Islamic Spain can be seen as one of the only societies that has grasped the importance of synergy and placed this notion above the typical need for absolute control. It is here where adherents of three religions coexisted and thrived culturally, economically, and intellectually. Two works explain the history of Islamic Spain, one being a documentary by Gardner Films, Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain, and the other a book by Tamim Ansary called Destiny Disrupted: A History of The World Through Islamic Eyes. While both Ansary and Gardner Films explore the themes of Spain under Islamic rule, Gardner Films provides the viewer with a more thorough history of the region whereas Ansary remains brief and narrow with his narration. The documentary Cities of Light provides a view of Islamic Spain from its beginning to its very end. This documentary touches on every aspect of what life was like in Islamic Spain and the significance of the events that occurred there.
In the fifth century Barbarians collapsed the Roman Empire and Europe entered the Dark Ages. Around this time the Visigoths expanded their empire by heading for Spain. Upon arriving in Spain, the Visigoths encountered Jews whom they treated somewhat gently until the Visigoths converted to Catholicism; the Visigoths then overran Jews. Soon after, Muslims from North Africa known as Berbers decided to invade the Iberian Peninsula in hopes to take control of Spain and expand the Muslim reign, which they did. This sudden change in rule of the territory provided a sense of relief for all the people living in Spain. The reason for this was because the Muslims treated everyone equally so long as they abided by Muslim authority and paid taxes. After all, the Christians...
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...ommunity into two. Both Ansary and Gardner present this idea of Rahman III claiming himself as Khalifa and the issued that come along with it are of extreme significance. This disunity of what is supposed to be a single Muslim community (umma) made many Muslims angry and gave them the idea that religion needed to be purified, this sparked a purification of religion in Christianity as well. This eventually led to Islamic Spain falling into the hands of Ferdinand and Isabel who expelled all Muslims from Spain and ended the long-lived Islamic Spain.
Bibliography
Ansary, Tamim. Destiny Disrupted: A History of The World Through Islamic Eyes. New York:
Public Affairs, 2010.
Gardner, Robert, Carrie Gardner, and Sam Mercurio. "Cities of Light: The Rise & Fall of
Islamic Spain." Produced by Unity Productions Foundation. 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i1Sb0nz_fk
...y by compiling a summary of Islamic history, and, by doing so, creates a complete Islamic history that can go toe to toe with European history. As a result, his argument stands to be thorough, suggesting that Islamic history indeed plays a role in today’s international world
Before the Spanish Inquisition was established, Spain was occupied by a dominant Christian society, but certain areas also consisted of Jewish and Muslim societies. The lack of religious agreement upon the country sparked anti-Semitic attitudes, and...
A Vanished World: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Spain is survey medieval Spain, where Christians, Jews, and Muslims once lived side by side and the Muslims were in charge. The book tries to lead the reader to the conclusion that there is indeed a historical precedent for the three major religions establishing a beneficially symbiotic relationship which may be an enduring lesson for coexistence. The author, Chris Lowney, is an ex-Jesuit and holds degrees in medieval history and philosophy.
All in all, this short selection of Usama’s writings does much to further the understanding of the effects on the crusades on many Muslims during this period, though since this was written by an affluent elite it does not describe much of the general populous’ experience. It also provides a good overview of the interactions between Muslims themselves. This was a time fraught with danger and division but Usama’s work shows that a common thread kept many together and preserved a civilization that still exists to this very day.
For religious Muslim contemporary’s the success of the 711 invasion was attributed to the will of Allah as part of Islam’s rapid expansion. Likewise for the Christian author of the 9th century chronicle of Alfonso III the Visigoths’ defeat had been punishment for disobeying God’s commandments. To the majority of medieval men divine intervention was a valid explanation for occurrences, however even then secular minded writers appreciated more practical explanations; principally the unrest which existed within the Visigothic kingdom. The political and social problems which faced Iberia at the time are seen by many modern historians as vital to the conquest’s success.
After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the death of Islam was very possible. The Arab conquests were remembered merely as one of the history’s more improbable “might-have-beens”. It may easily have been the end, if not for the decisive action taken by the early Muslim leadership, notably by the first two caliphs (or successors of the Prophet). Like Muhammad
The conflict between the Christians and the Muslims, between 1098 and 1229, was the result of political unrest; which was fueled the Muslims migrating into the Christian holy lands, lead by Pope Urban II and carried on, throughout latter centuries by his followers. What follows is a story of war, holy visions,unholy alliances, promises made with fingers crossed, sieges and slaughters, the details of which fill volumes. Christianity, in its infancy, was a very threatened state. It was enriched with radical ideas that called for the worship of a single god in place of the many dieties that had ruled for centuries before. These radical concepts took a while to sink in and become the root of what would be the modern era. The world of the latter 9th century and early 10th century was in a state of turmoil, resulting from the recent adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the modern world. In order to cement its hold on the masses, the political heads of the day decided to quell all internal conflicts and unite against an enemy whose destruction would help to further develop the hold that the Pope, and the church, had on the world. The Muslims were originally a tight banded group of followers of Muhammad and the religion of Islam. When the prophet Muhammad died, however, the group lost it's center and thus began to unravel a little and disperse. The Muslims slowly began to integrate into the Christian holy lands', threatening the foundation of Christianity. This integration lead to unease and gave root to the cause of the Crusades. It allowed for the Pope to issue official doctrine which called for the removal of the muslims in a united effort by devout Christians. A crusade is a holy war authorized, encouraged, and supported by the Pope in the name of God and Christ. In order to justify a war, or the need for war, the Pope proposed the issue as a defensive reaction to injury or aggression and as an attempt to recover Christian territories lost to infidels. Pope Urban II initiated the first crusade as an attempt to unite the conflicting Christian territories against a single and foreign foe, the Muslims. Otto, better known as Pope Urban II, was born around 1042 and died 29 July 1099. On 12 March 1088, Otto was unanimously elected as Pope, taking the title of Urban II.
During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was the dominant force in Western civilization. As the Dark Ages came to a close, the monarchies of Europe began to consolidate power; providing an alternative power base. With the Protestant Reformation came another blow to the influence of the Church. Spain, the forerunner in the Age of Discovery, was a fervently Catholic country. During the 16th century, the monarchy combined the forces of "cross and crown" in its imperial policy; much to the dismay and ultimate destruction of the indigenous peoples of the New World. Through an examination of Aztec polytheism and the Catholicism of the conquistadors, comes the central role of religion in the successful conquest of New Spain.
According to Jordi- Vidal Robert, the Spanish Inquisition led to 0.11% decrease in population growth in Spain. The Spanish Inquisition kept the Protestant Reformation from taking root in Spain and made Spain remain very Roman Catholic. There is not much of any other religion there. The Spanish Inquisition also gave influence to Hitler, a Christian leader, to start the Holocaust which practiced Anti- Semitism and sought to suppress the Jews and other non-Christians. Though the Spanish Inquisition is associated with the papacy being corrupt, many sources associated the Spanish Inquisition with the secular rulings, but this is highly debated. “To thousands of other lesser Jews forced into choosing a new religion, the result was a bitter hatred for the Spanish Church (Kamen 21)” and this resentment from Jews and Muslims still exists today. Pope John Paul II has even apologized to these religious groups for the horrible acts committed during the medieval times. This was not enough to cure the bitter hostility caused during the medieval times, but what
Over a thousand years ago, Sothern Spain was home for Jews, Christians and Muslims living together, intertwining and establishing the best of their land by different means. Unfortunately, this reunion was vanished and lost forever.
The prophet Muhammad had a significant impact on the rise and spread of the religion Islam. According to World Civilizations, Muhammad “began receiving revelations transmitted from Allah,” and later these revelations became holy scripts in the Quran. Muhammad started off with very few followers but as the faith of Allah started to spread, he gained more followers and he became a threat to Mecca’s rulers. As mentioned in World Civilization, “in 622 Muhammad left Mecca for Medina where his skilled leadership brought new followers.” In Medina, Muhammad became the religious authority in the area and he used this power to conquer Mecca, a holy place for Islamic believers. By the time of his death, he was able to have created a religious empire that controlled all of the Arabian Peninsula.
Rahman, Fazlur. Islam & Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1982. Print.
Tariq Ali uniquely puts into perspective the horrific tragedies behind the Spanish reconquest in his work, Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree, by capturing the history in the perspective of a Muslim family who lived in a village just outside of recently conquered Granada. He does this in order to expose the cruelty and intolerance of the Archbishop Xemenes de Cineros. Ali also uncovers the faults in not only Christianity, but also in Islamic ideology by having many character’s from the family Banu Hudayl debating and questioning Islamic beliefs which may parallel with the author’s own beliefs, or lack thereof. (Tariq) One of Ali’s strongest focuses however, was to expose the lack of urgency many Muslims felt after the fall of Granada. Many Muslim’s
During Muhammad’s time, he united many areas in Arabia and was able to establish a religious communi...
In 1478, Spain’s Monarchs Ferdinand II and Isabella I established the Spanish Inquisitions, with the intension of maintaining Catholic orthodoxy in their country and territories. The inquisitions were prisons intended to “convert” and punish people of Jewish and Islamic beliefs or anyone else who disagreed with the ideals of the Catholic Church. During the 350 year time period, am estimated total of around 125,000 prisoners of the Inquisitions were “investigated”, tortured and starved. In 1095 Pope Urban II convinced many Christians that is not a sin if they kill non-Christians or non-believers. Urban II then proclaimed that all Christians who were willing to fight Muslims in the holy lands, would be forgiven of their past sins and would be accepted into heaven and so began the crusades. Despite the many beliefs that Muslim and Christian’s share, the crusaders felt justified by God in the violent slaughter of Muslim peoples. In retaliation, the Muslims formed their own crusades against the Christian peoples. It is believed that when the crusades finally ended in 1291, the total death toll reached somewhere between 1 million and 3 million people, yet religious struggles over dominance in the Holy Lands still continue even