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Phillips: Islamic : Model of Peaceful Coexistence

Islamic Spain: Model of Peaceful Coexistence

rian Peninsula and was soon able to conquer the Iberian cities of By Gabriela Profeta Phillips Cordoba, Guadalajara, and To- ledo. By 719 the invading forces (known as the ), ruled from the strait, to the coast, and The Islamic world of pre- and to the . Judging by the early medieval Spain has elicited names they gave to places and cit- the interest of many religious ies, one can conclude that many of and secular scholars because of the who arrived with the the peaceful coexistence by di- were still Christians. verse ethnic and religious com- Why the did not oc- munities. The Moorish presence cupy the entire in Spain is still a subject of de- from the beginning is a question bate. Was beneficial to that remains unanswered. Even Spain? What course would history more intriguing is the fact that the have taken without the Muslim Muslims apparently had no inten- presence? What are the lingering tion of occupying it later. Apart results of Spain’s relationship from the Battle of Rio , the with Islam? Why did the Moors Muslims proceeded unchecked stop short of occupying the en- across Spain with an army of only tire peninsula at the height of about 25,000 and with only a few their expansive campaign? How towns resisting. were they able to depart so el- Prior to the Muslim arrival, the egantly at the end of the 16th cen- Christian ruled a Spain tury? Answers to these questions that was totally falling apart. depict one of the most glorious Many of the idle aristocracy op- chapters in Spain’s history with a posed the Crown, the peasants civilization far superior to any- lived in alienation, and the Jew- thing Spain had ever known. ish community (whom the Visigoths had persecuted through A Historic Overview of Islam In harsh and restrictive anti-Jewish Spain legislation), had no loyalty for the In 711 a Berber and Arab Mus- rulers (Kennedy 1996, 14-15). The lim army of 7000 men, under the Iberic peninsula was helpless be- leadership of Tariq ibn-Ziyad, fore the invasion. Christians and crossed the Straits of Gibraltar could no longer tolerate the from northern to the Ibe- rule imposed by the Visigothic oli- Published by Digital Commons @ Andrews University, 2005 1 1/2005 95 Journal of Adventist Mission Studies, Vol. 1 [2005], No. 1, Art. 9 garchy, so both groups welcomed ers began to emerge as fully inde- the Arabs and Berbers as libera- pendent principalities. The collapse tors. It is more appropriate to re- of centralized rule opened the door fer to the native people as accom- for Christian kingdoms to emerge, plices rather than as conquered which forced the many Islamic in- people. dependent kingdoms to pay tribute “Part of the greatness of Moorish before finally conquering them. culture in Spain,” says Burckhardt, The Arabs were forced to retreat bit by bit until by the thirteenth lay in the harmonious co-existence century, their once extensive do- of the Muslim, Christian and Jew- ish communities under Arab rule. main was reduced to a few scattered The tolerance shown by Islam both kingdoms deep in the mountains here and elsewhere appears to be in of al-Andalus, where they not only marked contradiction to the violence survived but flourished for the next with which it extended its hold . . . two hundred years. However, on It is all the more remarkable that , 1492 Ferdinand and once the fighting ceased the Mus- Isabella hoisted the banner of Chris- lims treated the Christians and tian Spain above the last Muslim Jews with a tolerance which on the kingdom. Boabdil, the last Moorish whole neither the Christians nor the Jews displayed under their own king rode weeping into exile with jurisdiction (1972, 23). the bitter words from his aged mother, Ayxa, ringing in his ears, Muslims began to focus their “You do well to weep as a woman attention on what they called al- over what you could not defend as Andalus (southern Spain, a man (Irving 1991, 835)” ) and develop a civiliza- tion far superior to anything Spain Tolerance in a multiracial cul- had ever known. As Chejne de- ture scribes it, “these processes of con- During the Islamic rule in Spain, quest and reconquest, lasting al- Jews, Christian Ibero-Romans, most eight centuries, had enor- Muslims Berbers, Almohads and mous repercussions on the two Almoravids from , Ar- contending societies, affecting at- abs (Syrian warriors), slaves re- titudes, religious affiliations, lan- cruited from non Muslim guage, customs—indeed a whole and eventually freed, mercenary identity and way of life” (1983, , Muwalladun (Christian and 2).Under the Umayyad dinasty, al- Jewish converts to Islam), all coex- Andalus flourished and reached isted together. “Foreigners were at- its peak by 1031, but from then tracted to al-Andalus both by the on, Islamic Spain gradually permeability of its society and by plunged into a state of division its wealth, and Christians, among and chaos because of both inter- others, established themselves nal and external enemies. more or less easily in society there” In 1031 the was offi- (De Epalza 1992, 151). By 770 cially abolished and regional lead- people of many races from North https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/jams/vol1/iss1/9 2 96 Journal of Adventist Mission Studies Phillips: Islamic Spain: Model of Peaceful Coexistence Africa and Arab countries had emi- ligious and ethnic matters than are grated to al-Andalus, and had in- most of the rulers in the world today termarried with the various nation- (Jackson 1972, 30-31). alities including the native popula- The large community of Chris- tion, resulting in a fairly heteroge- tians, like the sizeable minority of neous country, and all within a few Jews, had been granted the same generations. This became the junc- protected religious minority status tion point where “ Eu- (dhimmi) as Christian and Jews rope, the and elsewhere in Islamic lands. As the Islamic world formed an in- “People of the Book”, they were al- terdependent economic system” lowed a substantial amount of au- (Glick 1979, 21). tonomy (O’Callaghan 2003, 12). Reigning with wisdom and jus- They were free to worship God and tice, Muslims treated Christians follow their own beliefs. “In accor- and Jews with tolerance and respect dance with Muslim tradition, the with the result that many embraced Christian and Jewish Communi- Islam (Jackson 1972, 32). Though ties retained their own organiza- scholars still do not agree how fast tion under their own priests and the Christian population converted rabbis. They had separate law to Islam, it is very likely that, as in courts for their family and busi- other areas of the Islamic world, as ness affairs. They controlled their many as two centuries passed be- own religious buildings and com- fore the majority of the population munity schools. The special lump- became Muslims. In Whishaw’s sum taxes which were levied on words, “the Christian hierarchy, all non-Muslims in lieu of military Christian worship, and Christian service were apportioned within monasticism continued practically the community and collected by without interference for something their own officers (Jackson 1972, like two hundred years after the 25). The cultural prominence of Moslem conquest” (2002, 17). Jews in the civilization of al- Muslim Spain has been de- Andalus was accompanied by a scribed as surprising Jewish prominence in high culture and political instabil- the political affairs of the land. ity, characteristic of the Muslim Under Abd-er Rahman II states. The emirs patronized, with (Umayyad period), however, a discriminating judgment, all as- change of attitude occured and pects of the arts and of technology. persecution ensued, during which They were tolerant and supple in many Mozarab Christians were relation to the large Mozarabic put to death for abusing the (Christian) and Jewish communi- memory of Mohamed and con- ties in their cities. They were sophis- ticated in their diplomatic and spiring against the government trade relations with Europe, (Jackson 1972, 31). While the po- Byzantium and North Africa . . . The litical rulers of al-Andalus never emirs were far less prejudiced in re- fully overcame the ethnic and re-

Published by Digital Commons @ Andrews University, 2005 3 1/2005 97 Journal of Adventist Mission Studies, Vol. 1 [2005], No. 1, Art. 9 ligious pluralism of the peninsula, Christians, and were strongly en- the multiculturalism of Islamic couraged to convert. Muslim men Spain gave birth to a distinctive were forbidden to marry Christian new culture that lived on in Spain women, though Christian men even after Muslim rule ended, and could marry Muslim women. Mus- is still present today not only in lims were subject to burdensome Spain but also in the . taxes, and required to wear distinc- The Christian Reconquest of tive clothing to indicate their infi- lower Andalusia took place delity. Tailors were not allowed to quickly, because of the strong al- make garments nor silver-smiths liance between the Catholic kings jewels according to their Moorish and because the geography made style; their purification baths were it easy. After more than 700 years, prohibited, and all births were to al-Andalus ceased to exist as a po- be monitored by Christian midwives litical division. The treaty of to ensure that no Muslim rites were , ending Muslim rule, performed. Disarmament was to be guaranteed religious tolerance to enforced by a rigid inspection. In the remaining Muslim population. 1502 an edict by Ferdinand and Among the treaty’s sixty-seven Isabella officially pronounced Islam articles, were laws concerning se- illegal in Spain and its continued curity, freedom to worship in practice was a criminal activity. without being insulted, In the early sixteenth century, laws to protect civilian rights to however, after having expelled the travel, laws protecting the muez- very large Jewish population from zins’ authority to call to daily the peninsula, the Spanish kings prayer, and laws guaranteeing forcedly converted the large remain- that no Muslim would be mo- ing Muslim population to Christian- lested during the month of fast- ity (), though the great ma- ing, or during the daily perfor- jority converted only in name. mance of devotional acts. Though Muslims were highly After the , the productive and skillful they became wealthy and learned Muslims chose troublesome because of their un- to migrate to Muslim-ruled areas willingness to completely assimilate depriving their communities of and soon were expelled from Spain. natural leaders. Initially, the re- Some 275,000 moors quit Spain, maining Muslims lived within Span- carrying their property, scientific ish Christian Kingdoms under a set knowledge and arts with them to of regulations similar to regulations the detriment of Spain. Christians had lived under during Describing the contrast between Islamic times. Muslims were al- Europe and Muslim Spain at its lowed to continue practicing their peak, Scott (1977) writes: own religion; they governed the in- Yet there were knowledge and ternal affairs of their community on learning everywhere, except in the basis of their Islamic law; they Catholic Europe. At a time when were forbidden to proselytize among https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/jams/vol1/iss1/9 4 98 Journal of Adventist Mission Studies Phillips: Islamic Spain: Model of Peaceful Coexistence even kings could not read or write, a which sent its rays into Europe and Moorish king had a private library inspired it with the passion for of six hundred thousand books. At study, freedom and respect. Art, sci- the time when ninety-nine percent ence, philosophy, trade, industry of the Christian people were wholly and were possible illiterate, the Moorish city of Cordoba had eight hundred public schools, framed in the Islamic principles of and there was not a village within freedom and respect for the values the limits of the empire where the and religious beliefs of the non- blessing of education could not be Muslim people groups. enjoyed by the children of the most Lane-Poole insightfully con- indigent peasant, . . . and it was dif- cludes: ficult to encounter even a Moorish peasant who could not read and write. For nearly eight centuries, . . . Spain set to all Europe a shining To make the contrast even example of a civilized and enlight- more vivid, Thomson adds: ened state. Her fertile provinces ren- dered doubly prolific, by the indus- Europe was darkened at sunset, trious engineering skill of her con- Cordova shone with public lamps; querors, bore fruit an hundredfold. Europe was dirty, Cordova built a Cities innumerable sprang up in the thousand baths; Europe was cov- rich valleys in the Guadelquivir and ered with vermin, Cordova changed the . . . Art, literature and its undergarments daily; Europe lay science prospered as they prospered in mud, Cordova’s streets were nowhere in Europe . . . with Granada paved; Europe’s had smoke- fell all Spain’s greatness. For a brief holes in the ceiling, Cordova’s ara- while, indeed, the reflection of the besques were exquisite; Europe no- Moorish splendor cast a borrowed bility could not sign its name, light upon the history of the land Cordova’s children went to school; which it had once warmed with its Europe’s monks could not read the sunny radiance. The Great epoch of baptismal service, Cordoba’s teach- Isabella, Charles V and Phillip II, of ers created a library of Alexandrian Columbus, Cortez and Pizarro, shed dimensions (1931, 164). a last halo about the dying monu- Caliph Al- Hakam II (961-976) ments of mighty State. Then followed the abomination of dissolution, the founded a library of hundreds of rule of and the blackness thousands of volumes. During of darkness in which Spain has been the conversion campaign, how- plunged since ever. In the land ever, Cardenal Ximenes burned where science was once supreme, in public bonfires over 1,005,000 the Spanish doctors became noted volumes, including unique works for nothing but their ignorance and of Moorish culture. incapacity . . . the arts of Toledo and Almeria faded into insignificance . . . Legacy The land, deprived of the skillful ir- rigation of the Moors, grew impov- The Arabs suddenly appeared in erished and neglected; the richest Spain to fill her with their activity and most fertile valleys languished and genius. They endowed her with and were deserted; most of the popu- glamour, building an edifice of light lous cities which had filled every dis- Published by Digital Commons @ Andrews University, 2005 5 1/2005 99 Journal of Adventist Mission Studies, Vol. 1 [2005], No. 1, Art. 9 trict of Andalusia, fell into ruinous Irving, Washington. 1991. The decay; and beggars, friars, and ban- . The Library of dits took the place of scholars, mer- America series. The Viking chants and . So low fell Spain Press. when she had driven away the Moors. Jackson, Gabriel. 1972. The Such is the melancholy contrast of- making of medieval Spain. fered by her history (1920, vii-ix). New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. Kennedy, Hugh. 1996. Muslim Works Cited Spain and : A political Burckhardt, Titus. 1972. Moorish history of al-Andalus. New culture in Spain. London: York: Longman. George Allen and Unwin, Ltd. Lane-Poole, Stanley. 1920. The Chejne, Anwar G. 1983. Islam and Moors in Spain. London: T. the West: The Moriscos, a Fisher Unwin Ltd. cultural and social history. O’Callaghan, Joseph F. 2003. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Reconquest and crusade in De Epalza, Mikel. 1992. : medieval Spain. Philadelphia, An emblematic Christian PA: University of Pennsylvania minority in Islamic al- Press. Andalus. In The legacy of Scott, Samuel P. 1977. The history Muslim Spain. Salma Khadra of the Moorish empire in Jayyusi, ed. Leiden: E.J. Brill. Europe. New York: AMS Press. Glick, Thomas F. 1979. Islamic and Whishaw, Bernhard. 2002. Christian Spain in the early Spain: Sidelights on her history . Princeton, NJ: and art. Reading, UK: Garnet. Princeton University Press.

Book Reviews

University, Sherwood at Fuller Lingenfelter, Judith E., and Theological Seminary. Both have Lingenfelter, Sherwood G. extensive experience in cross-cul- 2003. Teaching cross- culturally: An incarnational tural teaching, at home and model for learning and abroad. This is Sherwood’s fourth teaching. Grand Rapids: book on the interplay of culture Baker Books. 134 pp. and mission published by Baker (Ministering cross-culturally, 1986; The Lingenfelters, a husband- Transforming culture, 1992, re- and-wife team, bring to this vol- vised 1998; Agents of transforma- ume appropriate credentials. tion, 1996). Both have doctoral degrees in the The intended audience is “the subject area and both are cur- western-trained educator who is rently teaching: Judith at Biola working or planning to work in a https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/jams/vol1/iss1/9 6 100 Journal of Adventist Mission Studies