Jewish Life under Islamic Rule
Jewish communities and civilization under Islamic rule, especially in medieval Spain (al-Andalus), and the Andalusian Paradise debate
CCR’s engagement with Jewish civilization has centered on Jewish life under Islamic rule, particularly in medieval al-Andalus. Barbara Onnis’s “Some Overlooked Realities of Jewish Life under Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain” in v68 challenges the romanticized “Andalusian Paradise” narrative by attending to the realities of dhimmi status, periodic persecution, and the 1066 Granada massacre. Laina Farhat-Holzman’s review of Dario Fernandez-Morera’s The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise (Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2016) in v74 continues this critique, contesting the view that al-Andalus was a tolerant multicultural utopia and emphasizing the Islamic legal status of dhimmis and the periodic violence against Jewish and Christian communities.
The juxtaposition of Jewish, Christian and Muslim civilizations in medieval Spain is treated by CCR as a key test case for civilizational comparison. The Iberian peninsula was a frontier zone where all three monotheistic civilizations coexisted (often uneasily) for centuries, with lasting consequences for European thought, language, science and culture.
Source summaries:
- v68 (Spring 2013) — Barbara Onnis, “Some Overlooked Realities of Jewish Life under Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain,” highlights the violence and dhimmi-status often elided in popular treatments. (v68)
- v74 (Spring 2016) — Laina Farhat-Holzman reviews Dario Fernandez-Morera’s The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise. (v74)