University of Basra organizes a symposium on the image of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in medieval Europe

The History Department at the College of Education for Girls organized a symposium on the image of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in medieval Europe, presented by lecturer Abbas Qasim Al-Maryani.

The symposium discussed the beginnings of Islam and the ways in which the image of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was transmitted to Europe in the Middle Ages, through three routes: the Levant, Cyprus, the Maghreb, Andalusia, and the Aghlabid state in Tunisia, Sicily.

The symposium touched on the myths and legends insulting to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that some European monks, priests, and scholars adopted and spread in the Middle Ages, and the sources they relied on in that regard.

 The symposium concluded that these offensive myths and legends were not the result of coincidence, but rather were reflections of the reality that Europe was experiencing at the time, and the Church’s control over it. It attempted to distort the image of Islam and its prophet, and sought to link the principles and legislation of the Islamic religion to the Jewish and Christian religions.