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The Muslims of Spain By Vicar M. Sayeedi 

(Historical Context and Introduction)

 

 

Text Box: A study of the Muslims of Spain presents a particularly important  opportunity for thought and reflection by present day Muslims. These Berbers from North Africa were known to the Spaniards of the time, and to posterity, as Moors. They were brave soldiers and generals, skilled artisans and architects, critical thinkers and philosophers, tenacious linguists, capable farmers and brilliant physicians.  Many of their contributions are recognized, recorded and revered by Muslims and non-Muslims alike in numerous areas of contemporary academic discipline and the level of sophistication of their society relative to the achievement of other societies of the era is striking and particularly noteworthy. The Moors established a model community in the Iberian Peninsula, however, a closer study and analysis of the lives, achievements, shortcomings, failures and struggles of this pioneering Muslim Community  in Europe during the Middle Ages yields many valuable lessons for contemporary Muslims. The Moors arrived in Southern Spain in 711 under the Standard of General Tariq ibn-Ziyad and remained until 1492. However, during this period there was enormous upheaval and volatility in their leadership and there were constant battles with the Christians from the North who sought to regain what soon became great centers of artistry, culture, grandeur and knowledge: Cordoba, Granada, Seville and Toledo. Eventually, those who plotted against the Muslims, particularly Ferdinand and Isabella, succeeded in their efforts to "cleanse" Spain of the various unwanted groups and ideologies under the Standard of the Spanish Inquisition thus leading to the end of an extraordinary period in Islamic history

 

 

Muslim History in Spain began in 711 with Tariq ibn-Ziyad and ended in 1492 with the culmination of the Spanish Inquisition, a period of 781 years. Such a lengthy and glorious period of Islamic and world history would be impossible to encapsulate with any degree of integrity in a 45-minute session.  Thus, it would probably be best to optimally utilize the time together by painting a mental picture of the historical context of the Age and then subsequently presenting an introduction to this great period in the "History of the Muslims". If the audience has interest, additional addresses can follow which can build upon this address.

Introduction

  1. A brief excerpt from Olga Pikovskaya's article in Business Week. The contributions of Muslims during the Dark Ages. Olga is an Intel Talent Search Finalist. A very prestigious award often characterized as the junior Nobel Prize.

Dinshaw Patel, Olga Pikovskaya and Alexander Serganov

Intel winner Olga Pikovskaya is flanked by her Sloan-Kettering Institute                           

mentors Dinshaw Patel (left) and Alexander Serganov

“Unless you're a history buff, it can be hard to believe how pivotal early Islamic civilization was in laying the foundations of modern science, mathematics, technology, and the arts. Between 600 AD and 1400 AD, Europe was caught in a bleak time, commonly termed the Dark Ages. During that same period, however, Islamic societies were making fundamental discoveries.

The contributions of early Islamic people are far too numerous to list. A few innovations starting with the letter "a" are: acetic acid, alcohol, almanacs, aloe, and astrolabes. In addition, these people were adept at improving the technologies and inventions that Muslim traders brought back from China.

In the sciences, Islamic scholars began converting Greek speculations into a process for uncovering verifiable facts. They made fundamental contributions to medicine, astronomy, chemistry, physics, and optics. In medicine, for example, Muslim scientists developed a hollow needle for removing cataracts from the eye by suction -- around 1,000 years ago. And mathematics was a Muslim forte, as seen in the creation of algebra and the Arabic number system that we use today.

AT ODDS AGAIN.  New musical instruments, such as the violin and the guitar, which most people associate with Western music, owe their origins to the peoples of North Africa and Asia Minor. Islamic artistic contributions ranged from architecture and calligraphy to painting and poetry.

These ideas and discoveries spread outside the Muslim world as a result, ironically, of the Crusades. Although Europe lost militarily, the transfer of goods and ideas led directly to the Renaissance. All this is particularly surprising when juxtaposed with the contemporary view of Muslim society as being theocratic and backward.”

  1. The scholarship and academic integrity of self-endowed (government independent) American institutions of higher learning with regards to Islamic history.
  2. The challenge facing Muslim institutions, particularly those in Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus and South Asia in bringing their vast database of Islamic and secular knowledge and learning (generated and gathered by the Muslims during the middle ages) to light via the Internet.

The Mosque at Al-Azhar-Cairo, Egypt

The Umayyad Mosque-Damascus, Syria

Historical Context – The State of the Muslim World in the Early 700's
bullet On-going conflict between the Umayyads and the Shia.
bullet Umayyad Period: 662-749. Dynastic rule (nepotism as a tool to consolidate power) begins with Muawiya ibn-Abu Sufiyyan. 16 Khalifas (including Ameer-ul Mumineen Uthman ibn al-Affan).
bullet Islam has spread North into Syria, Northeast into Khorasan, Persia and West into North Africa where it is embraced by the Berbers.
bullet The Byzantine (Roman) presence in Syria, Anatolia (modern Turkey and Constantinople/Istanbul) and North Africa, as well as the formidable challenge posed by the Sassanians (the invincible Persians of the time were Pahlavi speaking Zorastrians), presented a significant challenge and openly hostile climate for the new and egalitarian Islamic ideology. Hence, the constant conflict, geographical conquest and re-conquest by competing empires and ideologies.
bullet The Shia-Sunni divide, the weakening of centralized administration and the declining unity among the Muslims culminates with the downfall (749) of the Umayyads in Damascus and the rise of the Abbassids who move the seat of the Caliphate to Baghdad.
bullet The Abbassid Caliphate survives until the late 1200’s until they are eventually decimated by Hulagu Khan (Grandson of Genghis Khan). The Abbassids were descending down the same path of internal dissent and consternation as their predecessors prior to the arrival of the Mongols.

 

Gibraltar

bullet 711 - Tariq ibn-Ziyad, a Berber General, enters Spain with an Army of 7000 men via Jabl-at-Tariq (Gibraltar) at the request of the Heirs of Witiza.
bullet Historians disagree on the origins of the Berbers. Some feel they were indigenous to North Africa while others feel they were probably an ancient Semitic people, perhaps the Phoenicians or Canaanites.
bullet Semitic – Of or belonging to the People of Sem (Shem/Sham). Sham was the son of Noah who settled in the Middle East. Semitic people include the Sumarians, Assyrians, Persians, Israelites, Babylonians and many other ancient Mesopotamian peoples.
bullet Babylon - Gate of God in ancient Semitic languages.
bullet Mesopotamia – The land between the two rivers. The Euphrates and the Tigris.
bullet (Hamurabi and Nebuchadnezzar Hanging gardens of Babylon. Saddam Hussein’s Link)
bullet The Berbers of the time were largely Christians although a significant minority were Sephardic Jews. The Berbers did not subjugate themselves to the rule of Rome. When Islam spread to this region early in the Umayyad Period, the Berbers accepted Islam but were, once again, less accepting of Arab rule.
bullet Moor, from the Roman, meant black man. Morocco and Mauritania thus meant “Land of Black Men”. The Romans would hire soldiers from these lands for their good skills as fighters.
bullet Roderick has killed Witiza and Witiza's heirs are immersed in civil war with Roderick.
bullet Visigoths were Germanic Christian Tribes who had spread to Spain.
bullet Witiza - Visigoth Sovereign in Southern Spain.
bullet Roderick - Visigoth Sovereign in the North of Spain.
bullet Roderick is killed in battle and his army is quickly defeated. Tariq ibn-Ziyad calls for reinforcements to secure the territory for Muslim rule.
bullet Witiza's heirs would probably not be able to defend against further incursions and attacks from the North and this would create consternation and threat for the growing Muslim Empire in North Africa.
bullet The Muslim Army of Berbers and Arabs sweeps North through Spain and easily takes control of all of Spain and Portugal by 720.
bullet The Muslim Army arrives in the Loire Valley just 150 miles South of Paris but is turned back by the forces of Charles Martel.
bullet By 756, Abd-ar-Rahman arrives in Andalusia (Al-Andalus) and establishes the Umayyad Caliphate at Cordoba. This Dynasty results in a period of stability for the Muslims lasting more than 300 years and fosters an environment of incredible intellectual and social advancement heretofore unseen in all of Europe.
bullet Muslims, Christians and Jews live in peace with one another and work together on many of the initiatives of the age.
bullet Cordoba becomes the seat of the Muslim Empire in the West. Increasing trade and diplomatic links with the Abbassids in Baghdad results in many of the intellectual, artistic and architectural skills and important advancements in civilian infrastructure permeating the distance from Baghdad to Cordoba.
bullet Cordoba becomes an affluent city of 500,000 people. The City has 700 Mosques and 900 public baths. Many affluent people have running water in their homes.
bullet Numerous libraries and well-lit, paved streets and roads give the City a unique and advanced character. Advanced architectural design and civilian infrastructure cools homes in warm weather and warms them in the cold.
bullet The introduction of intricate irrigation systems results in numerous advancements in agriculture.
bullet Cordoba becomes the most advanced city in of all of Europe. During the same period London does not have even a single streetlight or paved road. Londoners live in virtual squalor.
bullet Late in the eleventh century, the period of Christian re-conquest begins with the fall of Toledo, near Madrid.

Al Mezquita – The Great Mosque of Cordoba, Spain Mihrab to the Great Mosque of Cordoba, Spain

                          

Alhambra – The Great Citadel

Madinat al-Zahra – The Residence of the Umayyad Khalifa in Cordoba

Statue of Ibn-Rushd (Averroes)

bullet The Muslims began to fragment rapidly into emirates with much hostility between them. Historians note this civil enmity and resulting weakness of the Muslims’ ability to defend the Empire as the chief reason for the sequential fall of each great Muslim City.
bullet By the early part of the 11th century, Toledo had fallen back into the hands of the Christians.
bullet An important lesson for contemporary Muslims: The risk inherent in knowledge sharing. The Berbers were tremendous artisans. One very critical skill they imparted to the Spaniards during their 300-year residence in Toledo was their unmatched ability of fashioning steel into swords and other weapons. To this day, the art is practiced in Toledo.
bullet During the Christian re-conquest, 300,000 Arab and Berber Muslims were killed or expelled from Toledo. The very skill of fashioning swords divulged to the citizens of Toledo was now used to massacre the Muslims. The Christians next utilized this sword- making skill as they slowly regained all lands taken by the Moors including Cordoba, Grenada, Malaga and Seville. The same swords were probably used during the Inquisition.

 

bullet In 1492, Christopher Columbus stood in attendance as the united Christian forces of Ferdinand and Isabella took possession of the Great Citadel and Palace, Alhambra, overlooking Granada.

The Union of Ferdinand and Isabella

Islam in Spain, Al-Andalus, was no more. Muslims, non-Catholic Christians, Jews and others were to be subjected to an inordinately brutal period of European history: The Spanish Inquisition.

 

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NOT BECAUSE OF IGNORANCE (Editorial to the Northbrook Star -September 2002)

I congratulate the Northbrook Star on the article by staff writer Irv Leavitt “Since 9/11, Muslims Sense New Attitude”.  I applaud the Star for its service to North Shore communities.  However, I would like to clarify the following about the reaction of non-Muslims to Muslims around the Chicago area and particularly in the North suburbs.  While there were some incidents driven by hate and bigotry after the disastrous events of 9/11/01, the overall response was supportive and empathetic.  It was mentioned in the above article that: “I rarely encountered bias, because few people think that I am a Muslim.”   I definitely look like an Arab and try to behave like a Muslim. While the looks were enough to stir anger and hate crimes in other parts of the US, I rarely encountered bias. This was the case not because of people’s ignorance, but because the overwhelming majority of the North suburb residents are enlightened, and sensitized to issues of “profiling” and to citizens constitutional rights. The 9/11 events are testing America’s resolve as well as every American’s deep sense of justice and commitment to the truth.  May God help each and every one of us pass this test.

Ashraf Youssef, MD, PhD

A Muslim view of “The Passion”

The movie “The Passion of the Christ” by Mel Gibson conveys in its more than 120 minutes length two messages. The first is the gory, gruesome, relentless and detailed beating, torturing, stoning, humiliating and flogging of one man that ends with his crucifixion. This torture and execution were conducted with vengeance and passion by Roman soldiers and street spectators (assumed to be Jewish).  The second is the passionate desire of the elite Jewish clergy (with one exception) supported by the populous (with two exceptions) to crucify Jesus and allow a murderer to go free instead. This group incited, encouraged, even blackmailed and threatened the Roman governor to push him to crucify Jesus.  While the majority of the Jewish clergy and people were passionate beyond belief to crucify Jesus, the Roman soldiers (with the exception of their two most senior leaders) were passionate, to the point of exhaustion, about torturing Jesus. The justification for the Roman passion was not explained in the movie, except that these soldiers may have been psychopathic torturers who enjoyed humiliating any Jew, especially one who claimed to be the “King of the Jews”.  While the discussion about the movie has been passionate both in terms of the historical/biblical account of this period and of the impact of the movie on both viewers and non-viewers, the folklore/historical background of this whole event does not resonate with Muslims.

Muslims believe that Jesus of Nazareth was a prophet, who was neither the son of God nor was crucified.  Muslims believe that, like all the prophets, Jesus was sent to proclaim the basic message of the oneness of God.  Jesus holds a highly acclaimed position in the eyes of every Muslim, and his mother Mary the Virgin has a special position as a woman chosen from among all women in the worlds (human and non-human) (Quran 3: 42; editorial: Mother Mary).  Muslims believe that Jesus was raised to heaven prior to the crucifixion event, and that the person who was crucified was not Jesus.  Muslims, first and foremost, believe that God has never taken a human form, and that it is a sacrilege to speak of anyone being the son of God, the wife of God or the mother of God.  Muslims believe that humans cannot compare God to anything or anyone because God is unlike anything or anyone humans can know or imagine.  Like Christians, Muslims believe that Jesus will return to earth before the end of time. This may relieve or anger some from the Christian and Jewish communities.  In any case, the main concern about the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson’s depiction of the event, that it may harm relations between Christians and Jews, and incite those inclined toward religious prejudice and hatred to engage in hateful speech or crime toward others based on the vividness of the imagery.

Mother Mary: A Model for Salvation; Walid Khayr, MD

Christians and Muslims venerate Mother Mary. In this month of Ramadan the month of worship, prayer, and fasting, I like to present the spiritual stories of this real woman, and how she rescued an entire Empire - the Roman Empire – from a crisis. It is indeed one of the greatest experiences in human history.

How Mother Mary is Presented in the Quran

In a Chapter entitled with her name, the story of Mary is embedded in the stories of prominent Prophets and Messengers: Zakaryia (Zachariah) and his son Yahya or John the Baptist; Ibrahim (Abraham) and his descendents, Isma’il (Ishmael), Isaac, and Jacob; Moses and his brother Aaron, as well as of Prophet Idris. Collectively, they were referred to in this verse,

“Those were some of the prophets on whom God has bestowed His Grace - of the posterity of Adam, and of those whom We carried with Noah (in the Ark), and of the posterity of Abraham and Israel - of those whom We guided and chosen”.

Two inferences can be drawn from this special presentation. First, prophetic experience is potentially a universal human experience. The selection for this blessed experience is made by God, regardless of race, ethnicity, or biological lineage. Second, to see Mother Mary chosen for a very high position close to God alongside all these men challenges the notion of gender discrimination.

Let us examine these two verses:

“God did choose Adam and Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of Imran above all people”

In the same way, Mary was chosen.

“Behold! The angels said: O Mary! God has chosen you and purified you – chosen you above the women of all nations”

To elaborate more on the last point, I can say that a huge and significant change was made in the way women had been viewed and treated, and the value they were given in many cultures and societies at the time of Mary and at the time of the revelation of the Quran. Mary, the model and prototype for attaining higher altitudes and stations near to God, would empower and inspire people, especially women to make a difference in their lives and transform ambition into an achievable possibility.

Mary’s Immediate Environment:

Let us explore and look closely at the immediate environment that contributed to the upbringing of Mary:

Mary was raised in a house of worship and piety under the care and compassion of Prophet Zachariah and his son Yahya or John the Baptist. The Quran gives us a glimpse of their character.

About Prophet Zakariya, God said,

“This is a recital of the Mercy of your Lord to His Servant Zakariya”

“So Zakariya came out to his people from his prayer chamber”

And about Prophet Yahya or John the Baptist, God said,

“O Yahya! Take hold of the book with might”

“And piety (We gave him) as from Us, and purity: He was devout”.

Two points need to be recognized here. First, Zakariya, Yahya, their family, and Mary constitute a unique, seldom, and qualitative model of purity, piety, and beauty within the larger environment of a civilization- the Roman civilization - whose emphasis became solely on material life and the world of things. Second, Mary was not alone. She was working with others for the common good at that historical moment, and demonstrated the extension of a long parade of righteous people through history. Listen how her people addressed her when she surprised them with baby Jesus,

“O sister of Aaron! Your father was not a man of evil, nor your mother a woman unchaste”

Mary was not the biological sister of Aaron, but she was, in her piety, the extension of righteous people like Prophet Aaron.

This is the environment that produced Mary and contributed to her credibility.

The Prophetic Experiences of Mary:

Two striking features appear in Mary’s profile, which is not different from what have been experienced by Prophets and Messengers. First, Mary was made capable of transcending this sensual world into the intelligible world; connecting with the world of angels, the world of absolute reality, and receiving the divine word of God without a mediator.

“Behold! The angles said: O Mary, God has chosen you”

“Behold! The angels said: O Mary! God gives you glad tidings of a word from Him: His name will be Jesus Christ, the son of Mary”

“Then We sent her Our angel”

Second, Mary attained a very high position in this existence very close to God. Therefore, we should not be surprised to see her sustained by types of food which were not available to others,

“Every time Zakariya entered her prayer chamber, he found her supplied with sustenance. He said: O Mary! Whence comes this to you? She said: From God: for God provides sustenance to whom He pleases without measure”.

And to see the palm tree responding to her push, the push of a physically weak pregnant lady in pain.

“And shake towards yourself the trunk of the palm tree; it will let fall fresh ripe dates upon you”

 In a similar way, the fire did not burn Abraham, and the sea responded to the stick of Moses opening a path for him and his followers. Collectively, such acts are referred to as “Signs” or miracles. In other words, miracles represent a measure by which the status of humans is gauged. In fact, the greatest miracle of all for Mary was giving birth to Jesus without a husband. Together, Mary and her son Jesus constitute one sign or miracle,

“And We made the son of Mary and his mother as one Sign”

The sign is not complete for one without the other. For Jesus to be created inside Mary is another reflection of her status in the eyes of her Lord,

“And remember her who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our Spirit, and We made her and her son one Sign for all peoples”.

The Crisis:

Mother Mary emerged as a solution to a complex social crisis. The Quran summarized the crisis in the following verse,

“But after them there followed a posterity who missed prayers and followed after lusts: Soon, then, will they face destruction”.

Mary, The Solution:

Mary offered a new direction to a society that had lost its sense of direction. The loss manifested itself in missing prayer, i.e. missing the connection with The Lord Who provides the goal and the direction; and subservience to worldly desires and lusts without self-control or self-restraint. Such practices are associated with total misguidance and destruction. At this juncture, Mother Mary was the most appropriate response to this crisis.

In a society that had become subjugated by materialism in its extreme from, Mary would give birth to Jesus by a special miracle, without the intervention of the customary physical and material means. It was a moment of civilization in its extreme materialism confronted with spirituality and refusal of absolute materialism in the extreme. Mary would embody the solution and the salvation of a society in crisis. Why Mary, the woman, is crucial and instrumental to the solution?

Societies in an extreme state of materialism seek pleasure merely for pleasure, and women symbolize and objectify desire. Who then would be better than a woman emerging from a diametrically opposite extreme to lead such a society out of its crisis? A woman like Mary raised and produced in the midst of this society becomes the absolute proof for a solution. Why? Because raising a woman like Mary in a materialistic environment seems almost impossible, and is not without a great deal of struggle and suffering. But Mary was actualized, and people could see through her the possibility for change and transformation. She spearheaded the undertaking of saving a materialistic society in crisis. Her son Jesus and his disciples after him would succeed in moving the entire Roman Empire in a new direction towards the center, the state of balance, and the golden mean.

In conclusion, the human being is created with the potential to reach the highest position closest to God. Men and women have equal opportunity to realize such a position. Mary attained a very high level of spirituality and consequently was chosen for that position. When she gave birth to Jesus, she gave a new birth to humanity and to her people a new direction towards salvation,

“The similitude of Jesus before God is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: Be, and he was”

If creation of Adam represented the beginning of humanity, Jesus represented the rebirth of humanity.

Mother Mary! I salute you the same way I salute all Prophets and Messengers. May God’s Peace, Blessings, and Prayers be upon you and your son, Jesus. People wondered over more than two thousand years how to praise you and pay you tribute.

My praise goes like this:

Those who believe in you must speak to the age, those who know you must transform through you into Mary for the new age and new place.

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Last modified: 03/11/06