Alterity Issues and the Roots of Western Views on Islam and Oriental Society

The article is focused in the so called “phenomenon of encounter with the other†in the context of social, literary and cultural encounters between the West and the Islamic society and religion. In the flow of history, since the Middle Ages, theological polemics and military clashes have shaped a canonic view of Christendom toward Islam, and later of the West and post-Christian societies to the Near Eastern and Middle Eastern societies. The ways such a view, based on a “doctrine about doctrine†or “belief on the enemy’s beliefs†, emerged and was established, and the assertion that it still exerts its influence in the modern day’s world with implications in social, cultural and political relations are part of the focus of this article.