People of the Book
Prophet Muhammad's Encounters with Christians
Craig Considine
A Hurst Publication
Reviews and Awards
"A historical meditation on the fascinating complexity of Christian belief systems in Arabia which would have been encountered by Muhammad. This is a valuable text on the ancient co-existence of faiths, which, while honouring each other, weren't afraid to draw lines in the sand about their differences."-- Barnaby Rogerson, author of The Prophet Muhammad: A Biography
"An important exploration of monotheism during the Prophet Muhammad's lifetime in seventh-century multicultural Arabia, citing the many surprising crossovers between Islam, Judaism and Christianity which deserve to be better known."-- Diana Darke, author of Stealing from the Saracens and The Merchant of Syria
"At the birth of Islam, there was a spirit of Abrahamic ecumenism--only a vague memory for some Muslims today, and totally unknown to most non-Muslims. Considine skilfully highlights that lost spirit, reminding us that religious freedom and pluralism were not alien to the world-changing mission of Prophet Muhammad."-- Mustafa Akyol, Opinion Writer, The New York Times, and Senior Fellow, Cato Institute
"In this highly accessible account of seventh-century Christian-Muslim relations, Considine takes us on a journey to the multi-ethnic, inter-faith Ummah of Prophet Muhammad, where freedom of religion existed for Christians and Jews. These historical lessons resonate today. A unique and timely work."-- Josef Meri, Historian in Interfaith Relations in the Middle East, Hamad Bin Khalifa University
