Converting from Islam to Christianity

Abstract

This chapter explores a small and neglected group of martyrs who converted from Islam to Christianity. It is divided into five sections: the first surveys the evidence for true apostasy in legal, historical, and ritual literature written by Muslims and Christians. The second discusses the life of the most famous of all the neomartyrs, Anthony al-Qurash ī, who was executed in 799 after allegedly converting from Islam to Christianity. The third explores two instances of true apostasy from the early medieval Caucasus, while the fourth examines several examples from Iraq, Egypt, and al-Andalus. The fifth and final section revisits the Life of Anthony and investigates its connection to a cluster of legends about the conversion of the caliph and other high-ranking Muslim officials. The conclusion offers general reflections about the nature and portrayal of conversion, contending that Islamization must be seen as a fragile, highly contingent process in the early period.