The Islamic Spain

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Islamic Spain can be seen as one of the only societies that has grasped the importance of synergy and placed this notion above the typical need for absolute control. It is here where adherents of three religions coexisted and thrived culturally, economically, and intellectually. Two works explain the history of Islamic Spain, one being a documentary by Gardner Films, Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain, and the other a book by Tamim Ansary called Destiny Disrupted: A History of The World Through Islamic Eyes. While both Ansary and Gardner Films explore the themes of Spain under Islamic rule, Gardner Films provides the viewer with a more thorough history of the region whereas Ansary remains brief and narrow with his narration. The documentary Cities of Light provides a view of Islamic Spain from its beginning to its very end. This documentary touches on every aspect of what life was like in Islamic Spain and the significance of the events that occurred there.
In the fifth century Barbarians collapsed the Roman Empire and Europe entered the Dark Ages. Around this time the Visigoths expanded their empire by heading for Spain. Upon arriving in Spain, the Visigoths encountered Jews whom they treated somewhat gently until the Visigoths converted to Catholicism; the Visigoths then overran Jews. Soon after, Muslims from North Africa known as Berbers decided to invade the Iberian Peninsula in hopes to take control of Spain and expand the Muslim reign, which they did. This sudden change in rule of the territory provided a sense of relief for all the people living in Spain. The reason for this was because the Muslims treated everyone equally so long as they abided by Muslim authority and paid taxes. After all, the Christians...

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...ommunity into two. Both Ansary and Gardner present this idea of Rahman III claiming himself as Khalifa and the issued that come along with it are of extreme significance. This disunity of what is supposed to be a single Muslim community (umma) made many Muslims angry and gave them the idea that religion needed to be purified, this sparked a purification of religion in Christianity as well. This eventually led to Islamic Spain falling into the hands of Ferdinand and Isabel who expelled all Muslims from Spain and ended the long-lived Islamic Spain.

Bibliography
Ansary, Tamim. Destiny Disrupted: A History of The World Through Islamic Eyes. New York:
Public Affairs, 2010.
Gardner, Robert, Carrie Gardner, and Sam Mercurio. "Cities of Light: The Rise & Fall of
Islamic Spain." Produced by Unity Productions Foundation. 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i1Sb0nz_fk

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