Granted the people seek religion for means of peace and conflict resolution, it is widely believed that misinterpretation of religion is one of the fundamental reasons for evolution of war all around the world. History proves this by innumerable war and evolution incidents, one of them occurring in what we call now Spain.
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.
In the 6th century, mild hatred aroused towards the Jews from the Visgothic Christians. Despite the peace and the relative freedom the Jews once encountered, the Christians began to persecute them and force them to convert to Christianity as they were a force of threat. Those 2 faiths struggled, one for survival and one for dominance.
In the other hand, a prosperous religion now known as Islam began its conquest in the Middle East reaching North Africa. There the Islamic empire gathers strength converting large number of native tribesman called “Berbers”. The Berbers started advancing their physical skills while an Islamic leader known as Tariq Bin Ziad set his eye on the vulnerable Visgothic Spain aiming to send the message of Islam abroad it. In 711, ferocious Tariq Bin Ziad and his fierce warriors reached Sothern Spain facing Visigoths King for the battle of Guadalete. The Muslim empire conquered the Christians, thus bestowing the Muslims a new land.
In the Islamic conquest, Muslims conquered large areas consisting of distinct religion members. Muslims believed that all religions should be treated respectably; hence Jews and Christians followed ...
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... practicing Islam. They were called Moriscos and were severely punished. After their execution, Al Andalusia was no longer Al Andalusia, power and dominance escaped from their territory.
Despite the defeat, Al Andalusia remains powerful for all the culture and knowledge it gave birth to. A wise man known as Alexander Von Humboldt proves this by quoting:” That period was a very dreamland of culture. Under enlightened caliphs, the Arabs in Spain developed a civilization which, during the whole of the Middle Ages up to the Renaissance, exercised pregnant influence upon every department of human knowledge. (...) Yet this Spanish-Arabic period bequeathed to us such magnificent tokens of architectural skill, of scientific research, and of philosophic thought, that far from regarding it as a fancy's dream, we know it to be one of the corner-stone of civilization”.
The reconquest took a long time due to the fact that the Christian kingdoms Castile and Leon had split apart in the 10th century. At the time, the Muslims were called the Moors who had lost a vast amount of their unity within these long battles. Aragon was formed in 1035 as a new Christian peninsula, which would later unite back with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula. As kings died and new heirs gained the throne, slowly Reconquista was occurring. The Moorish culture was not fully annihilated from Spain; Toledo became the crossroads for people of all different religions and cultures. Escuela de Traductores was developed in Castile after they had completed their part in the reconquest. Among all of this, existing tensions between Portugal, Aragon, and Castile had vanished and the states consolidated their holdings. Two very powerful leaders, Ferdinand and Isabella, united the Spanish Crown through their marriage and together, they were able to complete the conquest of
Cobb, Paul. "Introduction." Ibn Munqidh, Usama. Book of Contemplation Islam and the Crusades. New York: Penguin Books, 2008. xv-xlii.
The Muslims and Jews of Spain during that time did not believe in Christianity. This became a conflict to Isabel uniting Spain. In fear, many Muslims and Jews had converted to Christianity but were suspected to have been practicing their own faith secretly. Isabel felt betrayed and it sparked the start of the Spanish Inquisition. “…establishing an Inquisition, expelling the Jews, converting or expelling the Muslims of Granada and Castile, and sanctioning the Muslims' continued presence in Aragon” (Myerson, 11). Isabel and Ferdinand continued with their plans to unify all of Spain by continuing effort to expel the Moors also known as the Muslims, who held some parts of Spain. In 1492, the Muslim Kingdom of Granada fell to Isabel and Ferdinand. Also, all the Jews in Spain who refused to convert to Christianity were expelled. Isabel felt her religion was the only true one and if she didn't rid them from her country then Spain would be ruined.
Less than one hundred years after Muhammad’s death in 632, Islam spread across the known world like a wildfire, from the banks of the Indus River to the Pyrenees in Spain. Part of the reasons why the new religion was able to expand at such a meteoric rate was its power to unify preexisting cultures with the teachings of the new religion through the beautiful vocal nature of the Quran. Architecture was another element that was deployed to exalt both the political and religious greatness of the Islamic empires as “there is no essential difference between spiritual and secular art in Islam” (Burckhardt 208). Throughout the periods of expansion and of permanent existence of the Islamic empires, architecture encompassed many of the ideals that the new nation offered. It was adaptable to distinct cultures, remained true to its original roots, and drew upon its vast cultural resources to come up with new ways to express itself. One of the regions where we can see this trend take place is Andalusia. Influenced by Sufi practice, Islamic architecture in
The Reconquista is commonly recognized as the time when the Christians rulers “retook” the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims. However, the significant impact the Reconquista had on the Jews living in Iberia is often disregarded. How did the standard of living for Jewish communities residing in the Iberian Peninsula shift during Muslim rule in comparison to the Reconquista and Inquisition wherein the Jews were living under Christian rule? According to several sources, Jews were tolerated under Muslim rule as their culture thrived and various cities such as Cordoba, Granada, and Toledo had large as well as prosperous Jewish communities. This changed overtime as by the 1300s, when Christians began to rule most of Spain, prejudice against Jews became prevalent. As the years passed, bigotry began to increase, the outbreak of the Black Death contributed to this discrimination because many individuals blamed the Jews for the plague. Subsequently, this hatred gained momentum in the 1400s whereby the Spanish Inquisition resulted in an abundant number of Jewish victims.
Maalouf’s main thesis in The Crusades Through Arab Eyes is that the crusades are a major part of history and have truly influenced every one of our lives. The second pa...
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.
History provides several horrible periods of violence, fear and murder. Such horrible acts against humanity have been committed in the name of religion, colonization, and racial superiority. The Holocaust, was one of the most catastrophic and saddest events in history, where about 11 million people, including Jewish children, families, and political dissenters were mass murdered. However, there exists another mournful and cruel period that marked the lives of many Sephardic Jews with secrecy and fear. One hardly hears about the harassment, rejection and humiliation of Sephardic Jewry in Spain, Portugal, and countries like Mexico, at the hands of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, which began in 1492. Due to these events, Sephardic Jews found themselves facing one of the most complex decisions of their lives and those of future generations; conversion, expulsion or death. The reasons for conversion are complex, as many converted by force and others for social or political reasons. As a result, converts became known as Conversos and “marranos /chuetas, and the latter are derogatory terms, as the names imply “swine” (Hordes 6). Another important term is Anusim, referring to those "whose conversion was prompted by violence and fear not sincerity” (Hordes 6). Marranos, were secretive people often, “keeping their children from their Jewish identity, until they reached an age where discretion could be trusted "(Telushkin 195). All of these events, have led to the complex phenomena, of the crypto-Jews in the new world, including Mexico and the American Southwest. Thus, sparking new areas of interest and research of their practices, customs, authenticity, and identification.
This can be seen in document 12 where it explains why the Christians attacked the Jews, it states, “The Christian masses, fired by religious fanaticism, frightened by plague, and enraged by the economic competition, now unrestricted of these secret-Jews, attacked them whenever they could.” (The Massacre of the New Christians of Lisbon, Doc 12, p. 65) The Spanish Inquisition operated by the Christian population driving the Jewish community from their homes, tortured them into confessing their sins of practicing Judaism in secret, and eventually killed them just because the Christian mobs could. The Christian population was mad and rage consumed them to kill the Jews. Document 12 explains the massacre of the Jews, it states, “Transported with madness and boiling with rage, they fell upon the wretched Jews of whom they killed great numbers, and threw many half alive into the flames.” (The Massacre of the New Christians of Lisbon, Doc 12, p. 66) The Jews were not only expelled by the King, but the Christian population took it upon themselves to eliminate and drive them out from their country themselves. The Christians were far from sane, and just full of hatred. They did not like the Jewish community, they did not like Marranos, they even killed their own based on grudges and dislikes. The inquisition was carried out in a way where the Christians could kill and expel anyone
Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion alongside Judaism and Christianity. It is currently the second largest religion in the world today. Its beliefs come from the Qur'an which literally means "the recitation" which is believed to be a literal transcription of the word of God. Its main prophet is named Muhammad who began Islam by speaking with the angel Gabriel in a cave during his meditation and then acting as an instrument of God to help write the Qur’an. Muhammad then spread Islam to the scattered tribes of Arabia by becoming the leader of Yathrib and using his wonderful leadership abilities to then grow his influence over virtually all of Arabia. Muhammad is known by Muslims to be the seal of the profits because no profits after Muhammad should be considered legitimate. Muhammad also left behind the Hadith or “tradition” which is a collection of writings compiled of reports of Muhammad’s actions as leader of Yathrib. These reports are used as a more specific code of ethics in day to day life and from these reports the 5 Pillars of Islam are derived (Smith 160). Although Islam shares many similarities to Judaism and Christianity it is often viewed in the US with hate derived from preconceived notions following the attack on September 11th 2001. This paper seeks to provide an overview of Islam’s history as well as its two major sects and 5 main pillars to remove preconceived notions and provide a glance into the minds of the Islamic people.
Throughout history, although the liberal approach has been calling on the separation between the politics and the religions, it is unattainable as political powers are often in league with the religions and have always used religious divisions as a weapon for military aggressions. Most wars in Medieval Spain were fought over the question of where the political power resided and who the owner of rich lands and the population should be. It is inappropriate to conclude that Medieval Spain embodied an excellent model of tolerance and interreligious cooperation because there was the side of intolerance and persecution of religious minorities. Even if the religious minorities were granted rights to practice their own religions, such privileges were
The Moorish presence on the Iberian Peninsula lasted from 711 C.E. until 1492 C.E. While the rest of Europe wallowed in the Dark Ages, in Islamic Spain the flame of knowledge was kept burning by the Muslim invaders. While they possessed a vast body of knowledge in their own right; furthermore, they also posses writing from Greek philosophers as well as the library at Alexandria. Christians, Muslims, and Jews thrived under Muslim rule, exchanging ideas and knowledge that would be passed on to the rest of Europe during and after the Reconquista. It is my opinion that this knowledge and technology led Europe into the renaissance. The Damascene technique of metal-smithing, industrial chemistry and the water clock are some examples of the technology passed on.
In the 16th century, there were three Islamic powers: Ottoman Empire, Central Asian Empire, and Mughal Empire. All three vanished from the face of the earth leaving behind multitude of Muslim aspirations longing for the glories of the past. The Ottoman Empire disintegrated in 1922, the Central Asian Empire was taken over by the Russian Empire, and the Mughal Empire’s last gasp was in 1857 when their rebellion was defeated by the British.
He uses the Banu Hudayl family to show that people of high status such as Zubayda have doubts of religion. Ali tries to diminish religion altogether by the many examples of fake conversions to Christianity which provides a sense that everyone has flaws, even the most devote Muslims. The fear which lead to the false conversion of many Muslims can directly correlate with the reasoning behind the expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain in 1609 under the rule of King Phillip III. Ali does not directly state this but hints at it throughout the novel by revealing many false converts and the tension that Cisneros feels towards these fake Christians. Ali also expresses his beliefs of equality through the many examples of sins and impurities among Muslims and Christians. Ali is trying to argue that we are all imperfect and selfish people, even if we have religion there will always be good and bad people. While there are many instances of noble sacrifice, such as Zuhayr going to fight for his family and for the town he loves, Hind points out that he only does this noble act out of
There are many similarities and differences between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There are also many differences that separate the three major religions of the world. This paper will delve into all three of them.