Islamic Spain was a multi-cultural mix of the people of three great monotheistic religions: Muslims, Christians, and Jews.

Although Christians and Jews lived under restrictions, for much of the time the three groups managed to get along together, and to some extent, to benefit from the presence of each other.

It brought a degree of civilisation to Europe that matched the heights of the Roman Empire and the Italian Renaissance.

Outline
In 711 Muslim forces invaded and in seven years conquered the Iberian peninsula.

It became one of the great Muslim civilisations; reaching its summit with the Umayyad caliphate of Cordovain the tenth century.

Muslim rule declined after that and ended in 1492 when Granada was conquered.

The heartland of Muslim rule was Southern Spain or Andulusia.

Periods
Muslim Spain was not a single period, but a succession of different rules.

*The Dependent Emirate (711-756)
*The Independent Emirate (756-929)
*The Caliphate (929-1031)
*The Almoravid Era (1031-1130)
*Decline (1130-1492)

Conquest

The conquest
The traditional story is that in the year 711, an oppressed Christian chief, Julian, went to Musa ibn Nusair, the governor of North Africa, with a plea for help against the tyrannical Visigoth ruler of Spain, Roderick.

Musa responded by sending the young general Tariq bin Ziyad with an army of 7000 troops. The name Gibraltar is derived from Jabal At-Tariq which is Arabic for 'Rock of Tariq' named after the place where the Muslim army landed.

The story of the appeal for help is not universally accepted. There is no doubt that Tariq invaded Spain, but the reason for it may have more to do with the Muslim drive to enlarge their territory.

The Muslim army defeated the Visigoth army easily, and Roderick was killed in battle.

After the first victory, the Muslims conquered most of Spain and Portugal with [b]little difficulty,[/b]and in fact with little opposition. By 720 Spain was largely under Muslim (or Moorish, as it was called) control.

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THE CHRISTIANS IN THE C0NTEXT {CATHOLIC}

Reasons
One reason for the rapid Muslim success was the generous surrender terms that they offered the people, which contrasted with the harsh conditions imposed by the previous Visigoth rulers.

The ruling Islamic forces were made up of different nationalities, and many of the forces were converts with uncertain motivation, so the establishment of a coherent Muslim state was not easy.

Andalusia
The heartland of Muslim rule was Southern Spain or Andulusia. The name Andalusia comes from the term Al-Andalus used by the Arabs, derived from the Vandals who had been settled in the region.

A Golden Age


Stability

Stability in Muslim Spain came with the establishment of the Andalusian Umayyad dynasty, which lasted from 756 to 1031.

The credit goes to Amir Abd al-Rahman, who founded the Emirate of Cordoba, and was able to get the various different Muslim groups who had conquered Spain to pull together in ruling it.

The Golden Age

The Muslim period in Spain is often described as a 'golden age' of learning where libraries, colleges, public baths were established and literature, poetry and architecture flourished. Both Muslims and non-Muslims made major contributions to this flowering of culture.

A Golden Age of religious tolerance?
Islamic Spain is sometimes described as a 'golden age' of religious and ethnic tolerance and interfaith harmony between Muslims, Christians and Jews.

Some historians believe this idea of a golden age is false and might lead modern readers to believe, wrongly, that Muslim Spain was tolerant by the standards of 21st century Britain.

The true position is more complicated. The distinguished historian Bernard Lewis wrote that the status of non-Muslims in Islamic Spain was a sort of second-class citizenship but he went on to say:

The Jews said

Second-class citizenship, though second class, is a kind of citizenship. It involves some rights, though not all, and is surely better than no rights at all...

...A recognized status, albeit one of inferiority to the dominant group, which is established by law, recognized by tradition, and confirmed by popular assent, is not to be despised.

Bernard Lewis, The Jews of Islam, 1984

Life for non-Muslims in Islamic Spain

Jews and Christians did retain some freedom under Muslim rule, providing they obeyed certain rules. Although these rules would now be considered completely unacceptable, they were not much of a burden by the standards of the time, and in many ways the non-Muslims of Islamic Spain (at least before 1050) were treated better than conquered peoples might have expected during that period of history.

they were not forced to live in ghettoes or other special locations

they were not slaves

they were not prevented from following their faith

they were not forced to convert or die under Muslim rule

they were not banned from any particular ways of earning a living; they often took on jobs shunned by Muslims;

these included unpleasant work such as tanning and butchery
but also pleasant jobs such as banking and dealing in gold and silver

they could work in the civil service of the Islamic rulers

Jews and Christians were able to contribute to society and culture

The alternative view to the Golden Age of Tolerance is that Jews and Christians were severely restricted in Muslim Spain, by being forced to live in a state of 'dhimmitude'. (A dhimmi is a non-Muslim living in an Islamic state who is not a slave, but does not have the same rights as a Muslim living in the same state.)

In Islamic Spain, Jews and Christians were tolerated if they:

acknowledged Islamic superiority

accepted Islamic power

paid a tax called Jizya to the Muslim rulers and sometimes paid higher rates of other taxes

avoided blasphemy

did not try to convert Muslims

complied with the rules laid down by the authorities. These included:

restrictions on clothing and the need to wear a special badge

restrictions on building synagogues and churches

not allowed to carry weapons

could not receive an inheritance from a Muslim

could not bequeath anything to a Muslim

could not own a Muslim slave

a dhimmi man could not marry a Muslim woman (but the reverse was acceptable)

a dhimmi could not give evidence in an Islamic court

dhimmis would get lower compensation than Muslims for the same injury

At times there were restrictions on practicing one's faith too obviously. Bell-ringing or chanting too loudly were frowned on and public processions were restricted.

Many Christians in Spain assimilated parts of the Muslim culture. Some learned Arabic, some adopted the same clothes as their rulers (some Christian women even started wearing the veil); some took Arabic names. Christians who did this were known as Mozarabs.

The Muslim rulers didn't give their non-Muslim subjects equal status; as Bat Ye'or has stated, the non-Muslims came definitely at the bottom of society.

Why were non-Muslims tolerated in Islamic Spain?

There were several reasons why the Muslim rulers tolerated rival faiths:

Judaism and Christianity were monotheistic faiths, so arguably their members were worshipping the same God
despite having some wayward beliefs and practices, such as the failure to accept the significance of Muhammad and the Qur'an

The Christians outnumbered the Muslims
so mass conversion or mass execution was not practical

outlawing or controlling the beliefs of so many people would have been massively expensive

Bringing non-Muslims into government provided the rulers with administrators
who were loyal (because not attached to any of the various Muslim groups)
who could be easily disciplined or removed if the need arose. (One Emir went so far as to have a Christian as the head of his bodyguard.)

Passages in the Qur'an said that Christians and Jews should be tolerated if they obeyed certain rules