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Structural Delusion, Religious Anxiety, and a Melodramatic Priest: Exploring Macro and Micro Influences on the Cordobań Martyrs

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Structural Delusion, Religious Anxiety, and a Melodramatic Priest: Exploring Macro and Micro Influences on the Cordobań Martyrs Seattle Pacific University Digital Commons @ SPU Honors Projects University Scholars Spring 6-7-2021 STRUCTURAL DELUSION, RELIGIOUS ANXIETY, AND A MELODRAMATIC PRIEST: EXPLORING MACRO AND MICRO INFLUENCES ON THE CORDOBAŃ MARTYRS Emma K. Friesen Seattle Pacific University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects Part of the History of Religion Commons, Islamic World and Near East History Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, Social Justice Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons, and the Theory, Knowledge and Science Commons Recommended Citation Friesen, Emma K., "STRUCTURAL DELUSION, RELIGIOUS ANXIETY, AND A MELODRAMATIC PRIEST: EXPLORING MACRO AND MICRO INFLUENCES ON THE CORDOBAŃ MARTYRS" (2021). Honors Projects. 123. https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects/123 This Honors Project is brought to you for free and open access by the University Scholars at Digital Commons @ SPU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Projects by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ SPU. STRUCTURAL DELUSION, RELIGIOUS ANXIETY, AND A MELODRAMATIC PRIEST: EXPLORING MACRO AND MICRO INFLUENCES ON THE CÓRDOBAN MARTYRS by EMMA FRIESEN FACULTY MENTORS: DR. ALISSA WALTER AND DR. RAPHAEL MONDESIR HONORS PROGRAM DIRECTOR: DR. CHRISTINE CHANEY A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Honors Liberal Arts Seattle Pacific University 2021 Friesen 2 ABSTRACT: After escaping the assassination of the Umayyad royal family in Damascus, a member of this family, Abd al-Rahman I, fled to the Iberian Peninsula to establish a new Umayyad Empire (756-1492 AD). Famous for its pluralistic polity, unparalleled scholarship, artistic prowess, and more, this empire rightfully established itself as a powerful political force. Many scholars emphasize the unique convivencia, or coexistence, that characterized Islamic Spain during these centuries while others thoroughly question this reality, concerned that it ignores the cultural strain that is inevitable in such a diverse society. In this essay, we find ourselves balancing a middle position, recognizing that both perspectives offer truth and are essential in order to glean meaningful lessons on what it means to shape a society that thrives amidst diversity. Serving as a tangible example of the cultural tension in Andalusia is a group of radical Christians known as the Córdoban martyrs. These 48 Christians experienced structural restraints primarily as a result of Islamic law as well as individual religious anxiety, which led them to seek the unprecedented act of “voluntary martyrdom”. In order to fully understand the tension they experienced and how it contributed to the eventual dissolution of Umayyad Spain, both the micro and macro influences on their decision must be explored. Through their story, we witness the power that inhabits both their individual narratives and macro structures. Their experience offers meaningful contributions to the macro-micro discussion present across all disciplines and highlights the importance of the micro perspective that is often discounted, especially in sociological inquiry. Scholars from every discipline need to acknowledge and consciously wrestle with this relationship in order to engage in truly robust research. With more knowledge of the interaction between structural and the individual, we can better understand how to use both micro and macro Friesen 3 sources of power to build a world where social structures are more just, and a diversity of individuals and groups can flourish. INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC SPAIN: Islamic civilization began as small group of Muslims in the city of Mecca under the leadership of the prophet Muhammad (570-623 AD). Before he became a prophet, Muhammad was known for his trustworthiness, his mediation and conflict resolution skills, his heart for the marginalized, and, naturally, his spiritual inclination.1 He carried this excellence into his role as the leader of the umma2 and offered the promise of individual salvation alongside a hopeful vision of a just and unified community that mirrored the nature of God.3 When Muhammad died in 632 AD, the Umma faced their first major challenge as a community. Although Muhammad was truly irreplaceable, they needed to select a new leader. Two major schools of thought arose in debates over who should inherit Muhammad’s authority. Those falling under the Khalifa model believed that whoever is the most qualified to fill his role should do so. Those adhering to the Imam model believed that there was something special about Muhammad’s bloodline and that the legacy of Muhammad must be carried on through his family in leadership. This quarrel over Muhammad’s successor still divides Muslims into the two main sects of Islam: Sunni Muslims following the Khalifa model and Shi’a Muslims following the Imam model.4 1 Tamim Ansary, Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes (New York: PublicAffairs, 2009), 18-20. 2 Umma: term used to describe the broader entirety of the Muslim community in the world. 3 Ansary, Destiny Disrupted, 24. 4 Ibid., 35-40. Friesen 4 Although not without intense disagreement and violence, the umma managed to choose, and thrive under what are known as the four original Caliphs: Abu Bakr (r. 632-634 AD), Umar (634-644), Uthman (644-656), and finally Ali (656-661). To put it concisely, Ali did not come to power through communal consensus or popular support, but through forced appointment by rebel leaders within the umma. As a result, civil war broke out. A man named Mu‘awiya—an elite man from Mecca who was not from Muhammad’s bloodline—emerged as the winner of that civil war. Mu’awiya established a hereditary monarchy, known as the Umayyad Empire, with the capital of the broader Islamic Empire now located in Damascus. Although a hereditary monarchy significantly deviated from original Khalifate structure, it operated with relative success under the Umayyads. Islam spread across North Africa and Arab culture spread to the north, shaping the beginnings of a mixed cultural identity throughout the empire.5 Due mainly to Arab ethnocentrism, spiritual and financial corruption within the monarchy, and spiritual revivals among citizens, anti-Umayyad leaders surfaced among the polity looking to stage revolution and restore members of Muhammad’s bloodline to the throne. Invited as dinner guests to the King’s court, these leaders assassinated the entire Umayyad royal family and established a new empire known as the Abbasid Empire (750-1258AD).6 However, one member of the Umayyad royal family managed to escape: a man named Abd al-Rahman I. After evading his own assassination, Abd al-Rahman I traveled all the way to the Iberian Peninsula to establish a second Umayyad Empire (756-1492 AD). Given the unique cultural context of Iberia, this Umayyad empire was deviant in many ways from the original. When migrants from the east took over Spain from the Visigoths, a group of ethnically German 5 Walter, “The Umayyad Empire,” Lecture on Sept. 23rd, 2020. 6 Walter, “The Umayyad Empire,” Lecture on Sept. 23rd, 2020. Friesen 5 Christians, it took only a few generations before a thriving diversity of ethnicities and interrelations between religious groups gave Andalusia a distinct cultural identity.7 There were political leaders of every background on all levels of government, there was intermarriage across religious lines, and a flourishing of collaborative scholarship. Scholarship prospered in Baghdad under Abbasid rule, but the medley of cultural backgrounds in Andalusia made an especially unique environment for riveting discourse and discovery across a variety of disciplines.8 When Muslim leaders first arrived in Christian Visigothic Spain, they constituted a religious minority. However, starting in the mid-700s through till about the middle of the 11th century, Islamic civilization became the dominant influence in the Mediterranean.9 While initially Islam was not the quantitative majority in Andalusia, what mattered was its political hegemony. Given that Muslims were initially outnumbered by Christians, “the Muslims had every reason to allow a great deal of autonomy to any Christian community that recognized their authority and paid the jizya.”10 Forced conversion is condemned by the Quran, but Muslim leaders were able to encourage conversion by implementing policies that offered civil advantages to those who converted. 11 Conversion, therefore, was not always primarily about an individual spiritual experience, as is often the Western Christian perspective, but involved considering the practical and social consequences of conversion.12 Many non-Muslims would convert to Islam 7 María Rosa Menocal, Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2002), 28. 8 Ibid., 33-35. 9 Walter, “Diversity and Hybridity in the Western Muslim World,” Lecture on Oct. 12th, 2020. 10 Kenneth Baxter Wolf, Christian Martyrs in Muslim Spain (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), Chapter 1, https://libro.uca.edu/martyrs/martyrs.htm. 11 Quran 2:256 12 Jessica Coope, “Religious and Cultural Conversion to Islam in Ninth-Century Umayyad Córdoba,” Journal of World History 4, no. 1 (Spring 1993): 48. Friesen 6 because they desired “to enjoy full social and legal status in the community.”13 By 961 CE the Iberian Peninsula was fifty percent Muslim and eighty percent by 1105 CE.14
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