De Religione Mohammedica Libri Duo

1717

Shoults Lb 1717 R

[Utrecht: Gulielmi Broedelet]

While mastering Physics and Metaphysics at the University of Harderwijk, the Dutch scholar Adriaan Reland (1676-1718) also learnt Arabic, Hebrew, and other Semitic languages, as well as teaching in the area of comparative linguistics. His Religione Mohammedica was a seminal work, the first objective survey of Islamic beliefs and practices. This engraving of ‘S. Sophiae’ (Hagia Sophia) in Constantinople (Istanbul) is from the 1717 edition. The Church is now a museum.