Christian Account of The Life of Muhammad

This short chapter is an outside and heavily biased perspective on the life of the prophet Muhammad, by a Christian author. The text, which is translated, is considered to be one of the earliest Latin accounts of the life of the prophet Muhammad, yet the author and exact date is unknown. It goes through the rise of Muhammad portraying him as an irrational and grandiose individual by saying he was fooled by the “spirit of error [who] appeared to him in the form of a vulture and…said it was the Angel Gabriel” to believe he was a prophet. The account then decrees that he began to preach to “irrational animals” and convinced them to follow him with no reason whatsoever. It doesn’t stop with making Muhammad look foolish, but rather continues by illustrating Muhammad “giving his soul to hell” and the atrocities this prophet supposedly committed.
While the author most likely had no contact with Muhammad himself it is evident that he had a basic understanding of the Muslim tradition and view on history. Like the doors and poetry illustrated in the Puerta Vilchez reading, this account is short and almost poetic, but serving a viewpoint much different than what would have been put on the Alhambra. This basic understanding of the life of Muhammad, although objectively changed, illustrates a conviviencia that is a step above ignorance: something that would not have been possible without these cultures living together. However, despite the author’s understanding he tailors his story in such a way that Muhammad, Islam and his followers to be nothing short of barbaric. I believe this is even more dangerous than complete ignorance because this author is presenting his information as if it were fact (and to the uneducated they would take it as so). This account is almost like a scare tactic and if mass produced to the people of this time, much like we see with a certain presidential candidate over a thousand years later, it could have a real influence on the mindset of the average citizen.