Analysis of the Cross and the CrescentRichard Fletcher wrote The Cross and the Crescent, an entertaining book which illustrates the early relations between Christians and Muslims. This helped me understand the historical differences between the religions and understand the reason for the continued conflict, misunderstandings and general unease between the two groups. I will highlight some key historical events presented in the book and draw conclusions about the almost modern relations between the two religions. Additionally, I will give an overall analysis of the book. Muslims have many criticisms of Christians and many of them are good points, while others are a bit exaggerated and even somewhat hypocritical. The main invalidation pointed out by Islam is the belief in the Trinity while Christians continue to remain monotheistic. Additionally, the dual nature of Christ is highlighted, as Muslims believe that their most important person is Muhammad, simply a non-divine receiver of messages to God. They criticize the idea that Christ was both human and divine. The multiplicity of textual stories, in the eyes of Islam, refutes the legitimacy of the stories. However, when they try to criticize the different sects of Christianity, they have no basis for argument because they themselves have a similar division between Sunni and Shia beliefs. However, I think it is prudent for Muslims to integrate societal law with religious law, as this highlights the need for a non-secular framework to ground religious practice. The fact is that Muslims and Christians were in unwanted contact due to the migration of Muslims to the empire or Christians and Jews fleeing persecution, founding churches, and developing a distinct Arab Christian culture. Christians also had differences with Muslims because the Bible explained that Ishmael would become a savage person against the will of all, and of all against him. Simply, this passage from Genesis 16 explained their violent and bloodthirsty behavior and forever branded them foreigners, as God's word claims. Additionally, the ethnicity of the Muslims, who both claimed to be descendants of Hagar and Sarah, apparently made them unequal and enemies of the human race as a whole. However the Roman Empire needed such people ...... middle of paper ...... to agree on the progress of humanity and stop the violence. It should be noted, however, that Muslims in general are tolerant until today. Overall, I enjoyed this book simply because it enhanced my overall knowledge of the historical context of Muslim belief and thought and the interactions between them and Christianity. Like most historical documents, its presentation can become a little repetitive but it has more value because I always find it interesting to complete my picture of the historical world behind me. I think most can agree that Richard Fletcher does a good job of trying to hold our attention by sometimes keeping the book in the form of short historical stories. I think he needs to talk about the everyday society of people in some of these conditions, but expressing his own opinion more could lead to more overall speculation about his book. Anyone who wants to get an in-depth view of the Muslim relationship with Christians should read this. Finally, I think he does a good job of keeping an unbiased point of view, which leads me to think that this book would also be of value to Muslims and Christians interested in learning more about the same topic or their history..