Book Review: From Crosses to Crescents: Artifacts That Brought Medieval Islam and Christianity Together by Leon Barkho Published on: 11th November 2025

Book Review: From Crosses to Crescents: Artifacts That Brought Medieval Islam and Christianity Together by Leon Barkho Published on: 11th November 2025 https://muslimheritage.com/crosses-to-crescents/ The volume “The Medieval Mediterranean between Islam and Christianity: Crosspollinations in Art, Architecture, and Material Culture” reveals that art objects – both Muslim and Christian – played a pivotal role in fostering peace and coexistence among the culturally diverse coastal communities of the medieval Mediterranean. This coexistence, spanning the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, did not arise from political treaties or diplomatic negotiations. Instead, it was cultivated through the power of artistic exchange, where objects of faith and beauty became instruments of dialogue and mutual respect. The coexistence of Christianity and Islam in the medieval Mediterranean, according to the volume, produced an interchange of knowledge in architecture and material culture that went well beyond religious and geographical boundaries. The use of Islamic objects in Christian contexts, the conversion of churches into mosques, and the mobility of craftsmen are only some manifestations of what the volume editors dub “aesthetic space,” the notion that aesthetic pleasure transcends boundaries, paving the way to a cross-religious experience and appreciation. In this volume, thirteen international scholars explore various aspects of pan-Mediterranean Christian-Islamic encounters in material culture and art, from textiles to precious oils, and from metalwork to ceramics, covering most of the Mediterranean, as well as parts of its extended hinterland, from Spain and Italy to Egypt and Georgia. Within this frame, one of the most relevant, yet underexplored lines of investigation is that of the “aesthetic space,” the notion that aesthetic pleasure transcends boundaries, paving the way to a cross-religious experience and appreciation.