The anti-islamic Polemic and the almost impossibility of an Understanding

Abstract

Peter The Venerable during his voyage to Hispania between 1142-1143 conceived the idea of translating to Latin the known texts concerning Mohammed life and doctrine. The aim was to build up information in orde to better refute Islam. In the second half of the century thirteen a proselytizing and missionary movement directed by the Orders of the Franciscans and Dominicans, that created centers of studies, the so called Studia Linguarum. To this epoch there belongs the Dominican Ramon Martí (1230-11284/85), author of a work who contains the first antiislamic part (De origine et progressu et fine Machometi et quadruplici reprobatione eius, also known like De Secta Machometi) and the second explanatory part of the Christian faith (Explanatio Simboli Apostolorum). This Ramon Martí's work determined the antiislamic genre, up to the point that inspired others, or simply it was an object of plagiarism and appointments without any reference to his author. Both parts of this work have come to us as two independent writings.