The Body of Mahomet: Pierre Bayle on War, Sex, and Islam

Abstract

Mara van der Lugt The Western perception of Islam and its Prophet has traditionally revolved around the axes of sex, violence, and deception. From the eleventh century onwards, Christian authors used these concepts to paint a predominantly negative picture of Islam, for mainly theological and apologetic purposes-a trend that was fortified by the lack of genuine information and reliable sources about Islam. Thus Mahomet 1 was typecast as a sexobsessed, violent and Machiavellian trickster or impostor, the Qur'an discredited as pandering to the political and carnal desires of Mahomet and his followers, and Islam itself described as a false religion that spread by force and persecution, rather than by providence and grace. 2 1 Throughout this paper I will refer to Muhammad as "Mahomet," the name commonly used in early modern English and French. All English translations of Bayle are my own unless otherwise stated. 2 Out of a vast historiography, see