The Impact of Islam on Christian Political Theology (622 -1453)

Image Credit: Vatican Library, Ms. Syr. 559 Last folio (rulers)
This network will run from April 2025 to September 2026.
From the earliest known encounters in the medieval period, Christians engaged with Muslims about matters of political theology (i.e. discourses about the relationship between faith and government, law, and related concepts such as kingship, authority, loyalty, justice, violence etc.). Until now, there has been no coordinated attempt to study Christian political theology which was occasioned or influenced by contact with Muslims, or to understand the impact which Islam had on the development of medieval Christian political theology across time and space.
This network brings together an international body of scholars and students through a variety of activities, which will include reading groups, seminar series, research workshops, an online blog and bibliography, and a research conference. These activities will aim to generate research momentum in support of a larger grant application to sustain a long-term research focus on this area, both in and beyond Oxford.
Network Leads
Dr Steven Firmin, Faculty of Theology and Religion
Dr Mike Humphreys, Faculty of History
Professor Christian C. Sahner, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Professor Joshua Hordern, Faculty of Theology and Religion
Network Participants
Paul Ulishney, Faculty of History
Marianna Mazzola, University of Pisa
Students and scholars interested in joining the research network as contributors should email iicptnetwork@torch.ox.ac.uk
To sign up to the mailing list, simply send a blank email to: iicptnetwork-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk
Network Leads:
Dr Steven Firmin, Faculty of Theology and Religion
Dr Mike Humphreys, Faculty of History
Professor Christian C. Sahner, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Professor Joshua Hordern, Faculty of Theology and Religion
Network Participants:
Dr Salam Rassi (The University of Edinburgh)
Professor David Bertaina (University of Illinois, Springfield)
Professor Jonathan Stutz (Humboldt University of Berlin)
Professor Antonia Bosanquet (Utrecht University)
Francisco J. Cintrón Mattei (University of Notre Dame)
Shane Patrick (University of Oxford)
Ana Maria Echevarria Arsuaga (UNED)
Geoffrey Martin (College of Charleston)
Professor Johannes Pahlitzsch (Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz)
Paul Ulishney, Faculty of History
Marianna Mazzola, University of Pisa