On the Calormenes

From time to time, you hear or read someone arguing that C S Lewis was a racist, and that this is proved by his depiction of the Calormenes in the Narnia books.

In recent years I've read enough history to now understand that the Calormenes are essentially - and very clearly - based upon the rulers of the Ottoman Empire during the medieval period and their excesses. i.e. Not upon all "brown-coloured" people in general.

Ironically, then, the people arguing that C S Lewis' depiction was racist seem to be indulging in some sort of racism themselves, because they think that the negative traits of the medieval Ottoman sultans and elite which are poked fun at are something generalisable to all "brown people" in general. Why would they think that? It does sound quite like racism, but perhaps they have some other reason for making that leap.

Or to put this another way: it's like concluding that all the things which Lewis and Tolkien clearly adapted from Norse mythology and its heroes when they formed their heroes form a reliable guide to their view of people of white European descent in general. This makes no sense.

Of course, neither the Calormenes nor the medieval Ottomans are separable from their religion, which is clearly some brand of Islam, filtered through their culture(s). To some modern minds, critiquing a religion in any form is also some sort of racism. I don't recall coming across a serious attempt to explain why this is. Both Islam and Christianity claim to be global faiths, which are not the possession of any specific people-group or race. C S Lewis was a Christian apologist. He can hardly be expected to portray the religious culture and practices of a group based upon the Ottomans positively - just how many of his critics would do so? If the claim is that he deliberately picked upon the medieval Ottomans in order to ridicule Islam in general, then this claim needs to be accompanied by some actual proof. A bare assertion is not an argument.