SPAIN'S ISLAMIC LEGACY: A MUSLIM'S TRAVELOGUE IMPORTANT NOTICE: Author: Professor S.M. Ghazanfar Editor: Dr. Rabah Saoud All rights, including copyright, in the content of this document are owned or controlled for these purposes by FSTC Limited. In Chief Editor: Lamaan Ball MPhys accessing these web pages, you agree that you may only download the content for your own personal non-commercial Production: Husamaldin Tayeh use. You are not permitted to copy, broadcast, download, store (in any medium), transmit, show or play in public, adapt or change in any way the content of this document for any other purpose whatsoever without the prior written permission of FSTC Release Date: March 2004 Limited. Publication ID: 4050 Material may not be copied, reproduced, republished, downloaded, posted, broadcast or transmitted in any way except for your own personal non-commercial home use. Any other use Copyright: © FSTC Limited, 2003 2004 requires the prior written permission of FSTC Limited. 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FSTC Limited takes no responsibility for the consequences of error or for any loss or damage suffered by readers of any of the information published on any pages in this document, and such information does not form any basis of a contract with readers or users of it. FSTC Limited 9 Conyngham Road, Victoria Park, Manchester, M14 5DX, United Kingdom Web: http://www.fstc.co.uk Email: [email protected] Spain’s Islamic Legacy: A Muslim’s Travelogue March 2004 SPAIN'S ISLAMIC LEGACY: A MUSLIM'S TRAVELOGUE This paper originally appeared in a number of publications and websites to describe a journey in December 1998. It has now been modified by the author especially for www.MuslimHeritage.com This article is a travelogue of impressions from a recent visit to Spain by Professor Ghazanfar1. For a Muslim who has some familiarity with Islamic history in the Iberian Peninsula, a visit to Spain is almost like a pilgrimage. However, unlike the pilgrimage to Mecca, such a visit can be spiritually and emotionally agonizing, for one is overwhelmed by manifestations of European Islam in Spain (Al-Andalus, as it was then known). That was the era of the Golden Age of Islam, from early eighth to late fifteenth century, coincidental with Dark Ages in the rest of Europe, when Al-Andalus was the centre of global civilisation. Its capital Cordoba was Europe's largest city--the city of books, of patrons of great literary men, scholars and explorers. There existed no separation between science, wisdom, and faith; nor was East separated from the West, nor the Muslim from the Jew or the Christian. It was here that the European Renaissance began and flourished beyond. For decades I had longed to visit Spain, not only for its legendary charm and picturesque beauty but, more importantly, to witness the heritage of almost 800 years of Islamic presence. In December 1998, I travelled to Spain as a participant in a colloquium, sponsored by the Paris-based International Society for the Study of Arab and Islamic History and Science (in conjunction with Spanish universities). The conference theme pertained to the contributions of Cordoba’s most distinguished intellectual, Ibn Rushd (1126-1198; known as Averroes in the West) in commemoration of the 800th anniversary of his death. The trip also provided me with an opportunity to experience Spain's Islamic heritage. That heritage, indeed, has reminders in every nook and cranny of contemporary Spain, especially in the province of Andalucia. That is where the two most prominent cities of Islam's legacy are located: Granada (Arabic Gharnata) and Cordoba (Arabic Qurtaba); both are United Nations’ monuments of "Heritage of Humanity". Conveniently these cities are well-maintained by the Spanish Government for, among other things, their huge significance for tourism, notwithstanding the many attempts in times past by Catholic fanaticism to eliminate any remnants of Islamic past. Soon after landing in Madrid (Arabic Majrit, a kind of a breeze), I took a night train to Granada, arriving there the next morning. Grandeur of Granada When Muslims (Arabs and Berbers) arrived in Spain, during early eighth century, they thought they had discovered heaven on earth. Water, which had been somewhat of a luxury for them, was found in abundance in the snowy mountain peaks. By a series of intricate channels, they transported it into the palace grounds and onto the plains below. Still today in Granada one gets a glimpse of paradise (so described by many visitors and travellers before) in the majesty of Alhambra Palace and adjacent Generalife Gardens (Arabic Janna Al- Rafia'a, the Garden of the Architect). Small streams carry water to various fountains and ponds, even rushing over a stone stairway. One observes and hears water splashing and gushing, under the conifers, roses, lilies, jasmines, etc with great displays of Publication Number: 4050 Page 2 of 12 COPYRIGHT © FSTC Limited 2003, 2004 Spain’s Islamic Legacy: A Muslim’s Travelogue March 2004 colour. Aside from the luxury of the Palace itself, there are the courtyards shaded by a variety of exotic trees and cooled by fountains and underground water channels. Figure 1. The Generalife garden (Janna al Rafia'a) Figure 2. A beautifully golden decorated arched meaning "the garden of lofty paradise" imitating that window from the interior of the Torre de las described in the Qur’an containing wonderful Infantas opening into a paradise garden orchards, pastures, and flower beds. It is part of a Nasrid palace built in the 13th century. All through one feels the presence of God Almighty, for there are Qur'anic verses inscribed on the walls, the most prominent and ubiquitous being: "Wa la ghalib illa Allah" (There is no victor but Allah). As one walks through Alhambra and the Gardens, one vicariously absorbs into the past and begins to experience an enormous sense of pride and awe at the glory that was Islam. But as I walked through the Palace, the tour-guide pointed out, among others, the "Ambassador's Hall," where the Muslim ruler, Abu Abdallah ("Boabdil," as the guide referred to him) had signed the treaty on November 25, 1491 for the eventual surrender of Granada in January 1492 to the Catholic King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel. I recalled the painful scene I read about sometime ago when Abu Abdallah shed tears and cried out, "Allah O'Akbar," his mother said to him, "Cry you like a woman over a lost kingdom that you could not defend like a man." Thus one feels the pain of an inglorious end to a glorious past, intensified further by one's knowledge of a divided and impoverished present world of Islam, subject to Western hegemony almost since the Crusades. Publication Number: 4050 Page 3 of 12 COPYRIGHT © FSTC Limited 2003, 2004 Spain’s Islamic Legacy: A Muslim’s Travelogue March 2004 There are numerous other reminders of historic Islam in Granada. There are several smaller palaces and there is the historic Albaican quarter (the Muslim quarter, where some Muslims still live and where the former mosque stands as Church of El-Salvador). Many churches whose roofs were decorated with domes, crosses and bell-towers instead of the former crescent and the Muezzin's Ada'n, clearly revealed their former status. There is the Gothic Cathedral, which once was the Great Mosque of Granada and where the two Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, are buried. As I visited the Cathedral, I saw a multitude of statues and paintings of Catholic icons, reminding me of at least one of the reasons for the 16th century Protestant split in Christianity. Figure 3. Court of Myrtles in the Comars Palace Figure 4. The court of the Lions showing the famous fountain and the slender marble columns of the galleries of the courtyard. One giant painting/sculpture that covered a large wall was most painful to absorb. It depicted a warrior on a horse and a dead man with his neck crushed, lying under the horse's feet. The guide explained, "It is Santiago and his horse, slaying a Muslim." When I asked further, she said, "It is the Apostle Santiago who helped in the Christian victory over Islam." When I pointed out the implied hate-message, she was slightly taken aback and wondered if I was a Muslim, and when I affirmed, she apologetically replied, "well, it is just a painting." Since that experience, I have learnt a little about the legend of St. James ("Santiago" in Spanish). Under continuous infiltration of Christian warriors from Leon (North of Spain) causing destruction and insecurity in neighbouring Muslim provinces, the Muslim commander, Ibn Abi Amir (also known as "Al-Mansur bi Allah," meaning "victorious through God's grace;" and "Almanzor" in the West), decided to fight them to bring back security and Publication Number: 4050 Page 4 of 12 COPYRIGHT © FSTC Limited 2003, 2004 Spain’s Islamic Legacy: A Muslim’s Travelogue March 2004 peace to these provinces.