Sarah Stroumsa, Maimonides in His World: Portrait of a Mediterranean Thinker, Princeton University Press, 2009 pp. 65–66: 'we do know the extent of Maimonides' involvement in the wider Islamic culture. We know that, as far as science and learning are concerned, he was deeply immersed in the culture, and did his best to remain abreast of the developments that occurred in it. The reluctance to acknowledge his familiarity with Muslim law is therefore puzzling, particularly since there is no evidence for such reluctance on Maimonides' part' (p. 65)