The representations of Muhammad, Ishmael and Satan in the Kingdom of Castile in the 13th century: Representing the past to interpret the present
Abstrakt
In the long conflict between Christian and Muslim kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula during the 13th century, the representations of the other played a fundamental role in the Castilian discourse. These representations not only focused on the actors of that present but also very notably on historical-mythical characters.
This does not seem to be a characteristic of the representations of Islam from the West at a specific historical moment or geographical area, taking into account the critical analysis of Orientalism, in which Edward Said placed the representations of Muhammad as a central element in the construction of image of the Muslims, that the West has made since the Middle Ages until the 20th century. From my point of view and taking into account the content of sources in the studied century, this role does not only apply to Muhammad’s case but, at the same time, characters such as Ishmael and Satan share similar features and symbolic importance.