanges with Muslims within the social and political complexities of Aghlabid and Fāṭimid Sicily as well as Sicily’s link to North Africa (Ifrīqiya). Sicily’s proximity to North Africa and to Europe has been an essential aspect of its history, which facilitated movement of communities between these regions. The paper will also compare the policies of the Fāṭimids towards Christians in Sicily with their relations towards their Christian subjects in Cairo, Egypt. It will show the pragmatic aspects of this relationship concerning marriage, legal status, the movement of people, and cultural and intellectual exchange. Christians and Muslims practised cultural hybridisation that brought changes in Sicily with respect to language, religion, and social habits, resulting in a distinctive Sicilian multicultural identity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue University of Konstanz, International Conference (25 October, 31 October, 8 November 2024): Emerging Historical Perspectives on Christian-Muslim Interactions in and Around the Mediterranean (c. 630–1614))

32 pages, 2350 KB

Open AccessArticle

Heresy, Empire, and Authority: Muslim–Christian Interactions in Early Modern Ottoman Legal Thought and Critical Edition of Ibn Kemāl’s Treatise on Zindīq

by Abdullah Rıdvan Gökbel

Religions 2025, 16(10), 1284; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16101284 - 9 Oct 2025

Viewed by 2612

Abstract

In early modern Islamic thought, the concept of zindīq (heretic) occupied a critical space at the intersection of theology, law, and state authority, particularly in the context of Muslim–Christian relations. One of the most significant scholarly attempts to define this term came from Ibn Kemāl (d. 940/1534), a leading Ottoman jurist and theologian, whose treatise Risāla fī mā yataʿallaq bi-lafẓ al-zindīq (Treatise on the Definition of the Word Zindīq) sought to clarify the precise meaning and legal implications of zandaqa (heresy). This article provides the first English translation and critical edition of Ibn Kemāl’s treatise, making this important work accessible to a wider scholarly audience. Through a close reading of the text, this study examines how Ibn Kemāl systematically distinguished zindīq from murtadd (apostate), mulḥid (disbeliever), and munāfiq (hypocrite), shaping Ottoman legal discourse on heresy. The present analysis further explores the theological and jurisprudential foundations Ibn Kemāl employed to define and punish heretics, particularly in light of the controversial execution of Mollā Kābid (or Mullā Qābiḍ, tr. Molla Kābız), who had asserted the superiority of Jesus over Muhammad. This case demonstrates the presence of polemical debates in the shaping of confessional boundaries in the ninth/fifteenth-century Ottoman Empire and reflects the broader challenges of Muslim–Christian interactions during this period. Additionally, this study investigates the broader implications of Ibn Kemāl’s classification of zindīq within the context of Muslim–Christian relations, considering how interfaith polemics and religious boundary-making influenced Ottoman legal thought. By contextualizing this treatise within early modern Ottoman legal and theological traditions, this study contributes to the understanding of how heresy was redefined in a multi-religious empire navigating theological, political, and interreligious challenges. Full article

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18 pages, 3555 KB

Open AccessArticle

Turks in the Teleri? Interpreting Earrings, Stripes, and Veils in Carpaccio’s Narrative Cycles

by Clare Wilde

Religions 2025, 16(10), 1260; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16101260 - 30 Sep 2025

Viewed by 1604

Abstract

The first monographic exhibition dedicated to Vittore Carpaccio (ca. 1460–1525) in the US, and the first outside of Italy, was hosted at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, from 20 Nov 2022 to 23 February 2023 (from where it went to Venice). Building on the research of art historians and experts on Venice and the larger Mediterranean region in the early modern period, this paper examines Carpaccio’s depiction of various “Turks” in some of the large narrative painting cycles (teleri) commissioned by the devotional confraternities (scuole) in Renaissance Venice. While Carpaccio’s and the larger Venetian familiarity with Islam, including Turks, has been studied, this paper compares various female figures in the St. Stephen cycle with those in his St. George cycle, situating them in the larger historical context of the commissioning scuole (Scuola di Santo Stefano and Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, respectively). While attempting to uncover the significance, if not the identities, of a few individuals who stand out from the crowd, this paper urges caution when attempting to discern social history from a painting, much as we take literary texts (particularly those written well before our own times) with a grain of salt. Full article

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20 pages, 627 KB

Open AccessArticle

Silent Bells and Howling Muslims: Auditory History and Christian–Muslim Relations in Felix Fabri’s Evagatorium

by Julia Samp

Religions 2025, 16(9), 1134; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16091134 - 30 Aug 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1720

Abstract

Contacts and conflicts between Christians and Muslims in the Mediterranean region in the context of late medieval pilgrimage to Jerusalem and their depiction in the pilgrimage reports have already been extensively analysed from the perspective of medieval studies. Although it is a fact that the relation with “the other” is based on sensory perception, little attention has been paid to the senses, especially to the significance of the auditory dimension of the reception of Christian–Muslim relations during the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and of their depiction in the pilgrimage reports. Using the example of probably the best-known pilgrimage report of the late Middel Ages, the Evagatorium by Felix Fabri (1437/8–1502), the essay shows—firstly—that the monk from Ulm added a veritable “soundtrack” to his work. Secondly, the essay emphasises the methodological challenges of such an approach, because every form of pre-modern sound has faded or rather the pre-modern sound has—apart from sound artefacts—only survived in media that are actually silent. Nevertheless, the essay points out the potential of an auditory reading of Christian–Muslim relations in the Mediterranean region that allows conclusions to be drawn about the establishment, development, and the disruption of relations between Christians and Muslims. Full article

41 pages, 424 KB

Open AccessArticle

Rationalising the First Crusade (1095–1099): Rupert of Deutz, the Roman Conquest of Jerusalem, and the Twists of Salvation History

by Alexander Marx

Religions 2025, 16(7), 919; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16070919 - 16 Jul 2025

Viewed by 3753

Abstract

Many contemporaries considered the crusader conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 as a significant moment in Salvation History. This article investigates how the reception of the Roman conquest of the city (70 CE) contributed to such an understanding. The important Benedictine exegete Rupert of Deutz (c. 1070–1129) refers to the Roman conquest in 79 passages within his opus, notably in his various biblical commentaries. This case study shows how the past event provided a rationale, exegetical and providential in nature, to understand three dimensions: (a) the role of the Jews, especially that it had been necessary to deprive them of the Holy Land; (b) the current situation of and purpose of Christians in the Holy Land; and (c) the End of Time, which was expected in Jerusalem, and which Rupert anchored already significantly in his own present. His commentary on John’s Revelation even asserted that the Roman conquest had opened the sixth of seven seals (Rev. 6:12). Therefore, the Apocalypse had been ongoing since 70 CE—but only in the Holy Land, a fact that made it necessary for Christians to travel there. The article thus demonstrates that biblical commentaries are potent sources for both crusade studies and historical research in general. Full article

16 pages, 1726 KB

Open AccessArticle

Renaissance Vienna Under the Ottoman Threat: Rethinking the Biblical Imagery of the City (1532–1559)

by Clarisse Roche

Religions 2025, 16(6), 784; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16060784 - 17 Jun 2025

Viewed by 1937

Abstract

The topos of Vienna as the “stronghold of Christendom” emerged soon after the 1529 unsuccessful siege by the Ottomans. The city’s new strategic status not only spurred the building of new urban fortifications, it also stimulated the production of a large variety of printed texts and pictures that emphasized the necessity of Christian unity among divided Christians. In this context, this article aims to shed new light on the use of one Old Testament episode whose significance and polysemy has been largely overlooked for sixteenth-century Vienna: the attack of Jerusalem by the Assyrian King Sennacherib and his subsequent defeat through divine intervention under the city wall. Instrumental in defining a common spiritual approach to the fight, this Old Testament story can be considered a seminal basis for the paradigm of Vienna as a Jerusalem of unity and unanimity. To analyze the significance of this theme in Vienna, this article will first focus on its representation in Hanns Lautensack’s 1558/1559 famous cityscape before demonstrating that it originated from a far less known source: the 1532 sermons by the Bishop Johann Fabri. Full article

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15 pages, 1088 KB

Open AccessArticle

Science Expanding Amid Political Challenges: Translation Activities During the al-Mutawakkil ‘Alā’llāh Period (232–247 H/847–861 CE)

by Samet Şenel

Religions 2025, 16(4), 430; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040430 - 27 Mar 2025

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3574

Abstract

Translation activities in the Islamic world began during the Umayyad period (41–132 H/661–750 CE) and peaked during the Abbasid era (132–656 H/750–1258 CE), spanning nearly three and a half centuries. Scholars often highlight Caliph al-Ma’mun (d. 218/833) as the most influential patron of these activities. During the reign of Caliph al-Ma’mun, translations into Arabic increased significantly, and texts in fields such as mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and astrology flourished. These activities continued to expand in scope and influence in the following decades. However, existing studies have largely overlooked the translation efforts during the reign of Caliph Mutawakkil ‘Alā’llāh (d. 247/861), despite the significant contributions of figures such as Ḥunayn b. Isḥāq (d. 260/873), Isḥāq b. Ḥunayn (d. 298/910), Ḥubaysh (d. 9th century), Yuḥannā b. Māsawayh (d. 243/857), al-Kindī (d. 256/870), and the Banū Mūsā brothers (d. 9th century). This study examines the individuals engaged in translation activities during al-Mutawakkil’s reign, highlighting their roles within the Abbasid court and intellectual networks. By reassessing the role of al-Mutawakkil’s era in the broader translation movement, this research aims to offer a more nuanced understanding of its significance within the history of science and translation in Islamic civilization. Full article

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24 pages, 4256 KB

Open AccessArticle

Symbols and Objects of Desire: The Ottoman Fashion Between Representation of the Turk and Manifestation of Power in the Italian Renaissance Peninsula

by Eros Calcara

Religions 2025, 16(1), 15; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16010015 - 27 Dec 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 6139

Abstract

The 16th century in Italy was an era of great cultural ferment, characterized by an intense exchange of ideas, goods and influences between the various European powers and the neighboring Eastern Empires, including the Ottoman Empire. Despite the climate of hostility, the “metus hostilis” towards the Turks, and the conflicts with the latter, during the 16th century, an obsession with what came from the East further developed. This article aims to explore the role of Ottoman fashion and style in the Italian Peninsula during this period, analyzing the artistic, cultural, and social influences that shaped Renaissance aesthetics and taste for these “status symbols”. Full article

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15 pages, 521 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Conciliarist Idea of Islam in the Quattrocento—Prelude and Legacy

by Marco Demichelis

Religions 2024, 15(9), 1110; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15091110 - 13 Sep 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2167

Abstract

This contribution intends to examine the impact of Conciliarism (1414–1439) on the Christian vision of Islam in the Quattrocento. The analysis of the thought of bishops such as Nicholas of Cusa (d. 1464) and John of Segovia (d. 1458) is understandable only through the evolution of the Latin world with regard to Islam, moving from the Corpus Toletanum (12th century) and the impact of the Crusades in the Levant (1096–1291) and in Europe. This forwardness is rooted in the process of “Islamic Christianization,” an analytical operation lasting three centuries, during which Koranic Christology was to play a primary role. It will be through this “Christ-centric” process that from the Renaissance, the Ottoman empire, the great enemy of Western Christianity, will be appreciated for some of its peculiar facets. The weakening of the concept of heresy and of Catholic ecclesiastical authoritarianism in decreeing what heresy was probably one of the “indirect” outcomes of that dialogical “Moment of Vision” between Christianity and Islam. The further fragmentation of the Church of Rome, after the failure of Conciliarism and the outgrowth of the reformed Churches in the 16th century, favored a preliminary different understanding of the religiosity of others. Full article

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University of Konstanz, International Conference (25 October, 31 October, 8 November 2024): Emerging Historical Perspectives on Christian-Muslim Interactions in and Around the Mediterranean (c. 630–1614)

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