Christian-Muslim Controversy during the Syriac Renaissance (1026-1318): Dionysius Bar Salibi (d. 1171) and the Treatis Against the Arabs.

The treatise Against the Arabs (Luqbal Ṭayyōyē) provides us with an exceptional source for the assessment of Christian-Muslim relations during a period of Syriac literary revival. Belonging to a larger polemic work of Dionysius Bar Salibi (d. 1171), a prolific writer and Syriac Orthodox “Jacobite” bishop, this treatise is the longest, most comprehensive and latest in the tradition of Syriac Christian-Muslim dispute texts. The document is made all the more unique by the fact that it contains not only a considerable amount of information on early Islamic history and internal Muslim divisions, but also large fragments of the Qur’an which exhibit variants from the received version. A study of the treatise’s content and its sources in light of previous dispute texts, as well as its literary and historical context, is needed for a better understanding of its significance in the history of Christian-Muslim relations. Furthermore, insight into the Qur’anic source could also shed new light on the textual history of the Qur’an, since it has been suggested that Dionysius used a Syriac translation of a pre-standardized version of the Qur’an. Additionally, Dionysius wrote this refutation of Islam during the Syriac Renaissance, a period generally characterized by its positive intra-Christian and Christian-Muslim dynamics. Therefore a study of his views towards both Islam and other Christians could also provide a more nuanced understanding of both features.