30/06/2026 14:30 - 15:30

HALL: Pola - A206b

Contact: Bottanelli V.

Chair: Badini F.

While the history of Christian missions during the early modern expansion of empires has extensively documented encounters with indigenous, polytheistic, or non-Abrahamic traditions, the specific interactions with established Islamic communities remain an area ripe for deeper investigation. This panel explores how Catholic missionaries and Protestant pastors described, engaged with, and attempted to evangelize Muslim populations from the Middle East to the Far East. By moving beyond a Eurocentric Crusade narrative, this session examines the practical methods of encounter, ranging from theological polemics to the pragmatic challenges of daily coexistence.
A central focus of the panel will be the "translation" of faith—both linguistic and cultural. How did missionaries adapt Arabic and local Islamic lexicons to communicate Christian catechisms? To what extent did the presence of a pre-existing Abrahamic framework force a change in missionary strategy compared to encounters with non-monotheistic societies?
The panel invites scholars to examine three primary areas of missionary production:
1. Translation and Lexicography: How missionaries adapted Arabic and local lexicons (such as Malay) to explain Christian mysteries, often wrestling with pre-existing Islamic terminology for God, prophecy, and salvation.
2. Exegesis of the "Other": Christian explanations and "refutations" of Muslim texts, where the Qur'an was studied as both a hurdle and a tool for conversion.
3. Methodological Manuals: The study of missionary handbooks or specific extracts explicitly devoted to the methodus of interacting with and converting Muslim communities.