The Western Perception of Islam Between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: The Work of Nicholas of Cusa

In the Middle Ages, as Christian sources on the Islamic world show, Muslim culture was perceived as extremely threatening: there were many defenses of Christianity, like the treatise on the ＂＂mistakes＂＂ of the followers of Allah. This book shows, through an analysis of the works of Nicholas of Cusa and of other authors, that in the course of time this textual attitude was modified, as European authors aimed to point out the Christian truth in comparison with the ＂＂falsity＂＂ of Islamic theology, in order to reinforce Christian identity through the presupposition of its own absolute truth. The apologetic aim was gradually replaced by a systematic comparison based on partial translations of the Qur’an. The comparison with the ＂＂other＂＂ was also the basis for reinforcing identity, in order to demonstrate the truth and consequently the supremacy of one’s own theoretical position. ＂＂Marica Costigliolo has given us a remarkable and insightful book. It offers fresh, precise studies of Nicholas of Cusa’s two extraordinary works on Christian-Muslim relations, and links them to his political and theological writings. As Costigliolo examines Nicholas’s sources and discusses Renaissance and Byzantine writers on Islam, she redefines medieval interreligious dialogue, and traces shifting Western perceptions of Islam from ’enemy’ to ’other.’ This book thus has an ambitious agenda, and fulfills it admirably.＂＂ --Donald F. Duclow, Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Gwynedd Mercy University Marica Costigliolo received her PhD in Political Thought from the University of Genoa, Italy. She is the author of several articles on the history of philosophy. Her research is focused on the perception of alterity in the course of history.