The history of the Moriscos and Mudéjares!
(In English)
Asslaamu 'alaikom, my name is Ah'med Birzali, and I shall attempt to explain the history of the Mudéjar, Morisco or in Arabic, Mudajjaan, Mawaarika! In the year of 711 A.D. a herd of horses came brooding into Spain like a storm, led by a Berber by the name of Tarik ibn Ziyad governor of Tangier in Northern Morocco, who led an army of 12,000 Berbers and Arabs into Spain, out of the appeal of Akhila son of the late Witizia of the Northern Visigoths, who under the threat of Roderick the heir of the Southern Visigoths had been declared by the nobles, the new king of the Visigoths in Andalusia and of other areas of Spain! It is very important to point that out, because many Christian historians, have claimed the Moor's invasion, as a brutal and savage altruistic foray into Southern Spain! Many Christian historians spoke of the "Two Spains," one Christian and the other Muslim. What basically they meant, was Hispania or Spain which also included Portugal which at the time, was a part of Spain in a sense, and Moorish Andalus, which befell under the domain of the Moors (Al Baladiyyun)! Historians can debate and argue about whether or not the details of the Moor's entrance into Southern Spain, was an unjust invasion, or more a plead for help! What can not be debated though, is the vast wealth of contribution, that the Moors contributed to not only Islamic and Arab identity, but as well, to the vast wealth of knowledge and prestige, it gave to Spain in general!
The connotation Moors or the Moorish people, was truly in earnest, a bad connotation, that was imposed by the Christian Europeans, who ignorantly thought that all of these so-called Moors, were all of darker skin. But history itself tends to deviate from the truth, as in the case of the Moors themselves. When as Muslims we know that the Berbers and Arabs, who made up the conglomeration of the Spanish Moor, hence the Mudajjanee or Mawrikee or in Spanish, the Mudéjar or Morisco, where mostly light skinned or fair skinned though they were several darker skinned Moors, the Maures and Sub-Subharan Africans whose
descendants, were the Moriegos. And some
Central-Asians whose descendants, were the Morunos. And as well some Balkan Muslims, whose descendants were the Morovos. All, the Mudéjar, Morisco, Moriego, Moruno and the Morovo, were part of Al Andalus! It was known, that the Moors had also mixed with the local Castilians, Visigoths, Portugueses, Galicians, Basques, Catalans and finally Andalusians of the local population. From that mixture came as well the Mudéjar and Morisco, apart from the Arabs and Berbers! What was Al Andalus like before the Moors arrived into the south of Spain, feuds, one kingdom or faction fighting against each other! What was Al Andalus like under the dominion of the Moors, the greatest manifestations and wonders of civilization, that Europe itself had ever witness until this day! Al Andalus, was a place where Jew, Christian, Muslim alike, each were free to practice and worship in their religion. Religious tolerance and custom tolerance was the trademark of the Moors. Under the Ummayad Dynasty, this form of tolerance, was prevalent and rife! In fact the Sephardic Jews were admirers of the Arabic zajals, and scholars. Infact Musa ibn Maimun the known Jewish scholar, was quite an admirer of Islam and Arabic! As for the Christian, they too likewise became enamoured with Islam and the Arabic language. What was unique about the Morisco and Mudéjar, was the fact that he was trilingual, he spoke Arabic, Hebrew, and as well Aljamiyah, a version of Spanish. In fact it could be said that for nearly eight hundred years, the heart of Islam and the learning center of Islam, laid there in Al Andalus itself! It was in simplistic sense, the Mecca of Arab learning and civilization! The greastest scholars of math, literature, art, architecture, poetry, science, came out of Al Andalus indeed, such as Ibn Rushd, Ibn Hazim, Ibn Bassam, Ibn Malik, Ibn Qutiyyah and many more! Essentially for eight hundred years, the Morisco or Mudéjar, contributed to the great vast wealth of knowledge of Islam in general! But history would take precedence, and unfortunately, it would spell disater for the Morisco or Mudéjar, in the form of the first wave of expulsion at the fall of Granada in 1492! An expulsion in which saw the likes like no other, where the Moriscos were forced to flee into Northern Africa!
Many fled to Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia and Spanish Sahara. But what was not really known, was that many stayed behind, even after the breaking of the Treaty of Granada by the Castilian Spaniards, who under the provision of the Treaty of Granada under article 2, permitted the Morisco, Mudéjar, to remain in Spain and practise their religion, and keep their identity, language, and above all property! Many were thus due to the betrayal of the Castilian Spaniards, forced to convert to Catholicism, not allowed to speak their language and practice their religion Islam! The word coined for the Moors who stood behind, was in Spanish Moriscos, Mudéjares, or in Arabic, Mudajjaan, Mawaarika! Sadly enough many of the Moriscos, Mudéjares, were taken to monasteries, and unwillingly forced to be baptised and endoctrined within the Catholic religion itself! Or worse, many of them were butchered and slaughtered for failing to convert, thus by the sword of the Castilian Christian during the Spanish Inquisition, led by the fundamentalist Cardinal Ximénez de Cisneros! Thus, many Moriscos and Mudéjares, were forced to take on Castilian names, the Castilian religion, and above all, the Castilian identity! The Moriscos and Mudéjares, were scattered from the south to the north, in an effort to maintain dominion upon them and systematically wipe them out, through ethnic cleansing! In the years that led afterwards, there was one last ditch major rebellion that was made by the Moriscos and Mudéjares, who had beseeched their brethren in Northern Africa to come to their aid. But unfortunately, the uprising was quelled, and in the years from 1609 to 1614, the Morisco and Mudéjar, was at last either expelled, absorbed, or worse exterminated. What was not really known nor told, was the fact that many of the Moriscos and Mudéjares, emigrated to the Americas in such mass numbers! Though in time, the Morisco and Mudéjar, served as mainly as a connotation to what was once a great empire, and forgotten for the pages of the history books, the Morisco, Mudéjar, is slowly reverting not coverting back to Islam in numbers. And more importantly, they are once again returning to their ancestral religion, language, identity, and yearning to return as a strong vibrant community as before, in Al Andalus! Slowly the Morisco and Mudéjar, is gaining ground and inshallaah, while we have our mosque in Córdoba, and an Islamic University as well; and the message of Muh'ammad peace be upon him is being heard and as well, the more that the proper truth of the history of the Morisco, Mudéjar, is being told and known to the Hispanic Muslim, the more that the spirit of not only Islamic renewal is once again resufacing anew, the whole Mudéjar or Morisco identity, is being reclaimed and above all, they are gradually returning to their ancestral roots! With our Moriego, Moruno and Morovo brethren, the history of the Moors is alive anew!
Peace be upon Muh'ammad and Islam!
Allahu Akbar!
(The Known Dynasties of Al Andalus)
Ummayad,
Abbadids,
Hammudids,
Zayrids,
Jahwwrids,
Al Dhul-Nunids,
Al Murabitun,
Al Muhaditun
Nasrids.
The Ummayad Dynasty was the most infamous and known dynasty of Moorish Al Andalus. They had originally fled from Syria, and had made their way to Spain; and thus were founded by Abd Ar Rahman the I grandson of the Ummayad Caliph of Damascus! The last dynasty was the lesser know Nasrid Dynasty of Granada, whose last emir was Ibn Rahman!
Since many people have inquired about the lineage of the Ummayad Dynasty of Moorish (Baiduniyya) Spain, I have proceeded to chronicle in order the Caliphs of their great dynasty.
(756-788) 'Abd Ar Rahman I
(788-796) Al Hisham I
(796-822) Al Hakam I
(822-852)'Abd Ar Rahman II
(852-886) Muh'ammad I
(866-888) Al Mudhir
(922-961) 'Abd Ar Rahman III
(961-976) Al Hakam Al Mustansir
(976-1009) Hisham II Al Mu'ayyad
(1009-1010) Muh'ammad II Al Mahdi
(1010-1016) Al Mustain
(1027-1035) Hisham III-the last of the Ummayad Caliph!
Other important dates in the chronology of the Moors.
1415-Portugal ceized Ceuta from the Moors.
1509-1511-Cardenal Ximénez de Cisneros, aided by
Pedro Naverro, led the Inquisition and crusade into Oran, Bougie, and Tripoli in Northern Africa.
1510-At the Island of Gelves, Christian Spaniards are defeated.
1517-Ximénez de Cisneros the Crusader of the Spanish Inquisition, and the murderer of thousands of Moors in Spain, dies in his horse in Roa in Spain.
1535-Spanish Conquest of Tunisia, completing the Conquest of the North African coast, which begun in 1494 with the illegal acquisition of Melilla.
1569-1571-The revolt of the Moriscos, 1609-1614 expelled.
1580-Spaniards occupied Ceuta, which was technically
possession of Portugal till 1688.
1791-Spaniards expelled from Oran, maintained since then, Melilla (Meeleela) and Ceuta (Sabta) illegally.
Usually I am asked what is the difference between the Moriscos or the Mudéjares. The major difference is simply, that the Moriscos unlike the Mudéjares though they fled Al Andalus, were able to retain their identity and indeed their language, and above all religion. The Mudéjares on the otherhand, were forced to give up their identity, language, and above all religion; and was absorbed by the Castilian, his language, identity, and once again religion Catholicism! As far as the Moriegos, they who were Sub-Saharan Africans, migrated back to Northern Africa as well. The Morunos, who were Central-Asian Moors of Al Andalus, as well migrated back to Central-Asia. The Morovos who were Balkan Muslims did likewise, return back to the Balkan peninsula. They all mostly were like the Morisco, able to retain their Islamic identity, with the exception of the Morovos, who though are only a few, are seen today in today's countries of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Albania, and Kosovo!
Allahu Akbar!
