Islam as a Heresy: Christendom's Ideological View of Islam

Abstract

The heresies discussed in the book by Jeffrey Burton Russell, Dissent and Order in the Middle Ages cover a variety of types. When heresies appeared across Europe, they were swiftly and often harshly dealt with. Witness the Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade concluding with the massacre of the Cathars at Montsegur in 1244. However, Islam presents a challenge to the student of Christian heresies, for it does not fit neatly into the same category as the Cathars.¹