Answer one of three Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Answer one of three - Assignment ExampleThe purpose of the present essay is to show how such estrangement, or Othering, play out in the course of several centuries of history of political, economic and cultural ties between the Christian West and Islamic Orient.For the purposes of present discussion, the terms West and Islam testament be used in generalized sense, with the former corresponding to the cultures and nations dominated or influenced by Western (Catholic and later Protestant) Christianity, while the latter encompassing the totality of political and cultural space for which the religion of Islam was the most fundamental unifying factor. The issues of relationship between the cultures influenced by Orthodox (Eastern) Christianity and Islamic civilizations are to be examine in this essay to the extent of their impact on the perception of Islam in the West and the attitude of Islamic cultures towards the Christians in general, respectively.The chronological boundaries of th e research encompass the diachronic period ranging from 7 century CE to our times, with special attention being paid to the vicissitudes of change in the models and criteria of Othering being employed by both parties.The elevate of Islam as a religion of the new mighty world empire, which managed to destroy centuries-old powers of the Middle East, i.e. the East Roman Empire (Byzantium) and the Sassanian kingdom of Persia, from the very outset direct to the increasing feelings of insecurity and dismay on the part of Christian scholars and theologians. Having been previously accustomed to the feeling of utter superiority and ultimate triumph of the Christian faith, they were vastly surprised by the fact that an initially insignificant religious group from the Arabian Peninsula managed to assert itself as a viable proselytizing alternative to their own creed. At the same time, the direct connection between Islamic