Muslims, Christians, and Jews co-existed for over seven centuries in the Iberian Peninsula during the era of Al-Andalus states. The degree to which the Christians and the Jews were tolerated by their Muslim rulers is a subject widely contested among historians. The history of Al-Andalus indicates that Muslims, Christians, and Jews who lived within Al-Andalus had relatively peaceful relations, with the exception of a few scattered revolts, and times of religious persecution. The great amount of cultural and social interaction that took place between these three distinct social and religious groups led to the creation of a unique and diverse culture that continued to flourish even after the Reconquista.
Social interaction The Umayyad conquest of Hispania signalled the coming together of three different religions and the social customs and culture associated with each. This period has become known as the Convivencia, meaning culture of coexistence. Although this idea of a culture of tolerance is disputed by some historians, only a few instances of revolts and violence were actually recorded. This does not mean that discrimination by Muslims did not occur at the local level. However, the more educated classes of Muslims respected Christians and Jews under Islamic law as dhimmis (protected peoples) or People of the Book. The soldiers who carried out the conquest formed only a small minority of the population of the Iberian Peninsula. Thus the emergence of this unique Islamic society that formed in al-Andalus was a slow and uneven process. In order to understand how these distinct cultures and societies meshed into one, over time, it is important to recognize what was distinct about each and how they were viewed within the broader society.
Muslim clerics in Al Andalus viewed the non-Muslims as unclean and dirty and feared that too much contact with them would contaminate Muslims. in Seville the faqih Ibn Abdun issued these regulations segregating people of the two faiths:
Muslims
In al-Andalus, Muslims were divided into three distinct ethnic groups. The largest group was the Berbers. The Berbers, who mostly came from North Africa, were mostly sedentary in lifestyle, not to be confused with the nomadic Berbers found in roughly the same geographic region. In terms of social class, after the invasion, Berbers mostly went on to form the rural proletariat, although a number of them went to the cities, mostly working to pursue crafts. In terms of religion the Berbers were all Muslims, their ancestors having converted mostly to share in the wealth of Arab conquests.
The second group of Muslims found in al-Andalus was the Arabs. They formed a relatively small section of al-Andalus’ total population. They tended to have a higher economic position in society and constituted the majority of the ruling class. They owned land in the richest parts of the country. The most important cultural elements they brought with them were their language and the Arabic tradition of learning and high culture, which emulated that which could be found in Caliphate of Damascus.
However, the actual amount of culture these Arab invaders actually brought with them has been disputed by some historians. Historian W. Montgomery Watt argues that the ancestors of the Arabs that came to invade the Iberian Peninsula had been living a very rough life in the Middle East steppe, thus the actual invaders had little time to acquire a high level of culture. These Arab and Berber invaders were also busy consolidating their control, having little time and money to devote to purposefully spreading culture to the newly conquered regions. The Islamic Golden Age in Iberia was also, in part, a result of its geographic location and relative isolation from the central part of the Umayyad Empire. The Umayyad rulers felt the need to prove that they were the equals of those in West Asia. This was combined with their need to prove their worth as an independent region. It can thus be concluded that the invading Arabs brought some level of culture to the peninsula, but the high culture that was achieved during the golden age of al-Andalus was the result of the combination and growth of the multiple cultures present in the geographic area.
Muwalladun, or Muslims of Iberian descent, were far more numerous than those of purely Arabic descent. They were composed of those descended from the marriages of the original invading Arabs to the native women of Iberia along with those who converted to Islam by choice since the invasions. The muwalladun adopted Arabic genealogies and thus became further fused to the Arabs ethnically over time. By the 10th century, no clear distinction existed between muwalladun and Arab Muslims and by the tenth century, Muslims represented about 80% of the total population of al-Andalus, including Christian converts and the Berber Muslims.
Christians
The Christians living in al-Andalus, both before and after the invasion, were the Visigoths, Hispano-Romans, and the native tribes of the Iberian Peninsula. The Visigoths and the Hispano-Romans formed the noble class prior to the Umayyads. The Christian population as a whole was predominantly Catholic, although some paganism and Arianism still persisted in some areas, mixing with the Catholic tradition.
Under the Christian Visigoth rule, a tradition of learning had been established at Seville by Isidore (636 AD). Over time, Seville became one of the leading intellectual centers of Christian Europe. This Isidorian tradition seems to have been abandoned in favor of the Arabic tradition, although it undoubtedly played a role in the further development of the Arabic tradition on the peninsula.
After the Muslim invasion, the Christians were classified under Islamic law as dhimmis. This status allowed them to practice their religion freely under the Umayyad dynasty. Christians were allowed to maintain many of their churches and the organization of the Church remained mostly intact, with the exception of the confiscation of many Catholic properties. Bishops and other high ranking church officials had to be approved by the Caliphate before they could take office.
Although culturally many Christians adopted the Arabic tradition, the cultural tradition of the Catholic Church and the culture that had developed under the Visigoths was maintained in monasteries by monks. The strong monastic tradition throughout the southern portion of the Iberian Peninsula continued to flourish and develop under Muslim rule. Within the cities, some Christians were able to rise to prominent positions within the Umayyad bureaucracy.
One example is of a Christian with the adopted name of [Abu Umar ibn Gundislavus], who became vizier under Abd al-Rahman III. Another example being, Revemund, a Christian who was a secretary under the same ruler and was later sent as an ambassador to Germany in 955–6. He eventually became the bishop of Elvira. Christian artisans, especially from the Eastern Roman Empire, were called to work on various building projects in the Caliphate of Córdoba. Some of these artisans remained integrated into Andalusian society. Although Christians lost the absolute dominant status they had previously experienced in Iberia, they were still able to gain positions of prominence under Muslim rule, however, these conditions deteriorated with the Almoravids and Almohads (see Restrictions Imposed on Christians and Jews).
Jews
Jews formed a small but significant ethnic minority in the Iberian Peninsula, constituting about 5% of the total population in al-Andalus. They began to settle in the Iberian Peninsula in significant numbers around the 1st century AD. Under Christian Visigothic rule, Jews faced persecution. In 613, the Visigothic King Sisebut issued a decree which forced Jews to convert to Christianity or be exiled and have their property confiscated. It comes as no surprise that many Jews welcomed their Muslim rulers and saw the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula as deliverance. After the conquest, under Islamic law, Jews were also categorized as dhimmis, having the same social standing as Christians. The Jewish communities scattered throughout the rural areas of al-Andalus remained fairly isolated, however Jews living in cities and towns, like those in Cordoba that became integrated into Islamic culture and society.
Jews came to hold very influential positions in the Umayyad bureaucracy. One example is the Jewish scholar and physician Hasdai ibn Shaprut, who served as a diplomat of the Umayyad government. Many Jews living in the cities also became involved in trade as merchants. Under the Caliphate of Cordoba, Jews experienced [A Golden Age of Jewish Culture] within Spain, in which Jewish scholars, philosophers, and poets prospered. Jews also contributed to the scientific and mathematic fields of study prominent in Cordoba at this time. Overall, Jews were granted better treatment, with the coming of the Muslims invaders, than they had previously experience under Christian rule. Conditions deteriorated under Almoravid and Almohad rule (see Restrictions Imposed on Christians and Jews).
Restrictions imposed on Christians and Jews Although Christians and Jews experienced a relatively high degree of religious and social freedom under Muslim rule, they did lack certain rights that were reserved exclusively for Muslims. The dihimmis, which included both Christians and Jews, were required to pay an annual poll tax called a jizya.
If a non-Muslim also owned a substantial amount of cultivatable land, they were required to pay the kharaj or land-tax. There were also certain restrictions and taxes levied on the church buildings themselves. Certain religious practices like processions, chanting, and church bell ringing, were also censored by law, although the enforcement of these laws varied from region to region. Under Islamic law, dihimmis were supposed to assume a subordinate position in that they were not allowed to hold authority over any Muslim. In practice, this was not the case, as many Christians and Jews acquired positions in the Cordoban bureaucracy as tax collectors, translators, and secretaries.
There, however, advantages to converting to Islam. The ability for social mobility changed drastically upon conversion to Islam. Converts had a greater ability to acquire wealth and status. Slaves were also instantly freed and enfranchised if they converted to Islam reciting the Shahada. Under the Almoravids tensions grew as more and more restrictions were forced upon non-Muslims, although a certain level of prosperity for religious minorities was still maintained under their rule. Under the Almohads these relative eras of tolerance ended with many Christians and Jews being forced to convert to Islam or face persecution. Many churches and synagogues were destroyed during Almohad rule and many Christians and Jews moved to the newly conquered Christian city of Toledo. Overall, relations between the various religious groups varied from region to region and the term convivencia, or culture of tolerance, cannot be universally applied to Al-Andalus.
Ibn Hazn (1064), a prominent poet and philosopher from Cordoba, described the Christian community as ‘altogether vile,’ demonstrating that prejudices against Christians persisted in Al-Andalus, although it is hard to gauge to what degree since they varied from region to region. The invasion of the Almoravids, and later the Almohads, signaled a shift and eventual end to the religious tolerance fostered under the Caliphate.
Social mobility and conversion
Conversion to Islam translated into a higher rate of social mobility for Christians and Jews alike. There is little documentation available to indicate the conversion rates of Jews in Al-Andalus, although the numbers of Jewish converts have been estimated as relatively small. This is perhaps due to the tightly knit Jewish communities that had formed before the Muslim invasion.