BarkellWH -> RE: Stepping Stones of Islamic Spain (Aug. 6 2012 19:38:58)
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As for tolerance, it's not simply a case of Islamic Spain = tolerance. For sure in many respects Islamic Spain was more advanced than the rest of Europe, and in some ways more tolerant. But this varied through the different eras of Islamic rule, from the Caliphate to the Tarifa states and afterwards things got less tolerant. And there were still sometimes pogroms against Jews (eg.in Granada in the 11th Century), and both Jews and Christians were subject to higher taxes etc. Have you also read Richard Fletcher's Moorish Spain? And btw "Al Andalus" is not the same as modern Andalucia; it in fact meant the same thing as Islamic Spain, so at it's greatest extent "Al Andalus" covered almost the entire peninsula, and at the end it was just the province/kingdom of Granada. Good points, Mark. I did not want to get too detailed, but to expand on your point about tolerance. During the period of the Islamic conquests, Christians and Jews were protected as "people of the book" and were known as "dhimmi." Nevertheless, they had to pay a special tax and were restricted from engaging in certain activities. They could not ride a horse, carry a sword, hold high office, etc. In other words, they were pretty much second class citizens. That, however, was a better fate than others received: either converting to Islam or being put to the sword. And, as you point out, that tolerance did not last as subsequent, more hard-line Islamists took over. Nevertheless, while I think that Islamic tolerance in Al Andalus is sometimes over-rated, it was a pretty good bet, given the standards of the times. Cheers, Bill
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