ABSTRACT
In the early period of Islamic rule, the borderlines between Middle Eastern Christian and Muslim communities remained porous, and ideas were ‘smuggled’ quite freely across them. Influences and borrowings were happening both spontaneously – as Christians converting to Islam were inadvertently importing aspects of their heritage – and deliberately, through collaboration and discussion between Muslim and Christian scholars. Institutionalised public debates (majālis) between Christians and Muslims (and others) as well as informal discussions between adherents of the two faiths were an important avenue through which Muslim theology was gradually shaped. The first part of this chapter will review the evidence for such influences and borrowings. The second will discuss Islamic influences on Christianity both inside and outside the Middle East.
