Muhammad in the Seminary: Protestant Teaching about Islam in the Nineteenth Century

David Grafton’s Muhammad in the Seminary focuses on the nineteenthcentury as a pivotal period for the formation of American Protestantconceptions about Islam. Grafton identifies theological seminaries as theearliest institutions in North America to provide students with sustainedinstruction on Islam, and he argues that the impact of such educationwas considerable. The book offers a detailed historical investigation ofthe ways that seven Protestant seminaries in the northeastern UnitedStates presented Islam to thousands of students who would go on toshape American public discourses as clergy and missionaries. Whileunearthing information about the curricula on Islam in these institutions,the book’s six chapters engage broadly with issues of nineteenth centuryeducation, theological studies, and American cultural history.