SPAIN : A UNIQUE HISTORY
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Specialist on Spanish History, about Spain and Islam
Posted: 09 Mar 2013
The royal palace or alcazar of SevilleChapter 2 of his book is “Spain and Islam:The Myth of Al-Andalus” and here I cite his conclusions textually so that nobody can say a paraphrase of mine does not represent him.The only modification of mine is that I enumerate some of his statements.
Stanley Paine asks how much was Spanish civilization influenced by Islam and Muslims
He states:
“This raises the question-how much and what kind of influence did the Muslims have on Spanish culture,society,and institutions?The influence is often considered to have been profound,but was it really?The issue was at the crux of the quarrel between Castro and Sanchez Albornoz,probably the most famous two-man controversy in all Spanish historiography.”
Who were Americo Castro and Claudio Sanchez Albornoz?
Who was Americo Castro(1885–1972)?
He was a Spanish intellectual who challenged some of the prevailing notions of Spanish identity.In 1948,in his book “Espana en su historia:cristianos,moros y judios/Spain in its history:Christians,Moors and Jews” he created the term “conviviencia”.That word already existed in Spanish(it means to get along well) and in English there is “conviviality” and “convivial”.For Castro,as applied toMuslim rule in Spain it meant that the Muslims practically treated non-Muslims as equals,it was the idyllic coexistence between Muslims, Christians, and Jews.He held it as a model for today.
But another Spanish intellectual, Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz (1893–1984),completely disagreed and said so in his monumental “España: Un enigma histórico” (1956).In reality scholarship has shown Castro was wrong and Sanchez-Albornoz right.
The linguistic aspect
Paine also states:
“To begin with:
1.There are approximately four thousand words in Castilian and other peninsular languages that are derived from Arabic(with rather fewer in Catalan)having to do specifically with such areas as geography,economic practices,basic technology and administration.
2.They are almost all words for things,rather than for sentiments(although there are a few for the latter,as well).
3.And entered the vocabulary primarily between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries,as the Spanish occupied nearly all of Al-Andalus and incorporated a sizable Muslim minority.
4.The vocabulary of Castilian is,however,quite large,and such words-though among those frequently used-amount to a very small percentage of the total.
5.Grammar and syntax remained totally unaffected.Obviously Arabic had some influence,but whether this could be considered a profound influence is more doubtful.”
The case of Farsi and Spanish
1.Spanish is like Farsi,the language of Iran,in that it is an Indo-European language,related to Sanskrit,Hindi,German,Russian,
2.Spanish has at least 100,000 words,so 4,000 Arabic words is at most 4%.
3.While in Farsi 50% of the words are Arabic,it is a mixed language,like Swahili(which is 50% Arabic and 50% Bantu) or English(which has at least 50% words of French origin).
4.In fact Spanish is so Latin in nature that an Italian and a Spaniard can,in general,communicate and understand each other,even if imperfectly.
About Muslim influence on Spanish culture
“1.Spanish culture,on the one hand,and the country’s institutional theory and practice,are all of the west European type.
2.There is some Islamic influence in Spanish literature,but again the degree is quite limited,having to do with certain medieval poetic forms and plotlines.
3.No influence may be found in religious culture,theology or church organization and administration,
4.Or in philosophical thought,high culture,or political philosophy and practice.The fact that the occasional term of Arab origin may appear in the roster of administration positions is a technicality,not an oriental model.”
About Spain and Portugal’s institutional theory and practice
1.Anybody familiar with the theme sees right away that it is based on Roman law,and not on Islamic-Sharia law.
2.Thus there is no polygamy,no harem with sex-slaves who are non-Christian.
3.Later on Spain,and all the other Latin countries,have been greatly influenced by the French legal system called the Code Napoleon.
CouscousThe chapter also says:
“Even Spanish diet reveals only modest traces of Andalusi or Mudejar influence,rejecting:
1.The semivegetarian Andalusi cuisine
2.And most of its favorite foods,such as couscous,which has no place in Spanish diet,
3.Which conversely always featured pork,like that of other Europeans.”
What is Mudejar?
The author sometimes uses this term and it comes from the Arabic Mudajjan, ”domesticated”.It is the name given to the Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian reconquest but were not converted to Christianity.
About Muslim influence on Spain’s music
“1.Popular songs and music have no Arab meter
2.And in fact Spanish music,even of the earlier period,could not be played on the typically Muslim instruments.
3.The oldest of the well-known Spanish,mainly Andalusian,dances originated no earlier than the sixteenth century.
4.Similarly the origins of flamenco and cante jondo,the “lerele” style,are modern Andalusian,and traditional gypsy,a style that first began to emerge in the Jerez-Cadiz triangle toward the end of the eighteenth century,achieved its full form in Seville and some of the larger Andalusian cities soon after the middle of the nineteeth century,from where it soon spread to Madrid.
It does have certain oriental roots,but the orient from which part of flamenco stems is the musical culture that the gypsies brought from India,not the Arab Middle East.”
About the real Muslim influence:architecture
“In the late Middle Ages,the principal or expression of Muslim culture in Spanish lay in certain areas of esthetics,most especially in the decorative style generally called Mudejar.
This lasted for approximately two centuries as architectural and other kinds of decoration for buildings whose plan and character,however,were not those of Muslim Granada but of Christian Spain.”
For an example of this:
“The Covered Balcony/”Mashrabiya” of Islamic Countries,Adopted by the Spaniards and built by them in Lima,Peru”
http://www.antisharia.com/
Another example:that of the Alcazar (Arabic for “the Palace) of Seville(1350)
It was a royal palace built by the Castillian king Pedro I.
Source
http://www.photaki.com/
Alcazar of Seville
Here is its interiorSource:
http://www.spain.info/en/
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