Why Thomas Aquinas Distrusted Islam

Saint Thomas Aquinas
An altarpiece in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, by Carlo Crivelli (15th century)

West Virginny Sharon sent me an article, Why Thomas Aquinas Distrusted Islam by Thomas D. Williams, originally posted on Breitbart dot com. Saint Thomas Aquinas, if you recall, was a 13th Century Italian friar, scholar and priest. Don't confuse this guy with Thomas More (A Man For All Seasons), a 16th Century Englishman, or Thomas Becket, a 12th Century English Archbishop. (Confused yet? I know I was.)
     Mohammed founded Islam in the 7th Century. By this point Christianity was well established in Europe and parts of Africa. Islam got started in the Arabian Peninsula, which is mostly desert, and hot, nasty desert at that.
    So why hadn't Christianity taken hold in Arabia? Perhaps because Christians need water? Maybe the harsh desert climate makes people a little crazy, and it took a crazed warlord to bring a semblance of civilization to that benighted land. So Saint Tom might be right about Islam, but Islam has managed to flourish where Christianity failed to make inroads.

The Breitbart article used a much more modern looking picture of Saint Thomas, though it appears to be from the same era.

P.S. I wonder if Friar Tuck invented Fried Chicken. I mean, have friars ever been employed as friers?