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Historical circumstances forced Luther to deal with Islam in two respects. During his early controversies over indulgences, he had attacked the idea of Christian crusades in his 95 Theses. Following Wycliff and Erasmus, Luther looked upon the visitation of Turks as the well-deserved rod of God for the punishment of Christian transgressions.
With the fall of Belgrade in 1521 and Hungary in 1526 to Sultan Suleiman II, Luther felt compelled not only to clarify his earlier views on the Turkish war but also to undertake an analysis of the Turkish religion in order to educate his fellow German Christians. He now explicitly advocated war against Turks under the leadership of the Emperor.
Luther wrote six different pieces of literature on the subject between 1528 through 1542: On War Against Turk (1529); A Sermon Against the Turks (1529); A Book on Life and Customs of the Turks (1530, originally compiled by one George von Muhlbach between 1475 and 1481, with a preface by Luther); Appeal to Prayer Against the Turks (1541); Refutation of the Qur´an (1542, originally published by Recaldo da Montecroce in 1320 with Luther�s preface and additional refutation); and finally, his Preface to Theodor Bibliander�s (1504-1564) revised Latin translation of Peter the Venerable´s Qur´an, published in Basel in 1543. The publication of the Latin translation of the Qur´an was made possible by the direct intervention of Luther.
These writings of Luther on Turks and Islam, together with numerous references in his other writings, provide us with an astonishing amount of information on Luther´s attitude toward Islam.
Mavi Boncuk
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