Not really about Christians

This is an interesting but misguided book by Mateen Joshua Charbonneau, a French Canadian who “reverted” (converted) to Shia Islam at the age of 17. The book supposedly contains historically accurate stories about Christians who defended, sometimes to the point of death, the Muslim prophet Muhammad and his family. In reality, the stories (who are not “historical” at all, but Muslim hagiography) are about Christians who converted to Islam. Here is one typical example, Jaun being the supposed “Christian”:

>>>Imam Hussain (AS) looked at Jaun and said, “Jaun, I know you have come for my permission to go in to the battle-field. You have been a good and trusted friend. I will not deny you martyrdom for Islam. Go, God be with you!” Jaun smiled happily. He faced the enemy and recited a poem, which said: “I am a soul willing to die for God and have a sword thirsty of the blood of the enemies of God. Before I die I shall fight the enemies of God with my sword and my tongue, and thus shall I serve the grand-son of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).”>>>

The book also narrates some apocryphal miracle stories about Christian monks who recognized Muhammad as a future prophet when he was still a boy. These monks have 100% Muslim views, so once again it's hard to see in what sense they were really “Christian”. More interesting is the story about how some of Muhammad's early followers got political asylum in Ethiopia, then ruled by a Christian emperor. Finally, the book contains a peculiar legend about a Byzantine princess, Narjis Khatoon, said to be a descendant of Simon Peter. Narjis converted to Shia Islam after a series of miraculous dreams, and eventually became the mother of the Twelfth (Hidden) Imam, the Messiah figure of the Shiites.

I'm not saying the hagiographic stories contained in this short book are uninteresting. However, they are not about Christians and hence don't prove the author's point, which is that even Christians saw the purity of Muhammad and his family and hence defended it despite doctrinal differences.