LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University

FRANCISCO: POLEMICAL WORKS AGAINST ISLAM, 1529-43 49
paraphrased translation left the press in Wittenberg by April 1542. And like
the German translation of Dionysius’ Against the Qur’ân and the Sect of the
Muhammadans it also contained a significant amount of Qur’ânic citations.
However, unlike the former work, it attempted to engage Islam on its own
grounds. Luther argued from internal (Qur’ân citations) and external
evidence (Islamic traditions and history) that the Qur’ân was a contradictory
and spurious book devoid of God’s revelation. The original author wrote the
work as a polemical textbook to enable his fellow missionaries to “confute
the principle obscenities of the Qur’an, and to equip Christians so that they
might be able to call the followers of Islam back to God.” 36 Luther translated
it so that his readers would “know what an abominable religion
Muhammad’s faith is”, so that they would be “strengthened in their Christian
faith.” 37
A month following the publication of Luther’s Refutation Bibliander’s
first contribution to Protestant studies of Islam left the press in Basel. It was
entitled A Consultation to the People of the Christian Name. He offered
three reasons for publishing the work. First, he wanted to explain to
Christians why the Turks continued to be victorious. He did this by tracing
Muhammad’s teachings to Christian heresy, particularly Nestorianism and
Judaism. Then, since it was obvious that the Islamic Turks were heretics,
there could only be one explanation for their consistent victories: God was
using them to punish an unrepentant Europe. The second reason, therefore,
for writing the Consultation was to call Europe into repentance so that God
might withdraw His punishment. And the final reason was to provide
Christians with enough knowledge about Islam to strengthen their faith.
Bibliander had soldiers in mind especially, so that if they were captured they
would not fall into apostasy. 38 His discussion of Islam focused on its history.
That is, he develops a rather extensive account of Muhammad’s life in order
to prove that the prophet of Islam was a charlatan. Through the aid of
Christian heretics and Jewish conspirators as well as black magic, he sought
to impose his “new civil and religious” law on the people of Arabia,
Pilgrim and Traveller to the Heart of Islam” and “De Lege Saracenorum According to
Riccoldo da Monte Croce”. Both are located in the Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-
Faith Studies 1.1 (Spring 1999): 65-102; 2.2 (Autumn 2000): 115-40 (respectively).
36 Riccoldo da Monte di Croce, Contra Legem Saracenorum, 63, in Jean-Marie Merigoux,
ed., “L’ouvrage”, Fede e controversia nel ’300 e ’500. Memorie Domenicane, nuova serie, 15
(1986), 60-144
37 Luther, Verlegung, Aiii; WA 53:273-74.
38 Bibliander, Ad nominis christiani socios consultatio, quanam ratione Turcarum dira
potentia repelli possit ac debeat a populo Christiano (Basel: Brylinger, 1542), 5r. Cf. Rudolf
Pfister, “Das Türkenbüchlein Theodor Biblianders”, Theologische Zeitschrift 9 (1953): 438-
54.