Europe's Muslim History: Erased, Not Forgotten

Spanish cities still bear Arab-derived names, a realization that prompted Tariq Ali to pivot from a detached essay on Al-Andalus to writing a novel.

His discovery that many Spanish cities still bore Arab-derived names and that the history remained 'sticking out in odd places' inspired him to write a novel, 'Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree,' focusing on the final days of the civilization in Granada.

In Albarracín, Spain, an elderly woman recounted the forced expulsion of her Muslim ancestors, detailing how they were lined up in what used to be the market area.

She explained that her family converted under the threat of 'convert or die' during the Spanish Inquisition, a memory passed down through generations within her family.

This direct transmission of history revealed how deeply the past is embedded in local memory, even centuries after the events.

Archbishop Cisneros's burning of books in Granada after the military victory was a calculated strategy, aimed at destroying the identity and collective memory of the conquered people.

Ali notes that Cisneros understood military victory alone was insufficient to control a population, highlighting the burning of books as an effort to ensure the permanent end of a civilization by erasing what they knew and remembered.

Jewish historians widely acknowledge that their community experienced its highest intellectual and professional flourishing during Muslim rule in Spain, referred to as Al-Andalus.

During this period, Jews served as advisors and held significant positions with kings, contributing to all aspects of the state.

Ali notes that despite attempts by some historians, such as Benjamin Netanyahu's father, to deny this reality, historical evidence of this pervasive integration remains strong.

Tariq Ali personally reviewed a historical document outlining the king's policy regarding Muslim laborers in Spain.

This document explicitly identified Muslims designated for slave labor as fellow Spaniards, contradicting later narratives that portrayed them as outsiders.

The historical record serves as concrete evidence of the recognized integration of Muslims into Spanish society, even amidst policies of forced labor and expulsion.

The historian Edward Gibbon famously speculated that if two or three key battles had gone differently, Europe's cultural landscape could have been vastly altered, with Oxford colleges potentially featuring mosques.

Ali uses Gibbon's comment to challenge the notion of a predetermined European cultural destiny and underscore the contingent nature of historical outcomes.

This idea serves as a provocative reminder that historical victory does not equate to inherent righteousness or inevitability.

European intellectual development relied heavily on the preservation of lost Greek texts by scholars like Ibn Rushd, who translated them into Arabic and then Latin, a process Ali argues may have delayed the Renaissance had it not occurred.

Islamic scholars also significantly advanced fields such as algebra, mathematics, and medicine, contributing foundational knowledge that enabled future European scientific progress.

The Toledo School of Translation served as a vital center for cross-cultural intellectual exchange, and Ali contends that the European Renaissance would have been significantly delayed without these contributions.

He draws a parallel to the Catholic-Protestant wars, which he describes as struggles for power, domination, land, and money between groups belonging to the same civilization.

Sicily is presented as a counter-example, demonstrating successful coexistence and cultural synergy between Muslims and Normans, with the Salerno hospital serving as a lasting symbol of Islamic influence in European medicine.

The 'clash of civilizations' narrative is a mischaracterization, according to Ali, who instead proposes a 'clash of fundamentalisms' where imperialist power often matches the destructiveness of religious extremism.

He argues that imperialist fundamentalism is far more destructive due to the backing of state power, and that extremist groups are often mirror images or byproducts of Western geopolitical interests.

Historically, Islamic fundamentalist groups have, at times, collaborated with Western powers, further complicating the simplistic 'clash' narrative.

Ali attributes current Islamophobia to a strategic need by Western leaders to find a scapegoat following the geopolitical fallout of 9/11, effectively making Islam the convenient excuse.

He references Chalmers Johnson's book 'Blowback,' asserting that 9/11 was a direct consequence of Western foreign policy, a view that was initially marginalized but later vindicated.

Cultural differences, such as dress and diet, were cynically weaponized to construct an 'other' and foster widespread anti-Muslim sentiment.

British tabloids in the 1930s characterized Jews with themes of being 'not like us' and fears of societal takeover, imagery Tariq Ali warns is echoed in contemporary anti-Muslim sentiment.

He highlights common themes in both periods, including accusations of being 'not like us,' ridicule of distinct clothing, and fears of societal takeover.

Ali explains that such scapegoating typically arises when populations are dissatisfied with their governments and elites seek external targets for blame.

He points out that immigrant success stories are only framed negatively when a political narrative chooses to perceive them as a threat.

The acceptance of figures like Rishi Sunak in conservative structures demonstrates that immigrants who assimilate into mainstream political systems often face little resistance, contrasting with the political reaction to more moderate figures like Sadiq Khan.

Structural hollowing within the capitalist system drives anti-immigrant sentiment as a distraction from internal political decline, Ali argued.

Anti-immigrant rhetoric serves as a diversion, drawing attention away from internal political decline and systemic failures.

Prejudice against immigrants, he suggests, tends to fluctuate in tandem with economic conditions and levels of full employment, increasing when the system requires new scapegoats to mask its own structural issues.

Tariq Ali firmly rejects the notion of leaving the UK, despite having been expelled from other countries in the 1960s, viewing such an act as an admission of defeat.

He advocates for continued resistance through various means, including intellectual work with one's 'pen' and active participation in social movements.

Ali emphasizes the importance of joining broader movements against war and collaborating with trade unions to effect change from within.

Rather than seeking a 'safe perfect place' that does not exist, Ali encourages those facing Islamophobia or exclusion to stay and resist the political sleepwalking of the majority.

He advises those facing Islamophobia or exclusion to remain steadfast and resist rather than succumbing to panic and leaving.

Ali describes the political silence of the majority regarding ongoing conflicts and injustices as 'sleepwalking,' underscoring the urgency for awareness and action.

The past must be examined critically to preserve its achievements and defeats rather than allowing it to become a site of excessive wallowing, Ali warned.

He states that history is only useful if its positive elements can be 'plucked out' and reapplied to future generations, rather than simply romanticized.

The present is important, and the future even more so, requiring a constructive engagement with history to build a better path forward.