Andalusi Muslims: a Bourdieuian Analysis of Ethnic Group Identity, (881-1110 C.E.)
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ANDALUSI MUSLIMS: A BOURDIEUIAN ANALYSIS OF ETHNIC GROUP IDENTITY, (881-1110 C.E.) A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Phillip Hoefs January 2014 Examining Committee Members: Khalid Blankinship, Advisory Chair, Department of Religion Terry Rey, Department of Religion Kathleen Biddick, Department of History Zameer Hasan, External Member, Department of Physics © Copyright 2013 by Phillip Hoefs All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT This work examines ethnic group identities among the Muslim population in the Iberian Peninsula, or al-Andalus, between 881 and 1110 C.E. It specifically addresses three moments in Andalusi history in which ethnic conflict erupted into the political sphere: 1) The revolt of Ibn Hafsun in the late Ninth/early Tenth Century C.E. 2) The collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate in the late Tenth/early Eleventh Century C.E. 3) The arrival of the North African Almoravid dynasty in the late Eleventh/early Twelfth Century C.E. Through an investigation of each period it argues that ethnic categorization in al-Andalus has been under-theorized. The work addresses the complications of religious conversion and the resultant ramifications on religious identity, which, over time, significantly influenced deployable ethnic identities among the Muslim population. It utilizes the theoretical tools of the French social theorist Pierre Bourdieu in order to re-conceptualize the understanding of Andalusi Muslim ethnic group identities. It considers how the role of women and systems of clientage have been underappreciated in the understanding of these identities and through attention to these dynamics argues that Andalusi Muslims created an Andalusi Arab Muslim identity that increasingly unified and strengthened this social group as the political structure around it disintegrated. iii Dedicated to my wife Antoinette iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful for the guidance of many teachers over the years as I have worked on this project. My dissertation committee has been extremely helpful and supportive. This work would not exist without the tutelage of Khalid Blankinship. Without his instruction in Islamic History this would have been an impossible task. His confidence in me throughout my graduate career has been indispensible. Terry Rey introduced me to Pierre Bourdieu’s work and guided my theoretical understanding of religion. I am also thankful for Kathleen Biddick’s critical examination of my work and her patience with me as I first examined many of the questions within this project. I am specifically appreciative of Mahmoud Ayoub, Laura Levitt, John Raines, and the other faculty of the Temple Religion Department for their support and guidance throughout my graduate work. Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle was the first to suggest that I pursue graduate study in Religion and this work would not exist without his support. In addition, my friend Ali Hamoudi has remained an endless partner in discussion whose feedback on my work continually challenged the direction of this project. I would also like to thank my students in the Islamic Spain course at Franklin and Marshall College in 2007 from whom I learned considerably as I guided their study of this fascinating period. Finally, I am forever indebted to my wife and daughter for their patience, support, and understanding. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 2. SOCIAL THEORY AND AL-ANDALUS .................................................................11 Bourdieu’s Social Theories ....................................................................................11 Bourdieu’s Outline of a Theory of Practice ...........................................................24 Ibn Khaldun and ‘Asabiyya ....................................................................................31 Religious Conversion .............................................................................................32 Female Genealogy .................................................................................................49 3. THE REVOLT OF IBN HAFSUN ..............................................................................54 Ibn Hafsun’s Rebellion ..........................................................................................56 Ibn Hafsun: A Convert to Christianity? .................................................................68 Christian Martyr Movement ..................................................................................73 Regional Rebellions ...............................................................................................78 The Change in Client Status ..................................................................................90 Accounts of the Fall of Bobastro ...........................................................................94 Reconstruction of Umayyad Authority ................................................................100 Bourdieuian Analysis ...........................................................................................104 vi Conclusion ...........................................................................................................108 4. THE COLLAPSE OF THE UMAYYAD CALIPHATE ..........................................110 Decision to Import Berber Forces ........................................................................116 The Rise of Ibn Abi Amir and the Amirids .........................................................129 The Fitna in Cordoba ...........................................................................................146 The Fitna Outside of Cordoba .............................................................................150 Cordoban Arabization ..........................................................................................159 The Dominance of Arab Ethnicity and Language ...............................................160 Ethnic Factionalism .............................................................................................163 The Loss of the Caliphate ....................................................................................167 The Role of the ‘Ulama .......................................................................................170 Change in Muslim/Christian Political Relations..................................................173 Bourdieuian Analysis ...........................................................................................174 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................176 5. THE ARRIVAL OF THE ALMORAVIDS ..............................................................179 The Almoravid Arrival ........................................................................................184 Political and Legal Structure Under the Almoravids ...........................................192 Interreligious Contact...........................................................................................198 Bourdieuian Analysis ...........................................................................................210 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................215 6. CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................217 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................226 vii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Medieval al-Andalus, or the presence of Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula, has attracted significant scholarly attention because of the interfaith and intercultural interaction of the period. 1 In the context of questions that dominate public discourse on Muslims, regarding their tolerance and ability to interact with those of other faiths, the contact of Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Medieval Iberia has proven ripe for insight. Indeed it has generated works meant for popular consumption that other Muslim historical eras lack. 2 Regarding the Muslims in Iberia, much of the focus has been on the 1 Several different terms are used to describe the location of this interaction. Some of the most problematic terms, though often used to create accessibility for readers, are Medieval Spain, Muslim Spain, Islamic Spain, and Moorish Spain. All four of these terms allude to the Spanish nation-state that had not yet emerged and suggest a more coherent entity than ever existed in the Iberian Peninsula. Moreover, using Spain suggests that the Spanish nation was disrupted by Muslim presence, only to reclaim its coherence through the Spanish Reconquista . I agree with Hitchcock’s use of “al- Andalus,” the Arabic term for the region, as “that area of the Iberian Peninsula at any one time in the control of Muslims.” Richard Hitchcock, “Christian-Muslim Understanding(s) in Medieval Spain,” Hispanic Research Journal 9:4 (2008): 315. However, my understanding and use of the term differs