In 1579, Akbar, the Great Mughal, as the Indian emperor of the Turkish-Mongolian dynasty of Muslim origin was known in the West, invited some Jesuit theologians, bearing the sacred texts of Christianity, to his court. This was perhaps an unprecedented episode in history, as it was rather unusual for the ruler of an Islamic state to wish to host missionaries clearly motivated by specific evangelical intentions.

Indeed, Muslims firmly believe that Islam is the natural religion of man, and, as such, their consequent disinterest in other faiths is a continuous thread running through...