.
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts

Wednesday 27 March 2024

Resurgence of Islam in Spain

Islam was the dominating religion of Spain and Muslims ruled Spain for almost eight hundred years. The country saw immense development in the architecture and education. It was a tragedy that the Muslim rule came to a sorry and tragic end after the glory it had seen in Al-Andalus, as was Spain called under the Muslim rule. 

The Muslim period in Spain is often described as a 'golden age' of learning where libraries, colleges, public baths were established and literature, poetry and architecture flourished. Both Muslims and non-Muslims made major contributions to this flowering of culture. The work of its most important philosophers and scientists, such as Abulcasis and Averroes, had a major influence on the intellectual life of medieval Europe.

Ibn Rushd (Abū l-Walīd Muḥammad Ibn ʾAḥmad Ibn Rušd), often Latinized as Averroes, was an Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psychology, mathematics, Islamic jurisprudence and law, and linguistics. [1]

Abū al-Qāsim Khalaf ibn al-'Abbās al-Zahrāwī al-Ansari (936–1013) Latinised as Albucasis or Abulcasis (from Arabic Abū al-Qāsim), was a physician, surgeon and chemist from al-Andalus. He is considered one of the greatest surgeons of the Middle Ages. [2] 

In fact, Spain under Islam was the time of religious and ethnic tolerance and interfaith harmony between Muslims, Christians and Jews. Many Christians in Spain assimilated parts of the Muslim culture. Impressed by the Muslim culture, many learnt Arabic, some even adopted the same clothes as their rulers (some Christian women even started wearing the veil); some took Arabic names. Christians who did this were known as Mozarabs. Although, Muslims did not explicitly hate or persecute the non-Muslims, some writers of the view that the natives lived a like of second class citizens and that the Muslim attitude toward non-Muslims is one not of hate or fear or envy but simply of contempt. 

Despite the notion that Islam spread by sword, Muslims respected people of other faith and respected their places of worship and there never was an effort to subdue the non-Muslims and force them to convert to Islam. And Muslims have to pay dearly for their softer approach and respect for other religions. And the end of Muslim rule over Spain came after a glorious history of rule spread over 800 years came with a tragic end, as Christians regained power. The take over was ruthless and barbaric. 'Edicts of Expulsion' for the expulsion of the Moriscos was finally issued by Philip III in 1609 against the Muslims in Spain. The last mass prosecution against Moriscos for crypto-Islamic practices occurred in Granada in 1727, and the indigenous Islam was finally extinguished from Spanish soil.

Recalling the grim days of expulsion of Muslims from Spain, Matthew Carr, the author of Blood and Faith, explains the harrowing details of the plight of the Moriscos, driven from their home country as detested aliens.:

Poignant and often tragic scenes unfolded as the Moriscos were brought to the waiting ships. One old man arrived in Valencia declaring his wish to be buried on Muslim soil but dropped dead while boarding his ship. Other Moriscos died of hunger and exhaustion before leaving the shore. Muslim babies were snatched and even kidnapped for their spiritual salvation and later were raised as Christians. [3]

The Muslim places of worship were completely destroyed, leaving no trace of Muslim rule of Spain. Only a few landmarks like Alhambra were saved as cultural heritage not to project Islam, but to attract tourism in the country. It is the same way of preserving Taj Mahal in India, built by the Muslim rulers, to  attract tourism, while the Muslims in general are treated worse than third rate citizens at large. 


However, Islam could never be taken out off the hearts of the  few remaining Muslims in Spain and their number continued to grow over time. The Arabic names distorted into Spanish and English can still be felt of their Arabic heritage like Gibraltar from Jabal al Tariq (the present Rock of Gibraltar named after the Muslim commander Tariq bin Zayyad who brought his army on ships which was a cue to Muslim occupation of Hispania), Cordoba from Qurtaba and Grenada from Gharnata. The world famous architecture of Alhambra in Grenada continues till today with its original name.

Today, nearly three million Muslims in Spain make up over 4% of the population. The majority are from Morocco; other sizable Muslim communities include Pakistanis, Algerians, Senegalese and Nigerians. The Autonomous Communities with a higher Muslim population are Catalonia, Andalusia, Madrid and the Valencian Community. 

We share today a beautiful video of resurgence of Islam in Spain as more and more Spaniards are reverting to Islam for Islam is in their blood and Allah SWT is calling them back to return.. And after some 500 years of silence, Adhan is heard and masjids being flocked by the Muslims:
Let us continue to watch over the growth of Muslims in Spain and a day will come, God Willing / In sha Allah, when Muslim presence will be overwhelming in all parts of once Mighty Al-Andalus.

Disclaimer: The data for this post has been collected from the references given below. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

You may also read our previous post "Muslims in Non Muslim Countries: Spain - Once the Mighty Al-Andalus" which we published sometime back on the life of Muslims in Spain. To know more about life of Muslims in other non-Muslim countries, please visit our Reference Page: Islam and Life of Muslims in Non Muslim CountriesYou may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.
Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook. You may also refer to our Facebook  Group Islam: The Ultimate Truth for more on Islam and Da'wah.

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp or any means on social media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

Saturday 27 October 2018

Muslims in Non Muslim Countries: Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a small (just 6.7 km2 (2.6 sq mi) British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It is bordered in the north by Spain. The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar and Peninsular Spain in Europe from Morocco and Spain in Africa. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar at the foot of which is a densely populated city area, home to over 30,000 people, primarily 

There is a very small population of Muslims living in Gibraltar, but am still sharing this because Gibraltar once assumed a critical importance in the Muslim rise in the Iberian Peninsula including Spain and Portugal.

Gibraltar was once known as Mons Calpe, a name of Phoenician origin and one of the Pillars of Hercules, till the time a strong Muslim army under Tariq Bin Ziyad landed here in 711 And thus this small place became the jumping pad for the rise of Islam in Spain and Portugal.

The Moorish Castle [Photo]
And this historical event changed the name Mons Calpe to its present name. In fact name "Gibraltar" is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq (جبل طارق), meaning "mountain of Ṭāriq." In 1160, the Muslim ruler Almohad Sultan Abd al-Mu'min ordered that a permanent settlement, including a castle, be built. It received the name of Medinat al-Fath (City of the Victory). The Tower of Homage of the Moorish Castle remains standing today.

From 711 ADd onward the city and the rest of Spain and parts of Portugal remained under Muslim domination. But by and by the Muslim rule came to and end and in 1462, Gibraltar was finally captured by Juan Alonso de Guzmán, 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia. Today, Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory, though its possession is often claimed by Spain from whom the territory was given to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.




According to a 2009 Pew Research Center report, there are 1,000 Muslims in Gibraltar who constitute approximately 4% of the population. 
The majority of Moroccans arrived in Gibraltar after Franco closed the frontier in 1969, taking posts in public services that managed construction, property and service operations around the naval dockyard. Some established a number of interesting retail outlets which still sell Moroccan groceries and or handicrafts. Nowadays the Muslim population form part of Gibraltar’s diverse community. [1]
The Fortifications and some other Moorish architecture are still visible in Gibraltar today. Examples include Moorish baths, a mosque, which later converted into a Christian church, the Kasbah –  an area later called Villa Vieja old English town. Bab el-Granada became known as the Granada Gate, and the port area port which was built by the Moors was known by the Spanish as La Barca, but is believed to have derived from the Arabic word Sinha-Dar El. When the Spanish Castilians finally captured Gibraltar in 1462 the cities Muslim and Jewish cities population surrendered and was finally expelled and replaced by Spanish Christians. The Rock of Gibraltar had remained in Moorish control for over 751 years. [2]
Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque [Photo]

The presence of Muslims is felt in the southernmost mosque in Europe, and one of the largest outside a Muslim country, the Mosque of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques was built on Europa Point – right at the bottom of the peninsula – by King Fahd of Saudi Arabia in 1997 to serve Gibraltar’s one thousand Muslims. Europa Point apparently has views of Morocco, a few miles away across the Strait of Gibraltar, but – thanks to some haze – “not when we were there”. Also called Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque, it is one of the most beautiful buildings in the territory.

During Ramadan, the doors of the mosque are opened to all communities living in the city to break fast at the time of sunset. This fosters inter communities harmony and understanding of each others' faith and beliefs.
While looking for photos of Gibraltar, I came across photos of monkeys and I wondered why these monkeys are so special to the territory. But then a bit searching the net came as a surprise: These monkeys were introduced by the Moors which is one of the only wild monkey populations in the whole of Europe. There are around 300 of North African descent currently occupy the peninsula.[2]

You may like t watch a video showing the rise and fall of Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula including Spain and Portugal:

Photos | References: | The Moorish Gibraltar (Wikipedia) | Tariq Bin Ziyad | 1 | 2 | 3 |
If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

Monday 22 October 2018

Muslims in Non Muslim Countries: Portugal


In the series of posts of Muslims in Non Muslim countries, I have so far covered Ukraine and Spain. While writing a rather detailed account of Muslim conquest of Spain by the Ummayad in early 8th century, I did not mention Portugal which was also partly under the Muslim rule for almost five hundred years. Today I exclusively focus on Portugal as both Spain and Portugal saw the rise of Muslim rulers in their countries, benefited from the rich cultural heritage, and then forced them out as part of after the Reconquista.  

The Iberian Peninsula, also known as Iberia, is located in the southwest corner of Europe. The peninsula is principally divided between Spain and Portugal. So when the Ummayad invaded Spain and their rule expanded, parts of Portugal also came under their fold. Thus from 711 to 1249, much of the territory of what is now Portugal (namely south of the Mondego river, but particularly in the Alentejo and the Algarve) was under Muslim control, and was called Garb Al-Andalus (the west of Al-Andalus). Whilst first Seville and then Cordoba came to be known as the capital of the Muslim Kingdom of Spain, the city of Silves was the capital of the medieval Muslim Kingdom of Portugal. [1]

Like Spain, the fall of Muslim rule was torturous and cruel as the Muslims were either forced to convert to Christianity or forced to leave the country to neighbouring African states. The end fate could not be better explained by Robert Fisk in his article "There's a reason why anti-Muslim ideology hasn't found a home in Portugal"as under: [2]
The ramparts of the Portuguese Castle of the Moors – “Castelo dos Mouros” – fell to the Christians of the Second Crusade in 1147, a bunch of thieves and drunkards, according to local reports, which included a fair number of Brits. There’s a story that a huge fortune in gold and coins still lies beneath the castle’s broken and much-restored walls, hidden there by the Moors when Afonso Henriques’ thugs were climbing the hills above Sintra. My guess is there’s none. Our relations with the Muslims have always revolved, it seems to me, around money and jealousy. Besides, the Crusaders looted their way across Lisbon – after a solemn agreement with the King that they could do so – and then massacred and raped their way through the panic-stricken Muslim population.
I came across a reference from a textbook of Portugal (1930-1974) which said: "For Portugal to be born, it was necessary to fight and expel Moors. who were not only the foreign enemies of our motherland, but enemies also to our Christian faith." Which implies that the making of Portugal, in other words, is literally the erasure of Islam; in such a narrative, by definition, there was no place for Muslims in national history. [3]

However, unlike Spain, where the Arabic text and all Arabic books were burnt, the Portuguese inherited a lot form the Arabs and are still regarded as as exotic and educated peoples and whose own culture was never erased from the streets of Portugal’s cities. Nowhere can present day connections between the Muslim and European past be more perfectly illustrated than in Lisbon’s Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in the northern suburbs of Lisbon. Old Gulbenkian, the richest Armenian of his time, the original “Mr Five Per Cent” of oil earnings, was an extraordinary philanthropist of his time, his foundation even trying to bridge the insurmountable gap between the Armenian peoples and their genocider Turkish fellow citizens after 1915. This may be why the short biography of the man available at the Lisbon institution refers to the Armenian genocide – disgracefully – as merely “the tragic events”.[2]




As of today, according to the Islamic Community of Lisbon, there are about 40,000 Muslims living in Portugal (according to 2011 estimates). The majority of Muslims in the country are Sunnis, followed by approximately 5,000 to 7,000 Sevener Ismā'īlī Shīʻa Muslims. Most of the Muslim population originates from the former Portuguese overseas provinces of Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique, most of the latter having their origin in South Asia. Although very small percentage of the population, the existing community is respected and problems with it are unheard of. Portugal has a floating Muslim community in Porto, they come and go and don’t stay long. However, Lisbon has a sizable Muslim community. In Lisbon and Odivelas they are mostly originally from India, Pakistan and moved to Portugal via Mozambique after the independence of this country. They are Portuguese and are today well integrated members of society.

I personally know a friend of my son whose parents moved to Portugal years ago and are not Portuguese citizens. There is another community in Palmela, where they have one of the best schools in the country and own businesses.

As for the Muslim women attire, niqābs are almost unheard of and even hijabs are not that common. Halal meat is very rare to find. More liberal Muslims should have no problem living in Portugal. Conservative Muslims might have a harder time since the country is not well catered for a religion with such a small representation and culturally so different from the Portuguese way of life. As of now islamophobia has not found its inroads in Portugal and the locals are very friendly to foreigners and people of other faiths.[5]

The Muslim introduction of new agricultural technology and plain hard work made Portugal prosper. To this day, the common Portuguese verb “mourejar” means “to work like a Moor (Muslim),” and it implies unusual diligence and tenacity. Indeed, Portuguese is saturated with thousands of words with Arabic origin.

While the full extent of Portugal’s Muslim heritage has long been forgotten or ignored, while converting the 16th-century Convento da Graça into a luxury hotel in Trivira in 2010, developers uncovered a cobbled street and foundations of a dozen homes built more than 700 years ago by the Arab Muslims who then ruled much of Portugal. In order to conserve the heritage, instead of the pool, there’s now a small museum under the hotel bar. Walkways allow visitors to wander above what remains of the medieval Moorish neighborhood. [6]

Although, the Spaniards did not leave a single trace of the Arabic language, they could not remove the traces of great Moorish architecture from Spain. It seems the Muslims concentrated more on Spain and less in Portugal as far architecture is concerned. Today, the town of Mértola, in the Alentejo, possesses the only partial remains of a mosque, converted to a Catholic Church after the Reconquista. The waterwheel in Algarve today is a descendant of the Muslim waterwheel that helped revolutionize agriculture in Portugal as in Spain. [4]

The Portuguese language is however peppered with words of Arabic origin, often those relating to food, farming and manual work. One commonly used is “oxalá” – a direct descendant of “in sha Allah”, the term meaning “God willing.” The city we know of as Lisbon, originates from the city once known as Al-Ishbun. The famous city of Algarve, takes its name directly from al-Gharb al-Andalus. These are not the only places to inherit a Muslim name, hundreds of place names in Portugal start with “Al”, the Arabic for ‘The’. The Alfama district in Lisbon is one such example. In fact, all across the Mediterranean this is the case, from Alghero in Sardinia to Algeciras in Southern Spain. The Portuguese language continues to borrow many words from Arabic, such as azeitona (olives) and garrafa (bottle). Others include azenha (water mill), from the Arabic al-saniyah and nora (water wheel), from the Arabic na’urah. [4]

Commenting on the footprints the Muslims left in Portugal, Adalberto Alves, the country’s best-known expert in the field writes: [6]
“If by magic it was possible to wipe out all the remnants of the Arab legacy from today’s Portugal, our ethnic, cultural, physical and human landscape would be completely different.” 
“We might be blond instead of dark, we’d stop speaking the Arabized-Latin that we call Portuguese and we’d loose over a thousand words from our dictionaries. So many of our villages and towns would no longer exist or have to change their names. We wouldn't know how to name the things we grow and eat. What would we call Jasmin, oranges, dates and pomegranates?”
As for masjids, Lisbon has a big mosque and some places in the suburbs have them as well, but it's not the easiest thing to find in Portugal. Watch this short video clip of Muslims celebrating the Muslim festival of Eid in Lisbon:
Islam is Europe’s second religion. As for Portugal, we pray that Islam will flourish in these lands once again and make it prosper as it once did. "Oxalá."

Photo: Central Mosque of Lisbon | References: | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

Sunday 21 October 2018

Muslims in Non Muslim Countries: Spain - Once the Mighty Al-Andalus

The story of rise and fall of Muslim dominance of Spain is both of glory and heart wrenching sorrows for the rise to glory was attributed to the glory of Muslims and the Ummayad Empire of the time, but their end after almost 800 years of rule was a treacherous exodus, the details of which are known but to few today.

I would here not go into the details of how Muslims came to Spain, rose to glory and many battles and the famous Spanish Inquisition that finally led to the downfall of the once thriving mighty Al Andalus empire of Spain, but would dwell more on the imprints left behind the Muslims in everything from gastronomy to music, language and architecture, which can still be felt and seen even after the 17th century brutal exodus of the Muslims, called Moriscos or simply the Moors, by the then Spanish royalties as detested aliens. 

The Arabic names distorted into Spanish and English can still be felt of their Arabic heritage like Gibraltar from Jabal al Tariq (the present Rock of Gibraltar named after the Muslim commander Tariq bin Zayyad who brought his army on ships which was a cue to Muslim occupation of Hispania), Cordoba from Qurtaba and Grenada from Gharnata. The world famous architecture of Alhambra in Grenada continues till today with its original name which the Spanish present to the world as a prideful part of their culture.

The Muslim period in Spain is often described as a 'golden age' of learning where libraries, colleges, public baths were established and literature, poetry and architecture flourished. Both Muslims and non-Muslims made major contributions to this flowering of culture.  Islamic Spain is sometimes described as a 'golden age' of religious and ethnic tolerance and interfaith harmony between Muslims, Christians and Jews. Many Christians in Spain assimilated parts of the Muslim culture. Some learned Arabic, some adopted the same clothes as their rulers (some Christian women even started wearing the veil); some took Arabic names. Christians who did this were known as Mozarabs. Although, Muslims did not explicitly hate or persecute the non-Muslims, some writers of the view that the natives lived a like of second class citizens and that the Muslim attitude toward non-Muslims is one not of hate or fear or envy but simply of contempt. [3]

Although a significant proportion of Moriscos returned to Spain or avoided expulsion through various means, and the decree never affected the country's large enslaved Muslim population, the indigenous practice of Islam had faded into obscurity by the 19th century. Nevertheless, throughout modern history there has always been a constant presence of Muslims in Spain, many of which were former slaves (known as 'moros cortados') freed in the early 18th century. Furthermore, Spain's proximity to North Africa and its small land border with the Kingdom of Morocco (as well as a colonial presence in North Africa lasting between 1912 and 1975) made Muslim presence in Spain possible. [1]

Now a few words about the rise and fall of the Muslims in Spain, though the history books are required to know the over 800 years rule of the then Umayyad Muslim Empire and their conquest of Hispania. Hispania was the Latin name given to the whole Iberian Peninsula (covering the territories of present-day Spain and Portugal). Herein under is a brief history of Muslim conquest of Hispania and their final exodus: [1]
On April 30, 711, Muslim General Tariq ibn-Ziyad landed at Gibraltar and by the end of the campaign most of the Iberian Peninsula were brought under Islamic rule. This campaign's turning point was the battle of Guadalete, where the last Visigothic king, Roderick, was defeated and killed on the battlefield.
The Islamic rulers called the Iberian peninsula "Al-Andalus". For a time, the area that is today Spain and Portugal was one of the great Muslim civilizations, reaching its summit with the Umayyad Caliphate in the 10th century. 
The three major monotheistic religious traditions certainly did borrow from one another in Muslim-ruled Spain, benefiting especially by the blooming of philosophy and the medieval sciences in the Muslim Middle East.
However, after almost 800 years of rule, the Islamic control of Spain gradually eroded by the Christian Reconquista (The Reconquista is a name used in English to describe the period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula of about 780 years between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada to the expanding Christian kingdoms in 1491.).
The final conquest of Spain culminated by the Treaty of Granada signed by Emir Muhammad XII of Granada, allowing the Spanish crown's new Muslim subjects a large measure of religious toleration. However 1492 started the monarchy's reversal of freedoms beginning with the Alhambra Decree. This continued when Archbishop Talavera was replaced by the intolerant Cardinal Cisneros, who immediately organized a drive for mass forced conversions and burned publicly thousands of Arabic books (manuscripts). In fact almost all books in Arabic, barring the valuable medical manuscripts which are still preserved in the Escorial library.
Beginning in Valencia in 1502, Muslims were offered the choice of baptism or exile. Nowhere to go, the majority therefore were forced to accept conversion, becoming known as "New Christians" or the "Moriscos" - them being  outwardly Catholic, continued to adhere to their old beliefs in private as crypto-Muslims. Responding to a plea from his co-religionists in Spain, in 1504 Ahmad ibn Abi Jum'ah, an Islamic scholar in North Africa, issued a fatwa, commonly named the "Oran fatwa", saying that Muslims may outwardly practice Christianity.
The clandestine practice of Islam continued till 1567 when  King Philip II finally made the use of the Arabic language illegal, and forbade the Islamic religion, dress, and customs, a step which led to the Rebellion of Alpujarras, involving acts of brutality. In one incident, troops commanded by Don John of Austria destroyed the town of Galera east of Granada, after slaughtering the entire population. 
'Edicts of Expulsion' for the expulsion of the Moriscos were finally issued by Philip III in 1609 against the remaining Muslims in Spain. The last mass prosecution against Moriscos for crypto-Islamic practices occurred in Granada in 1727, with most of those convicted receiving relatively light sentences. By this stage, the indigenous Islam is considered to have been effectively extinguished in Spain.
The 17th century exodus was most brutal exodus of a people in the annuls of history. Read more below.




Matthew Carr, the author of Blood and Faith, explains the harrowing details of the plight of the Moriscos, driven from their home country as detested aliens.
La Expulsión en el Puerto de Denia, painted by Vicente Mostre in 1613. 
Photograph: Public Domain

Matthew Carr in his book writes: [2]
I first heard about the expulsion of the 17th-century Spanish Muslims known as Moriscos back in 1992. I was familiar with the expulsion of the Jews by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492, but I knew nothing of the tragedy of the Moriscos – known as “little Moors” – that took place more than a century later.
I was moved by the tragic fate of these forced converts to Christianity. They were marginalized and persecuted before the Spanish state decided they were incapable of becoming “good and faithful” Christians.
I read the key primary documents pertaining to the expulsion, and the often genocidal texts written by 17th-century anti-Morisco writers, like the sinister Dominican monk Jaime Bleda. I went to the imposing castle of Simancas, where the Spanish state archives are kept, where I was shown a file of letters to Philip II written by local mayors and magistrates during the brutal transportation of Morisco rebels from Granada to Castile in the winter of 1570. Most of these short messages described the appalling physical condition of the sick and starving men, women and children who passed before their eyes that harsh winter, and the impossibility of feeding or even clothing them. 
I visited with the local historian Miguel Aparici Navarro, who showed me the ruins of Morisco villages, and the great ridge known as the muella – where Morisco women had thrown themselves to their deaths with their children, rather than leave the country they considered their homeland.
The battles at Cortes de Pallás were celebrated in one of the triumphal paintings commissioned by Philip III to mark the occasion; today these paintings are kept in a bank in Valencia and not open to the public. These paintings were intended to glorify what many statesmen even then regarded as a crime. Like most documents pertaining to the expulsion.

Writing specifically on the events of actual exodus of the Muslims from Spain, here is how he paints the events of the grim days:
Poignant and often tragic scenes unfolded as the Moriscos were brought to the waiting ships. One old man arrived in Valencia declaring his wish to be buried on Muslim soil but dropped dead while boarding his ship. Other Moriscos died of hunger and exhaustion before leaving the shore. Some parents became separated from their children in the confusion; others left their children behind with local Christians. 
There were many such farewells as the exodus continued. Even as the Moriscos were boarding their ships, priests, monks, and zealous Christians pleaded with them to leave their children behind so that they could be brought up as Catholics … Doña Isabel de Velasco, personally persuaded many parents to leave their children behind – or had them kidnapped – for their spiritual salvation. Some Moriscos gave in to these opportunities because they felt unable to care for their children, but others defiantly refused, such as the Morisca who gave birth on the docks and then “embarked with the infant in her arms on a harsh, windy and very cold day,” according to a report by the Valencia Inquisition, and ignored the Christians who begged her to leave her baby with them.
This then is the very brief tail of the rise and tragic fall of the Muslims in the once mighty Al Andalus. You may read from the reference given below of Wikipedia which speaks volumes of the Muslims rule of Spain and Portugal and the gory details of their forced convictions and conversions.

Today, nearly two million Muslims in Spain make up over 4% of the population. The majority are from Morocco; other sizable Muslim communities include Pakistanis, Algerians, Senegalese and Nigerians. The Autonomous Communities with a higher Muslim population are Catalonia, Andalusia, Madrid and the Valencian Community. As per a survey, 59% of Muslims claimed that there is no particular hostility to their community within the country.

However, there are problems too to live life as per Islamic laws. As per a report published in 2016, it read that Spanish authorities were considering Islamic funerals incompatible with local laws that prohibit corpses being buried in direct contact with the soil. This issue and the allocation of more cemeteries for the community has become imperative for the almost two million Muslims living in Spain. “The only places in Spain where we are allowed to bury our dead according to our rituals are the regions of Andalucia and the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla (in North Africa),” said Riay Tatary, head of the Union of Islamic Communities in Spain. When progressive Madrid Mayor Manuela Carmona recently requested 10,000 square meters allocated to Muslims in a cemetery in the Spanish capital, the answer from the central government was “No.” The reason was that bureaucrats considered Islamic burial rituals as illegitimate. [6]

As per one report published in 2003 in The Telegraph, the Spanish Muslims after a wait of more than 500 years, have finally succeeded in building a mosque of their own in the shadow of the Alhambra, once the symbol of Islamic power in Europe. Though, many Spaniards are quietly unhappy. "Everybody is opposed to it, but they know it's politically impossible to voice their objections," said one local journalist. However it is resulted in graffiti such as "Moros fuera" ("Moors out!"). "Ignoring their promises to tolerate the Muslim faith, the Spaniards indulged in a wave of forced conversions, expulsions and killings. Mosques were demolished and churches built, often on the same spot," the report adds. 

Christians still convert to Islam despite Islam not being a welcome religion in Spain anymore. Looking out across the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Alhambra, Abdul Haqq, 42, a Basque who converted to Islam 12 years ago, said: "Granada has historically been the capital of European Islam. Some people convert because of their search for their roots - others like me joined as a matter of faith."

Recently there was a heart wrenching video of Adan that went viral, but later removed, on YouTube in the Alhambra palace, Grenada by a vising Syrian young man Mouaz Al-Nass which went viral on social media. When asked why he did so, he replied beautifully: "I felt that ‘the walls had missed hearing the call to Allah‘. And this sentiment is especially touching when you consider the tragic history of Islam in Spain." It may be added that the Alhambra palace, which was built by Muslim rulers in the 1330s, had not witnessed the Islamic call to prayer in nearly five centuries.

Recently there has been an emerging trend of Sufism among the Muslims of Spain. There are around 1,200 Spanish converts to this mystical form of Islam The biggest communities are in Granada and Cáceres. Most Spanish Sufis belong to the Naqshbandi order, which traces its spiritual lineage back to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, the first Caliph and a companion of the prophet Muhammad. One Sufi convert has been quoted as saying: We converts are seen as strange. Islam isn't what people think it is. Islam is peace.”  Mansur, formerly José Carlos Sánchez, explains that Sufis live in the world without necessarily being of this world. “Every day I ask Allah to help me convert my ego into my prayer mat,” says the 41-year-old university graduate. “There is an undoubted rejection of Muslims in our society.” [7]

Recently there has been a UAE funded programme to help arrange and bear the expenses for Hajj from Spain to Saudi Arabia. The UAE embassy in Spain announces the offer of such grants at mosques, and each year it receives around 500 applications. And from this a slelected number of pilgrims are chosen this year - picked randomly. The main requirements for application are being a convert to Islam, over 40 years old and a low-income earner. The travel package of around 4,000 euros includes food, guides and even the sacrifice of a lamb, which every Muslim must partake in after the month of pilgrimage. [8]

You may now like to watch a very informative video titled "In the search of spirit of Al Andalus" which recounts the glory of Islam in Spain:
                                                                                             
And before I end this rather long history of Islam in Spain, allow me to share a historical photo of Dr Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the national poet and dreamer of a separate homeland for Muslims of British Indian subcontinent. This photo was taken in 1933 when Dr Iqbal visited Cordoba and offered prayer in one of the Ummayad's time masjid in Cordoba. He then wrote a beautiful poetic work on this spiritual experience in the form a poem "Masjid-e-Qartaba (The Masjid of Cordoba)."
O’ sacred place of Cordoba, you exist because of Ishq
Ishq that’s wholly eternal, which does not come and go

Read the poem "Masjid-e-Qartaba (The Masjid of Cordoba)"with its English translation here.

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 34 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Stumbleupon Favorites More