Moors Quotes

The Muslims conquered Spain and controlled it to one extent or another for 600 years.

The Muslims conquered Spain and controlled it to one extent or another for 600 years. In the strict Muslim culture access to sex with was a major attraction. The Moors brought few women with them and in their 600 year dominance of much of Spain interbred profusely do that today there is some Moorish blood in most Spanish families.

This Government Instruction to British North African Consular Personnel summarized the policies of the British government with regard to British citizens who run afoul of the law while in Morocco and other North African countries. Essentially, the British almost always insisted on a treaty with the foreign governments that gave jurisdiction to the British Counsul to try any Englishman who was accused of a crime. The national government could not put a British Subject on trial of punish him regardless of the crime. Where local people were the victim of the alleged crime, the national government could send an observer to the trial that the British consul held. To many, this was arrogant and insulting to the host governments. As high handed as it seems, there were and still are great problems with differing concepts of justice, different rights protected and different levels of corruption. In many countries “important” local officials can control or influence the decisions of courts, witnesses can be easily bribed lie, and even judges can readily be bought. Even today, the issue of criminal jurisdiction is one of the most important subjects of negotiations between nations. The United States has similar agreements with Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea, Germany, Japan and other nations where we have armed forces. Generally, the better and more sophisticated and honest the host government justice system is, the more willing modern nations are to allow them jurisdiction over criminal matters. But generally, in the world today, these treaties are the exception. Most criminal jurisdiction is with the national government where the alleged crime takes place.

Toleration is a relative term. The Muslim Moors made Christians (and Jews) pay a special tax. At times they were forced to wear special clothing so that they could be readily identified. And they could not build churches larger or taller than the smallest mosque in the community. At times, their occupations were restricted but at other times Christians and Jews were appointed to the highest positions like Vizier. The Inquisition, in contrast, forced all Muslims (and Jews) to leave the country without any of their property or money or be tortured and killed—usually by burning at the stake unless of course that they converted to Christianity.

Lisbon had been conquered and was occupied by the Moors. Alfonso needed the French to oust the Moors. Such arrangements were not uncommon.

At the time, the Muslim culture was far more advanced than the Christian. Also, the Roman Catholic Church was very sexually prudish compared with the more modern Arabs, To the distress of the Christian leaders, the Christians of Spain were attracted to the more modern Islamic society. This was just the opposite of today. Since the 9th century, the Muslims have become much more restrictive and prudish in their religion while the Christians and the West have eclipsed them and greatly modernized. So today, it is the Islamic leaders who worry that the Muslims are attracted to Western culture.

Many Muslims did not want science and technology to fall into the hands of the heathens. Even today America limits the information and technological products that can be exported to the Islamic nations. At the time it was the case that some Christian and Jewish Scholars translated Islamic scientific treatises and promoted them under their own name, but most of the translations were published and labeled as such .The reason was that at that time Europe was emerging from the Dark Ages and was scientifically relatively ignorant whereas the Muslims had the best scientists and mathematicians in the world. It was more prestigious and credible to attribute science material to Muslims. At the same time, a good bit of the Islamic science texts were translations of the great Greek scientists and some Muslims offered it as their own. Most however translated the Greek works and labeled it as such. Ibn Abdun quotations are very important because he wrote many of the Islamic legal opinions that governed Muslim Spain and influenced the Arabs of North Africa.

Yusuf was the ruler of the Almoravids, a Berber empire of North Africa and Mauritania. The Almoravids were a particular zealous group of Muslim fundmentalists. Al-Mutamid and the other Muslim petty kings of Spain asked help from the Almoravids who invaded Spain in 1090 and unified the then Islamic state. By that time al-Mutamid had evacuated Seville and passed away.

He was referring to Joseph ibn Naghrela, the son of Samuel ibn Naghrela ({623786} & {623774}) The father had been the vizier the King and the son was appointed Secretary to the Muslim King. He was one of the Muslims who were jealous that Jews should have influential positions in a Muslim society.

This quotation is unusual for several reasons. First, it is one of the few surviving descriptions of the Battle of Al Fuente an important battle keeping Muslim Grenada independent. Second, it was an elegant poem written by the winning commander who was a polymath with poetry and military prowess just two of his skills. Third, the commander was a Jew commanding a Muslim Army in Moorish Spain.

This quotation tells us important facts about the Caliphate in Moorish Spain. First, the Caliphate was not always hereditary. In this case the Caliph was picking his own successor who was not of his own family. In addition, there was some meritocracy expected by the Muslim population. Hisham had to extol the virtue of his selection. Last, nobility and high birth was not an absolute requirement. Hisham tells the people that he has searched both the aristocracy and the commoners looking for the right candidate. Actually, the successor had none of the virtues attributed to him. He was a dishonest scoundrel of the worst sort. The Caliph was very weak, and Abd Al-Rahman al Sanchol not only persuaded the Caliph to name him successor, but many historians believe that al Sanchol actually wrote the proclamation that Hisham II read.

His quotations are very important because he wrote many of the Islamic legal opinions that governed Muslim Spain and influenced the Arabs of North Africa. This is yet another example of the classic antipathy that many Muslims have for People of the Book—Christians and Jews.

European Christians did not as a matter of custom bathe very often as opposed to the Muslims who did.