Myth of the Andalusian Paradise

Scholars, journalists, and politicians uphold Muslim-ruled medieval Spain';al-Andalus'as a multicultural paradise, a place where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived in harmony. There is only one problem with this widely accepted account: it is a myth. In this groundbreaking book, Northwestern Univ [...]
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Scholars, journalists, and politicians uphold Muslim-ruled medieval Spain';al-Andalus'as a multicultural paradise, a place where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived in harmony. There is only one problem with this widely accepted account: it is a myth. In this groundbreaking book, Northwestern University scholar Daro Fernndez-Morera tells the full story of Islamic Spain. The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise shines light on hidden features of this medieval culture by drawing on an abundance of primary sources that scholars have ignored, as well as archaeological evidence only recently unearthed. This supposed beacon of peaceful coexistence began, of course, with the Islamic Caliphate's conquest of Spain. Far from a land of tolerance, Islamic Spain was marked by religious and therefore cultural repression in all areas of life, and by the marginalization of Christians and other groupsall this in the service of social control by autocratic rulers and a class of religious authorities. As professors, politicians, and pundits continue to celebrate Islamic Spain for its ';multiculturalism' and ';diversity,' Fernndez-Morera sets the record straightshowing that a politically useful myth is a myth nonetheless.