Lecture 5

Living with the Religious ‘Other’ in

Practice: Images from early centuries
 Objectives
This lecture will:
• Consider the lived reality of inter-religious relations in past Muslim
societies
• Focus on Muslim Spain in the West, and Baghdad (between the and
Damascus in the 10th to the 16th centuries CE
• Look at examples of how different religious traditions functioned
alongside each other in reality
• Examine the policies the state adopted to manage relations between
religious communities at that time
 Convivencia
• Meaning
• when two or three Abrahamic religions managed to co-exist harmoniously in
mediaeval Spain
• by extension, applied to refer to the same situation in other historical periods

• Does not simply refer to living together

- a degree of respect for people with different belief structures and religious
practices
- positive interaction between religious traditions
- sharing of common technologies, arts and cultural practices

• Examples of four great centres of Convivencia: Islamic Caliphate of

Cordoba; Norman Palermo; Christian Northern Spain; Christian Toledo
 Al-Andulas
• Described by a scholar of medieval history :
• What strikes us today about Al-Andalus is that it was a chapter of European
history during which Jews, Christians and Muslims lived side by side… despite
intractable differences
 Al-Andalus
• Historical background
• Al-Andalus (a large part of Iberian Peninsula) came under the governance of Muslim
powers between 711 and 1492 CE
• Umayyad Caliphate (750 –929 CE)
• Caliphate of Cordoba (929 –1031 CE)
• Fragmentation into taifa kingdoms

• Residents of Cordoba were predominantly Muslim but ethnically Arabs and

Berbers (from Al-Maghrib) as well as Christians and Jews
Muslim Spain around 750 CE
Spain around 1000 CE
Spain and the taifa kingdoms and the Christians states after the
Caliphate (1031).
Spain around 1150 CE
 Cordoba
• Caliphate of Cordoba:
• Established under Abd al-Rahman III (889–961 CE) in 929 CE
- Self declared caliph

• Under Abd al-Rahman III and his successor al Hakam, Cordoba was
built into an important city
- attracting scholars and thinkers from other regions
- became the centre of European intellectual life
 Caliphate of Cordoba
Status of religious minorities

• Jews and Christians regarded as ‘dhimmis’

- Jews given more rights than elsewhere in Europe
• Permitted to work in a range of occupations: from finance, trade and
medicine to craftsmen, retailers and pharmacists
• Involved in education, commerce and medicine
• Permitted to mingle freely with people of other religions
• Allowed to be part of the Arab-Islamic culture – poetry, philosophy,
science, medicine and the study of scripture
• In some cases gained prominent political positions in the state
 Example: The “Golden Age” of Spanish Jewry
• Spain had a triangular culture: three dominant populations
(Christians, Muslims, Jews)
- distinct from other places which had larger majority and smaller minority
Jewish populations (North Africa, the Middle East, Europe etc.)

• Power was more equally divided between the three populations –

Jews therefore had greater power to use as leverage in Spain
 Example: The Golden Age of Spanish Jewry
“Golden age” – period of great flourishing of Jewish expression
• Jews well integrated/adapted into society
• Access to the highest corridors of power
• Many Jews elevated to high levels of political and military power
• At the same time well learned in Jewish teachings
• A unique period in Western history,
• Many Jewish figures had both political/military or general cultural power and high
level of academic learning at the same time
• But came to an end
 An image from the ‘Golden Age’
Samuel ha-Nagid (or Samuel ibn Nagrela)
• Born 993 CE, Cordoba; died 1055/56 CE, Granada
• Prominent Jewish General in 11th century Muslim Spain
• Lived in Cordoba until Berber Muslims ransacked the Umayyad capital in
1013 CE
• This led to the dynasty’s disintegration into various factional or ethnic
principalities
• Samuel fled (as did many other Jews) and settled in Granada
• He came to the attention of Granada’s King and became an important court
official
• After the king’s death he chose the right side during the power struggle
between his sons
• Was chosen as chief vizier and military commander
 Biography
• Samuel went on to captain Granada’s army for nearly 20 years
• Granada’s forces waged campaigns in all but two years of Samuel’s
generalship and was very successful in defending its borders
• Surged to victories over rival Muslim states
• Defeated the powerful state of Seville under his leadership
• Samuel died in the midst of a military campaign and his son
succeeded him at age twenty-one
 Skills
• Bold military leadership
• Poetry
- influenced by both Arab and Jewish traditions
-adopted Arabic forms and style while incorporating biblical imagery and ideas
• Civil governance
• Scriptural commentary
• Arabic speaking
• Able to socialise with Granada’s Muslim elite
• But also saw himself as a protector of fellow Jews
 Prominence & criticism
• Powerful, wealthy and influential
• “I Am the David of My Age ”
• One of the few extraordinarily accomplished Jews not only in Spain but
anywhere in medieval Christendom
• Muslim chronicler Ibn Hayyan conceded Samuel’s greatness while
begrudging his faith:
• “ This cursed man was a superior man, although God did not inform him of
the right religion”
Example: Valencia under Christian rule
• Valencia: a large Muslim city with a large Muslim population
• Conquered by Christians in 1238 and Treaty
• Muslims of Valencia were granted legal autonomy
• Ability to administer justice according to Islamic law and Muslim
customary practices
• Islamic Courts had to be maintained by Muslim judges (qadis)
• Position of qadis held by various Muslim families
Example: Valencia under Christian rule-2
• Qadi-General had jurisdiction over the Islamic Courts
• Accusations against Muslims by Christians were heard in Islamic Courts
(13th C)
• By the mid-14th century Christian officials meddling in Muslim judicial
proceedings. But this again changed later in Muslims’ favour
• Gradually many Muslims under Christian rule began using Christian Courts
• Limitations: Muslims were not permitted to impose capital punishment
themselves, but under a Christian official
• Criminal offenses are of two types in Islamic law: hadd (prescribed)
offences and ta’zir (discretionary) offences
• Hadd offences through Islamic courts
Spain: Context
• People of different religions had to learn to live with each other
• Frequent change of masters/rulers in different regions: impact
• By and large very similar rules
• Taxes of various kinds were imposed by all
• High degree of tolerance by Muslim and Christian rulers
• Practice of converting some mosques to churches and some churches to mosques existed
• Religious practices (even religious ‘noise’) tolerated on both sides
• Forced conversion: not frequently practised
• Feeling of insecurity led to possible persecution and expulsion
• End of the convivencia with expulsion of Jews and Muslims and forced
conversions (from late 15th century)?
• Necessity?
 Why did interreligious relations flourish?
• The dhimmi rules created a hierarchy where everyone had a place
- non-Muslims had a secure place in Islamic society (even though it was lower)
- non-Muslims were guaranteed security and autonomy, which they valued
- Islamic ethics encouraged tolerance of diversity
• In conquest communities, diverse peoples lived together closely and
had little choice but to learn to live together
- differences were put aside
- people could learn each other’s language, customs, geography, political and
social structures and even religion to deal peacefully with each other
 Why did interreligious relations flourish?
• However, when political circumstances changed, relations broke
down and intolerance emerged
• There were instances of persecution and strong exclusivism on both
sides:
• Religious communities felt confronted by the “others’” practices or felt they
needed to assert their religious identity to keep it secure/distinct
• The Berber Almohads and destruction of Jewish and Christian communities
• Forced conversion of Jews and Muslims, and expulsion
 Surrender Treaty of Granada (1491 CE)
• Granada, the last Muslim kingdom in Spain
• Also known as the Capitulation of Granada
- Signed and ratified on November 25, 1491 CE between
- Muhammad XII (Boabdil), the ruler of Granada, and
- Ferdinand and Isabella, the King and Queen

• Ended 780 years of Muslim control of the peninsula

Surrender Treaty of Granada (1491 CE)
 Surrender Treaty of Granada (1491 CE)
• The treaty transferred the sovereignty of the taifa Muslim kingdom of
Granada to the Spanish Catholic monarchs
• It also established certain rights for the Muslim minority inhabitants
of Granada:
- Religious tolerance
- Fair treatment
- Preservation of their property, including mosques and religious
endowments
- Muslims should be free to practice their daily devotions without
hindrance or mockery
 Muslims in Granada post-1491 CE
• The Muslim population of Granada grew as many Muslims migrated
from other kingdoms to the prosperous city
• At this time Christian rule was only represented by a small
administration and elite
• The Islamic administration of the city remained largely untouched,
although some key representatives, such as Ibn al-Azraq, the Chief
Qadi, left
• By 1498 the Inquisition came to Granada and Christian authorities
began to harass the Muslims
 Muslims in Granada post-1491 CE
• 1499 CE – Muslims revolt in Granada
• Uprising in response to the Christian government's attempts to suppress their rights
to live and worship as followers of Islam
• The revolt failed
• As many as 50,000 Muslims were baptised (whether willingly or by force)
• City’s mosques were converted to churches
• Privileges extended to Muslims in Granada prior to the revolt were revoked
 Muslims in Granada post-1491 CE
• 1501 CE - Further Muslim revolts in eastern Granada
- Muslims from outside Granada are prohibited from entering the Kingdom to
prevent Ottoman support of the Muslim uprisings
• 1502 CE – Order given for all Muslims who had not converted to
Christianity to be expelled
- Many converts remained nominally Christian but practiced their Islamic faith
in secret
• Called Moriscos or “Moor-like” the baptized Muslims came to be
viewed as “false Christians” and were also eventually expelled from
Spain
 Spain under Christian rule
• Edicts of Conversion (of Muslims to Christianity)
• 1502 CE Castile
• 1515 CE Navarre
• 1526 CE Aragón

• In response, some Muslims fled these kingdoms and travelled

south to other kingdoms or to the Maghreb (North Africa)
• Others stayed in defiance of the orders
- Muslim prayers were forbidden
- Mosques were destroyed or converted into churches
- Bonfires destroyed countless copies of the Qur’an and religious writings
in Arabic
 Spain under Christian rule
• 1609 CE - Decree of the expulsion of the Moriscos (crypto Muslims,
New Christians)
- Promulgated 22 September, 1609 CE
- From King Philip III to his viceroy in Valencia ordering him to expel the
Moriscos
- Perhaps due to the rising Muslim population (as determined by several official
censuses)

• “You are well aware of all that has transpired over the long years with the
New Christians, the Andalusīs, the residents of the Kingdom of Valencia
and of Castile, with regards to whom we have exerted every effort and
mechanism and guidance to ensure that they were truly converted to our
glorious religion and faith. Yet, this has been to no avail and has borne little
fruit and not a single true and faithful Christian can be found among
them…”
 Decree of the expulsion of the Moriscos
• “…it is permissible for us, without a shadow of a doubt, to punish them for
their insolence by taking action against their person and their property, as
a consequence of their persevering in their perverse ways. It has been
decreed that they are hypocrites and eternal enemies of the Divine and
Humanity alike. It has been made evident to us that we are capable of
punishing them for their crimes and misdeeds”
- The decree ordered the Muslims to embark on ships that had been
assigned to transport them to North Africa within 3 days
- They could take with them possessions that they could carry
- While preparing to depart, the King ordered that those Moriscos departing
to Muslim lands should have their young sons and daughters younger than
seven years taken away
 Examples from the East: Baghdad
• Scholars speak of a ‘Renaissance’ in Baghdad that began in the 9th
century CE
• Characterised by interreligious cooperation in philosophical and
scientific matters (esp. study of astronomy)
• A practice developed where scholarly meetings were held between
thinkers from different religious traditions
Abbasid caliphate
 House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Ḥikma)
• An institution of learning founded in Baghdad by the Abbasid caliph Harun
al-Rashid (r. 786 – 809 )
- Given particular importance under his son Caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813 – 33 )
• Its primary activity was the translation of important scientific and academic
works:
- From Persian, Syriac and Greek into Arabic
- This made them accessible to a wider audience
• It also functioned as a library
• Several astronomical (marṣad) observatories were also attached to the
institute
• The institute encouraged and relied upon interfaith and intercultural
cooperation, bringing together staff from different cultural and religious
backgrounds
- translators, copyists, book binders etc.
 House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Ḥikma)
• Probably the most well-known translator of the era was Hunayn ibn
Ishaq (d. 873 CE).
• Given the name the ‘Sheikh of the Translators’ because of his prominence

• Born in Hira, Iraq in 809 CE, and, like most people of his hometown,
was a Nestorian Christian
• chief physician to the Caliph
• in charge of the Bayt al-Hikma
 House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Ḥikma)
• Hunayn ibn Ishaq was skilled in Greek, Syriac, Persian and Arabic
languages
- Translated works ranging from medicine, philosophy, astronomy and
mathematics to works on magic
 Interreligious Dialogue between
Timothy I and the Caliph al-Mahdi (r.775-785)
Context
• In 781 CE Timothy I, was invited by the Abbassid Caliph al-Mahdi to
answer a series of questions about Christianity over two days in
Baghdad
• Probably one of the first such Christian-Muslim dialogues
documented
 Dialogue between Timothy I and the Caliph
al-Mahdi
Key participants
• Caliph al-Mahdi: the third of the Abbasid caliphs at Baghdad
• Timothy I: the Catholicos or Patriarch of the Eastern Syrian Church
- recognised head of all Eastern Christians
- official representative of all the churches
- a Nestorian
- close friends and intellectual equals
 Dialogue between Timothy I and the Caliph
al-Mahdi
Key issues discussed
• Who was Jesus?
• What does it mean Jesus is God’s son?
• The nature of Jesus’ birth
• How can Jesus be both born and eternal?
• The nature of the Trinity
• The direction of Christian prayer
• Whether the Quran was revealed by God
 Dialogue between Timothy I and the Caliph
al-Mahdi
Key issues discussed
• How Jesus died; who was responsible for his death
• The authorship of the gospels
• The prophets
• Were the Christian scriptures altered/changed?
• Muhammad
• Whether God can die
 Dialogue between Timothy I and the Caliph
al-Mahdi
• Examples – Whether the Qur’an was revealed by God?
• “And our King said to me: "Do you not believe that our Book was
given by God?"—And I replied to him: "It is not my business to decide
whether it is from God or not. But I will say something of which your
Majesty is well aware, and that is all the words of God found in the
Torah and in the Prophets, and those of them found in the Gospel and
in the writings of the Apostles, have been confirmed by signs and
miracles; as to the words of your Book they have not been
corroborated by a single sign or miracle… Since signs and miracles are
proofs of the will of God, the conclusion drawn from their absence in
your Book is well known to your Majesty."
 Dialogue between Timothy I and the Caliph
al-Mahdi
• Prophet Muhammad
• “And our gracious and wise King said to me: "What do you say about
Muhammad?"—And I replied to his Majesty: "Muhammad is worthy
of all praise, by all reasonable people, O my Sovereign. He walked in
the path of the prophets, and trod in the track of the lovers of God...”
 Dialogue between Timothy I and the Caliph
al-Mahdi
“And our King said to me: "You should, therefore, accept the words of the
Prophet."—And I replied to his gracious Majesty: "Which words of his our
victorious King believes that I must accept?"
—And our King said to me: "That God is one and that there is no other one
besides Him."—And I replied: "This belief in one God. O my Sovereign, I have
learned from the Torah, from the Prophets and from the Gospel. I stand by it
and shall die in it.“
—And our victorious King said to me: "You believe in one God, as you said,
but one in three."—And I answered his sentence: "I do not deny that
I believe in one God in three, and three in one, but not in three different
Godheads, however, but in the persons of God's Word and His Spirit.”
 Nature of the dialogue
• The two participants appreciate one another's arguments
- the Patriarch praises the Caliph, endorsing from time to time his theology, and
we feel the sincerity of his commendations
- the Caliph on his side is touched by the piety and the eloquence of his
antagonist

• “And I praised God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who grants to
earthly Kings such a wisdom and understanding in order that through
them they may administer their Empire without hindrance. And I
blessed also his Majesty and prayed that God may preserve him to
the world for many years and establish his throne in piety and
righteousness for ever and ever. And in this way I left him on the first
day…”
 Nature of the dialogue
“The next day I had an audience of his Majesty. Such audiences had
constantly taken place previously, sometimes for the affairs of the
State, and some other times for the love of wisdom and learning which
was burning in the soul of his Majesty. He is a lovable man, and loves
also learning when he finds it in other people, and on this account he
directed against me the weight of his objections, whenever necessary…

After I had paid to him my usual respects as King of Kings, he began to

address me and converse with me not in a harsh and haughty tone,
since harshness and haughtiness are remote from his soul, but in a
sweet and benevolent way…”
The debate as a model for inter-faith dialogue
• Grounded in mutual respect
• But at the same time, argues honestly, without compromising one’s
beliefs
 Was there a ‘Golden Era’?
• Myths of interfaith ‘utopia’?
• Persecution?
• A picture of ‘reality’ can be gained by comparing the situation in
these cities with elsewhere in the same period:
- Cordoba was relatively more tolerant than the rest of Europe at that
time
- But non-Muslims did not have full equality
- Tolerance meant security and religious freedom, not equal status
 Case Study
‘A Common Word between Us and You’
and Muslim-Christian relations
 Context
• Signed by 138 Muslim religious leaders and scholars from around the
world
• Issued by the Jordanian Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute on 13 October,
2007
 Aims
• To provide a definitive theological common ground for those who are
carrying out interfaith dialogue
• A “Christian-Muslim Constitution” grounded in scripture
• To unify and unite the forces working toward interfaith peace and
harmony

Say: ‘O People of Scripture! Come to a common word between us and

you: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no
partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside
God’ (Q 3:64)
 Basis for commonality
• Three shared foundations:
• God’s unity
• Complete devotion to God
• Love of one’s neighbour

- Support in both the Qur’an and Bible for these principles

- The text calls for dialogue and cooperation based upon love of the
One God and love of one’s neighbour
- therefore the foundation for joint Christian and Muslim cooperation
already exists in these shared commandments
- Calls on Christians and Muslims to work towards world peace
 Basis for commonality
• Conclusion:
• “So let our differences not cause hatred and strife between us.
Let us vie with each other only in righteousness and good works.
Let us respect each other, be fair, just and kind to another and
live in sincere peace, harmony and mutual good will”
 Importance of the document
• First time Muslims have delivered this kind of definitive consensus
statement on Christianity
• The signatories have adopted the traditional, mainstream Islamic
position of respecting the Christian scripture and calling Christians to
be more, not less, faithful to it
• The document is grounded in scripture and calls for acceptance of
theological differences
- As stated by Yale Divinity School: “A Common Word is rooted in our sacred
texts, arising from within, not imposed from without”
• Participation of religious leaders of the highest rank in both the
Christian and Islamic traditions
Question for this week
• “Spain, from the 8th to the 15th centuries, can be considered a golden
period for interreligious relations and harmony”. Do you agree? In
your answer, you should give specific examples from treaties of the
time and lived experience.

• For discussion in class:

• What kind of environment facilitates genuine interreligious relations
and harmony?