Articles, studies
and research in Arabic, English and French
Andalusian Legacy in Tunisia: Apart from Spain itself, no other
country was influenced by the expelled neo-Andalusians (Moriscos)
more than Tunisia. Whether in art, agriculture, fruit, food,
traditional handicraft and manufacturing, folklore etc., Tunisia may
be regarded as the most important recipient of the Andalusian
legacy. The Tunisians over the years have accepted this legacy with
pride and continue to build on it. A famous quarter of Tunis (Sidi
Bou Said) is mostly built as a replica of Andalusian architecture
and style with the white and blue paint wash of buildings. This
article in Arabic (.pdf format) traces some of these influences. It
was first published by the Al Hayat Newspaper , London, on
03.02.2000 and reproduced since in several publications. (Arabic
text)
A line of poetry on Al Hamara (Al Hambra) mural: "Mercifully you ascended the zenith of kingly power to clear away all
that was darkened by injustice". The line is missing a word (lilnas
- to people) suggesting the reproduction of the mural is either
modern done by non-Arabs or it was missing the word originally and
therefore made by a mudejar who did not have a good command of
Arabic or a non-Arab.
Names and
places in Spain: I was pleasantly surprised two years ago when I
found myself able to trace the route taken by the famous 12-13th
century Andalusian traveler Ibn Jubair (1144-1217) - (apparently
mount Etna was as active in his times as now) on his return to his
native country from a three-year extensive trip to the Arab east
just by reading in modern Spanish maps the names of the towns he
passed by on his way to Granada. Nations usually adhere to specific
rules when they incorporate in their languages foreign names and
places but it can be confusing sometimes. Over the past 10 years I
compiled the following list of names and places of modern Spain and
their equivalent in Arabic as used by the Andalusians. It is claimed
the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar (who supported the war
on Iraq) is of Morisco stock with the original Arab name of "Al
Saniah". Rafal in Spanish is Rahal in Arabic; Albuquerque is Al
Barququi (prunes for which Andalusia was famous all over the Middle
East), Al Bufera is Al Buhaira (lake), Alcala is Al Qalaa (citadel)
and several hundred others among the 6000-7000 words used in Spanish
today. The list, in Latin letters and Arabic (.pdf), is particularly
useful for Arabs trying to work out the origins of modern Spanish
names and places but also to the student of Andalusian and Morisco
history of any nationality in general as it refers to the Spanish
names of kings and queens cited in classical Andalusian and other
Arabic history works. Over 450 names and places.
L'expulsion des morisques d'Espagne: EN 1609, PREMIER CAS MODERNE DE
"PURIFICATION ETHNIQUE This article by RODRIGO DE ZAYAS is in
French. It was published by Le Monde Diplomatique in March 1997.
(French text)
The Great Andalusian (Morisco) Rebellion (1568-1571)
(Arabic text): It took Don
Juan of Austria and the might of the Spanish Empire of Felipe III to
extinguish this greatest of Andalusian rebellion against the
injustices of court and church. It was long and bloody fought by the
Andalusians against any hope of victory, and fought by the Spaniards
to de-create the Andalusians after de-creating Andalusia. This
scholarly narrative is in three parts. It is in Arabic (.pdf) and it
was first published in Al Hayat Newspaper in February 2000:
The Great Andalusian Rebellion Part I
The Great Andalusian Rebellion Part II
The Great Andalusian Rebellion Part III
Selected photos and paintings serving the subject
The Andalusians and the Spanish Inquisition
(Arabic text): In his introductory
address to the 10th International Symposium on the subject of "The Moriscos and the Mediterranean in the 16th and 17th Centuries" which
was organised by the Temimi Foundation in the town of Zaghouan
(Tunisia) between 9-12 May 2001, Professor Abdeljelil Temimi, head
of the Temimi Foundation and the authority on the Moriscos in the
Arab World, pointed out to the Spanish Ambassador to Tunisia present
in the opening ceremony that "The Arab and Islamic World which views
as important reaching out to Spain, is still waiting for any action
that may be taken to condemn the practices of the Inquisition
against the Andalusian Moriscos who were savagely expelled from
their homeland the Andalus". "This will be," Professor Temimi added,
"in parallel to what His Majesty King Juan Carlos did when an
official and open apology was extended in more than one occasion for
what had befallen the Jews when they were summarily expelled from
Spain. Those (The Jews) were but a few thousands so how about the
Andalusian Moriscos who numbered in the hundreds of thousands and
were either exterminated or sent out from their country?". Will the
King do it? As long as pressure by Arab states on Spain is
non-existent, this will remain unlikely. One of the reasons as that
many "eastern" Arabs don't know the real history of Andalusia, and
therefore few know of the atrocities committed by agents of the
Inquisition against the neo-Andalusians. This one reason why I have
taken on the responsibility of explaining what happened in Spain
during the 15th and 16th century. One of the steps is a three-part
study on the Andalusians and the Inquisition. They are in Arabic (.pdf)
and they were published by Al Hayat during January 2000:
The Spanish Inquisition and the Andalusians (Moriscos) Part I
The Spanish Inquisition and the Andalusians (Moriscos) Part II
The Spanish Inquisition and the Andalusians (Moriscos) Part III
Selected photos and paintings serving the subject
Much that I admire the great value of work done by academic
researchers delving into old Morisco manuscripts in libraries all
over the world, I have, nevertheless, often voiced my concern in
historical and research meetings that sometimes we may give the
reader the impression that we are dealing with historical relics
rather than human beings like us. Tor Eigeland, like those
researchers, is mining for nuggets of Andalusian past but he manages
somehow to breath modern life into old Andalusia. Listen: "Moorish
Spain was an integral part of the Islamic world, even though it had
a unique flavour. The bright torch of civilization and knowledge
blazed in Muslim Spain while much of Europe slumbered. But the light
shone beyond its frontiers and it became an important meeting ground
for East and West, a transmitter of classical Greek learning as well
as innovative Muslim thought". A vibrant feature of six the reader
will find below all printed in Aramco World Magazine which I used to
read avidly when I worked in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
More... (English text)
There were practical reasons for not forcing mass conversions in
Andalus. Muslims were exempt from taxes while Christians and Jews
were not. Nevertheless, the approach of the conquerors was
definitely based on a real spirit of tolerance, as one treaty of
surrender--of Murcia in 713--illustrates:
More... (English text)
"The Muslim Andalusians, though highly urbane, remembered the
blazing deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, which was the
heritage of some of them. Consequently they had a great love of
beauty, nature, and growing things, and a positive passion for
running water--qualities evident in their art, architecture, and,
above all, in their patios", Tor Eigeland says.
More... (English text)
Seville's history got off to a bad start--under its first
independent ruler, the cunning, cruel al-Mutadid, who took control
of the taifa or little kingdom, and extended it during his reign
from 1042 to 1069. But fortunately, he was succeeded by a son, al-Mutamid,
a gifted statesman, intellectual and poet. Under the poet-king al-Mutamid,
Seville achieved a brief respite from struggle and some moments of
beauty that have passed into legend. From a feature by Tor Eigeland,
More... (English text)
"In a sense", writes Tor Eigeland, "Ibn al-Ahmar personifies the
achievements, the failures and the sad romanticism that pervades the
story of Islam in al-Andalus. He was the man who planned the
glorious palace- fortress called the Alhambra. He was a petty
princeling who like other throughout Islamic Spain diverted Islamic
strength into the endless wars that opened the way to Christian
reconquest. And throughout his reign, his small kingdom was corroded
with intrigue, the political cancer that slowly, over the centuries,
consumed both the caliphate and its innumerable offshoots.
More... (English text)
The most magnificent of Islamic Spain was probably not the
well-known Alhambra which still stands in all its splendour in
Granada, but another remarkable palace complex which once stood in
the foothills five miles west of Cordoba behind which walls bodies
were buried (probably alive). More...
(English text)
The proud Andalusians who came to Tunisia worked hard to retain
their cultural identity, according to University of Tunis Professor
Abdeljelil Temimi, an internationally recognized expert on
Andalusian history. Urban Andalusians from such cities as Granada,
Cordoba, Seville and Valencia carved out an Andalusian niche amidst
the bustle of Tunis. A whole quarter of the Tunisian capital, near
its ancient medina, is still called Zuqaq al-Andalus--literally
"Andalusia Alley," but referring to the entire surrounding
community. From a feature of Aramco by Susan T. Rivers,
More... (English text)
Book review time: Five book reviews covering subjects from the now
classical The Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole (1890) to a book
written by and Englishman sourced solely on Arabic historical
references, another book is advancing an intriguing notion that
Arabs never really invaded Iberia and those who did were but
missionaries and Byzantines!
More...
(Arabic text)
Expulsion and return of the Moriscos of the last Islamic enclave of
Spain (1613-1654). This is a 996 page book by Govert Westerveld on
Blanca in the famous Ricote Valley which is the last and greatest
Islamic enclave in Spain. We are told by the author that original
archival and documentary materials were used, some revealed for the
first time. We are further told by the author that Chapter 1 of the
book deals with the daily life of Moriscos in Blanca before the
expulsion including special attention given to the type of consumes
worn by the Moriscos, men and women. Apparently Morisco men wanted
Morisco women but Morisco women didn't mind much as long as they
have a husband. For the rest of the chapters you will have to judge
by yourself. This page was sent by a friend who loves the Moriscos
and it was kept as is to taste the flavour of the writer's
composition. I like the little coloured map in the middle of the
page. More... (English text)
Racism in Spain targeting Moroccans?
An article from Al Hayat Newspaper about a new trend of rising
racism in Europe as well. What could it be? A new wave of expulsion
awaiting the new Moriscos? (Arabic text)
The future of European economic expansion lies to its south: This is
the conclusion reached by businessmen and government officials who
met in Spain to discuss the future European-Moroccan relations
which, admittedly, have not been great recently. The Spaniards said
the conclusion true today is the same realised by the North since
the establishment of the Second Omayyad Dynasty in Iberia in the 8th
Century A.D. (Arabic text)
The Complex of Palaces at Al Hamra
has always been at risk from
natural adverse causes. As early as 835 A.D. architects studied the
possibility of diverting the river Duero away from the hill of Al
Hamra following massive flooding, and although the Catholic Kings
ordered some maintenance work to be done following the surrender of
Granada in 1492, they preferred to live in Seville and soon Al Hamra
was neglected. Read what Talat Shahin of Al Hayat Newspaper says:
(Arabic text)
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