The following is a list of notable non-Muslim authors on Islam.Many general and specific reference sources were used for the very wide variety of authors herein. The general sources employed include: Bearman, Bianquis, Bosworth, van Donzel, & Heinrichs (editors), Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd Edition., 12 vols. (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1960-2005); Brandon (editor), Dictionary of Comparative Religion (New York: Scribners 1970); Norman Daniel, Islam and the West (Edinburgh Univ. 1958); John L. Esposito, Oxford Dictionary of Islam (Oxford Univ. 2003); Gibb & Kramers (editors), Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam (Leiden: Brill 1953; Cyril Glassé, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (San Francisco: HarperCollins 1989).
Chronological by date of birth
622 to 1500 Sebeos (fl. 651), Armenian historian, documented in his History the rise of Muhammad and the early Muslim conquests. Joannis Damasceni (c. 676–749), official of the Caliph at Damascus, later a Syrian monk, Doctor of the Church, his Peri Aireseon [Concerning Heresies] [t], its chapter 100 being "Heresy of the Ishmailites" (attribution questioned). Du Huan, captured at 751 Battle of Talas, traveled in Muslim lands for ten years, his Jingxingji [Record of Travels] (c. 770) contains descriptions of Muslim life; book lost, but quoted by his uncle Du You in his Tongdian (766-801), an encyclopedia of China. Sankara (c. 788–820) of Kerala, pivotal Hindu reformer; theologian of non-duality, the Advaita Vedanta: a unity of self (atman) and the whole (Brahman); unresolved is the claim that early notions of the Sufi wahdat al-wujud [Oneness of Being] was synthesized by Sankara. Abd al-Masih ibn Ishaq al-Kindi, probably 8th/9th century Abbasid, pseudonym [Servant of the Messiah...] of an Arab Christian, author of the Risalah, a dialogue with a Muslim; later translated into Latin by Pedro de Toledo, this work Apology became very influential in Europe. Nicetas Byzantius, his 9th century polemic Anatrope tes para tou Arabos... (P.G., v.105) picks at the Qur'an chapter by chapter. Mardan-Farrukh of Iran, his late 9th century Sikand-Gumanik Vigar [Doubt-Dispelling Treatise] [t] (S.B.E., v.24) favorably compares his Zoroastrianism, especially its theodicy, with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, whose doctrines and beliefs are discussed. Petrus Venerabilis (c. 1092–1156), Abbot of Cluny (France), while in Hispania circa 1240, inspired a group led by Robert of Ketton (England), with Herman von Carinthia (Slovenia), Pierre de Poitiers (France), and the mozarab Pedro de Toledo to translate the Qur'an into Latin, hence the Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete (1143); it circulated only in manuscript copies until 1543. Often only a tinted paraphrase, later George Sales would say it "deserves not the name of translation" because of its inaccuracy. Raimundo, Arzobispo de Toledo (r. 1125–1152) sponsored uncensored translations, at first by Domingo Gundisalvo a mozarab who rendered into Latin the Spanish translations from Arabic by the converso Juan Avendaut; later joined by European scholars, e.g., Gerardo da Cremona. From books found in al-Andalus, e.g., the pagan Aristotle (centuries earlier translated from ancient Greek into Arabic by Syrian Christians), and the Muslims Ibn Sina (Avicenna), al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd (Averroës); such translations led to controversy & the eventual "baptism" of Aristotle by Tomas d'Aquino at the University of Paris. Mose ben Maimon (1135–1204), major Jewish theologian and talmudist who fled Al-Andalus for Morocco, then Cairo, his Dalalat al-Ha'rin [Guide of the Perplexed] (Fostat 1190) [in Arabic] [t], reconciles the Bible and the Talmud with Aristotle, discusses Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), and the Muslim Kalam, especially the Mutakallimun, as well as the Mutazili; influenced by Ibn Rushd (Averroës). Marco de Toledo (fl. 1193–1216) Castile, an improved Latin translation from Arabic of the Qur'an. Francesco d'Assisi (1182–1226), Italian saint, as peaceful missionary to Muslims, preached before Al-Kamil, Kurdish Sultan of Egypt, in 1219 during the fifth crusade; his Regula non bullata (1221) [t], chapter XVI "Those who are going among the Saracens and other unbelievers" counsels not to enter disputes, but rather humility, proclaiming what will please God. Frederick II (1194–1250), Hohenstaufen Emperor, at whose court in Palermo, Sicily, translations from Arabic into Latin continued. Ibn Kammuna (c. 1215-c. 1285), Jewish scholar of Baghdad, his fair-minded though controversial Tanqih al-abhat li-l-milal al-talat [Examination of the Inquiries into the Three Faiths] (1280) [in Arabic] [t]. Alfonso X el Sabio (1221–1284), Castile, his royal Scriptorium or Escuela de Traductores continued translations from Arabic (especially Greek scientific works and Islamic) into Latin, which then became widely known in Europe; many translators were Jewish. Ramon Marti (d. c. 1286) Castilla, Dominican friar, Summa contra errores Alcoranorum (1260); Pugio fidei adversus mauros et judaeos (c. 1280); a traditional partisan, he refers to the Qur'an, Hadith, as well as al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd. Tomás d'Aquino (c. 1225–1274) Italian Dominican, Doctor of the Church ("Angelicus"), his Summa contra Gentiles (c. 1261–64) [t], includes criticism of the Aristotelianism of Ibn Rushd (Averroës); also De Unitate Intellectus Contra Averroistas (Paris 1270) [t]. Bar 'Ebraya [Abu-l-Farag] (1226–1286), Catholicos of the Syriac Orthodox Church, learned theologian, prolific author, his spiritual treatise in Syriac Kethabha dhe yauna [Book of the Dove], as well as his Ethikon said by Wensinck to show influence by al-Ghazali. Ramon Llull [Raimundo Lulio] (1232–1316) Majorcan author and theologian, "Doctor Illuminatus", proponent of the "Ars Magna", fluent in Arabic, three times missionary to Tunis; his Llibre del Gentile e dels tres Savis (1274–76) [t], in which one learned in Hellenic philosophy hears three scholars, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim, whose views are shared with exquisite courtesy by reasoning over their mutual virtues, rather than by attack and defense. Lull infers a heterodox continuum between the natural & the revealed supernatural. Riccoldo di Monte Croce (1243–1320) Italian (Firenze) Dominican, a missionary during the 1290s, lived in Baghdad, his Propugnaculum Fidei soon translated into Greek, later into German by Martin Luther; also polemic Contra Legum Serracenorum (Baghdad, c. 1290). Ramananda (died 1410) Hindu egalitarian reformer of bhakti movement, origin as Brahmin in sect of Ramanuja; his popular synthesis of both Islamic and Hindu elements led also to inter-religious understanding; the Sant Mat poet Kabir was a disciple. Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo (died 1412), ambassador of Enrique III of Castile to Timur at Samarkand, Embajada a Tamor Lán (1582) [t]. Nicolaus Cusanus (1401–1464) German Cardinal, at cusp of renaissance; following the fall of Constantinople, his De pace fidei (1455) [t] sought common ground among the various religions, presenting fictitious short dialogues involving an Arab, an Indian, an Assyrian, a Jew, a Scythian, a Persian, a Syrian, a Turk, a Tartar, and various Christians; also his Cribratio Alcorani (1460). Nanak (1469–1539) India, influenced by Muslim sufis and Hindu bhakti, became a teacher who traveled far to preach the unity of God; Sikhs revere him as their first Guru; opposed to caste divisions, and opposed to Hindu-Muslim rivalry/conflict. Leo Africanus (c.1488–1554), originally Al Hassan, Muslim of Fez; traveled with his diplomat uncle to Timbuktu; later captured by Christian pirates & sold into slavery; freed by Pope Leo X and baptised; wrote Cosmographia Dell'Africa of his travels; returned to Islam. => The [t] following a title indicates books translated into English.
1500 to 1800 Enbaqom (c.1470–1565), Ethiopia, echage or abbot of Dabra Libanos, origin as trader from Yemen; his Anqasa Amin [Gateway of Faith] (c.1533), written in Ge'ez, defends Christianity contra Islam, citing the Qur'an, and is addressed to the Muslim invader Ahmad ibn Ibrahim. Theodor Bibliander [Buchmann] (1506–1564), Swiss (Zurich) theologian, in 1543 published in Basel various documents (with a preface by Martin Luther), which included the Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete of 1143. Luis de Marmol Carvajal (c. 1520-c. 1600), Spanish soldier in Africa twenty years, captured and enslaved seven years, travels in Guinea, North Africa, Egypt, and perhaps Ethiopia: Descripción general de África (1573, 1599). Alonso del Castillo (1520s – c.1607), Spain, formative work in Arabic archives and inscriptions (his father once a Morisco of Granada). Andre du Ryer (c. 1580 – c. 1660) France, translation of the Qur'an: L'Alcoran de Mahomet translaté d'arabe en françois (Paris 1647) [t]. Alexander Ross (1591–1654), Scotland, chaplain to Charles I, first English translation of the Qur'an (1649) from the French of du Ryer. Ignazio Lomellini (1560–1645) Jesuit priest from Genoa known for Animadversiones, Notae ac Disputationes in Pestilentem Alcoranum (MS A-IV-4), a 1622 manuscript that is the oldest surviving example of a European translation of the Quran which also includes the complete original Arabic text. Ludovico Marracci (1612–1700) Italian priest, professor of Arabic, Latin translation of the Qur'an, Alcorani textus universus... (Padua 1698), publication delayed by Church censors, in two volumes: Prodromus contains a biography of Mohammad and summary of Islamic doctrine; Refutatio Alcorani contains the Qur'an in Arabic text, with Latin translation, annotated per partisan purposes (cf., Ottoman military proximity); cited by Edward Gibbon. Also, his earlier contributions translating the Bible into Arabic (1671). Dara Shikuh (1615–1659), Mughal, elder brother of Aurangzeb; Muslim but included here because of his syncretism in the tradition of his great-grandfather Akbar; his Majma-ul-Bahrain [Mingling of Two Oceans] (1655) [t] finds parallels between Sufism and the monotheistic Vedanta of Hinduism, it was later translated into Sanskrit; also his own translation into Persian of the Upanishads. Johann Heinrich Hottinger (1620–1667) Swiss philologist, theologian, Historia Orientalis (Tiguri 1651) in Latin. Barthelemy d'Herbelot de Molainville (1625–1695) French philologist, Bibliothèque orientale (1697), based initially on the Turkish scholar Katip Celebi's Kashf al-Zunum which contains over 14,000 alphabetical entries. Henry Stubbe (1632–1676) English author, his An Account of the rise and progress of Mahometanism: with the life of Mahomet and a vindication of him and his religion from the calumnies of the Christians, which evidently lay in manuscript several hundred years until edited by Mahmud Khan Shairani and published (London: Luzac 1911). Jean Chardin (1643–1713) French merchant, Journal du Voyage.. de Chardin en Perse et aux Indes Orientales (1686, 1711) [t]. Antoine Galland (1646–1715) France, first in the West to translate the Arabian Nights, Les Mille et Une Nuits (1704–1717). Humphrey Prideaux (1648–1724) Anglican Dean, traditional partisan, The True Nature of Imposture fully display'd in the Life of Mahomet (London 1697), reprint 1798, Fairhaven, Vermont; this work follows earlier polemics, & also refutes European deists. Abraham Hinckelmann (1652–1692), edited an Arabic text of the Qur'an, later published in Hamburg, Germany, in 1694. Henri Comte de Boulainviller (1658–1722) French historian, his Vie de Mahomet (2nd ed., Amsterdam 1731) [t], praises what he saw as the instrumental rationalism of the prophet, portraying Islam in terms of a natural religion. Liu Zhi (c.1660 – c.1730) Chinese Muslim scholar writing in Chinese (Arabic "Han Kitab", Chinese books); during early Qing, presented Islam to Manchus as consonant with Confucianism, e.g., his Tianfang Dianli dealing with ritual, comparing li with Muslim practice.