Conversion from the worst to the best: The relationship between medieval Judaism, Islam, and Christianity

By the twelfth century, as a new awareness of Islam entered Europe, Latin Christians felt compelled to establish the proper relationship between the three religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. There is no doubt that for them Christianity represented the best religion. But of the other two, which was worse: Judaism or Islam? In what follows I argue that (1) although Christians perceived that Muslims were a greater material threat and therefore “worse” than Jews, Islam was nonetheless represented as ideologically closer to Christianity, and therefore “better” than Judaism; (2) as a result, Islam will be viewed as a medium between Christianity and Judaism, and Muslims will be depicted as more easily converted to Christianity than Jews while, in the legal tradition, Jews converting to Islam in Christian lands can be seen as ascending one step, from the worst to better; and (3) last, a series of conversion exempla will reinforce the perception that even though Christians may appear more corrupt and venal than Muslims or Jews, Christianity’s endurance and expansion attest to its divine support and that, hence, it indeed must be the “best” religion.