As the military and political threat of the Ottoman Empire diminished, a space was opened for the study of Islam and even the Middle East that was not rooted in religious hostility. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a greater interest in the study of Arabic and Islam developed. Some European universities sponsored Arabic studies, and a host of histories, dictionaries, and textbooks about Islam and Arab peoples emerged. The pieces were in place for a more nuanced picture of Islam.

Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Intro…, loc. 160