Dante and Islam [Hardcover]

Dante put Muhammad in one of the lowest circles of Hell. At the same time, the medieval Christian poet placed several Islamic philosophers much more honorably in Limbo. Furthermore, it has long been suggested that for much of the basic framework of the Divine Comedy Dante was indebted to apocryphal traditions about a night journey taken by Muhammad.

Dante scholars have increasingly returned to the question of Islam to explore the often surprising encounters among religious traditions that the Middle Ages afforded. This collection of essays works through what was known of the Quran and of Islamic philosophy and science in Dantes day and explores the bases for Dantes images of Muhammad and Ali. It further compels us to look at key instances of engagement among Muslims, Jews, and Christians.

This book enlightens the impact of Arabo-Islamic civilisation on Dante and makes an important contribution to the question of mutual cultural influences among Christians, Muslims and Jews in the Middle Ages.This volume gathers together some of the major figures in the study of Dante and Islam, including the seminal work of Cantarino and Corti, as well as ground-breaking articles such as Burman on medieval readers of the Latin Quran and Mallette on the figure of Muhammad. Dantes visionary poetry is placed in the context of western reception of Arabic literature as well as the dynamic field of Mediterranean Studies. A must-read volume for scholars and students of European views of the Muslim world.This is an interesting addition to the literature on Dante and his times, and Islam.Controversy has raged about Christian perspectives on Muslims in Dantes Divine Comedy. One extreme emphasizes clash of civilizations, another peaceful cohabitation. Dantes fit within orientalism remains debated. Sifting the issues requires investigating the Quran and Islamic learning, Dantes images of Muhammad, and engagement among Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Italy.