The Impact of Islam on Christian Political Theology (622–1453)
TORCH New Network Project
This interdisciplinary research network explores how Christian political theology—ideas about law, authority, kingship, justice, and violence—was shaped through engagement with Islam during the medieval period (622–1453). While Christian-Muslim interactions have long been studied, this project marks the first coordinated effort to examine their influence on Christian political thought across languages, regions, and traditions.
The network brings together scholars working on Christian and Islamic texts in Arabic, Syriac, Greek, Coptic, and Latin, with the aim of fostering new research, translation, and collaboration. Activities include a reading group, seminar series, skills workshop, academic conference, and online research hub.
Project Leads:
- Dr Steven Firmin (Faculty of Theology and Religion)
- Professor Joshua Hordern (Faculty of Theology and Religion)
- Dr Michael Humphreys (Faculty of History)
- Professor Christian Sahner (Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies)
This project is supported by the John Fell Fund through the TORCH New Network Scheme.
