THE CLASH OF CIVILIZATION DURING MUSLIM SPAIN

The clash of civilization during Muslim Spain

Introduction

The world history's one of the most fascinating and important periods, a thousand years ago presents an account of how the three cultures i.e. Christian, Jewish and Muslim interacted on the Iberian Peninsula for more than 7 centuries. These different groups though found a means to co-exist and thrive together but the symbiosis was fragile and the pluralistic centuries of Medieval Spain came to an end with the inquisition of Spain and the formation of a Spain where Catholicism emerged as a major religion. Many factors contributed in this clash of civilization of which the most significant was the religious intolerance.

Discussion

The foundation of the legacy of Spain was built in the 250 year reign of the Umayyad dynasty with the first long interaction between the Arab Middle East and European Spain in this time laying the basis for pluralism known as convivencia. There was no place in the entire Europe where the government was able to last this long and was successful too like it was in Cordoba, Spain under the rule of the Muslims. By the 10th century the city emerged as the largest, cleanest and richest city with all kind of amenities and facilities for the people. The religious and civil institutions were also united in a governing center with a national tax base.

The culture of pluralism that prevailed helped significantly in promoting learning in various areas ranging from science and mathematics to philosophy and poetry. It was realized by the Muslim rulers that for them to prosper and progress and to emerge as a productive society, the relationship with Jews and Christians and their presence in various institutions was essential. The three cultures or religions went together in terms of cooperation and flourished but certain factors came in between to shatter the co-existence or symbiosis of the three religions.

Greed, fear, intolerance, corruption and prejudice entered the story to create division in this unity. Not all the Muslim rulers were though considerate of the values of the other religions that co-existed such as Almanzor, who looted churches and also imposed strict restrictions. Moreover, non-Muslims in Spain from the mid of the 11th century were suppressed to a lower position as the rulers enforced strict measures and also because of the pressures on Islam from outside. Christians, unlike earlier days were not allowed to show any signs of faith outside while doing so resulted in persecutions and executions. One event that was really significant in this regard is the pogrom in Granada in 1066 which was followed by more violence and discrimination. Christian rulers in those times grew stronger and took away a lot of territories under the Muslim rule and then Muslims in those Christian areas had to face similar or sometimes worse restrictions than they had imposed.

It was since the 1000s that the region saw the weakening of the Islamic empire. The caliphate broke into several small states while these states were ...