After two attacks on August 17 in Barcelona and Cambrils, Spain left fourteen dead, Islamic State (also known as ISIS or Daesh) released a video claiming responsibility for the attacks. In the video, released early last week, we hear a member of Islamic State speak Spanish, for the very first time, in addition to Arabic. In the video, he says, “Allah willing, Al-Andalus will become again what it was, part of the caliphate. Spanish Christians, don’t forget the Muslim blood spilt during the Spanish inquisition. We will take revenge for your massacre, the one you are carrying out now against Islamic State.” Another militant added that they do not plan to stop these attacks on civilians.
So, what is “Al-Andalus”, many have asked. Al-Andalus is the name for the Iberian Peninsula during the type of Islamic occupation. This began in 711 CE with the invasion of the Umayyad Caliphate and ended in 1492—the same year Columbus set sail for the Americas at the bequest of the Crown of Castile. The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major caliphates to be established after the death of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, in 632 CE. One key factor to remember regarding the Umayyad Dynasty is that they were quite secular, especially in comparison to the later Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula that was completely intolerant of those who were not Catholic. Muhammad has spoken about letting those who practice other Abrahamic religions to be able to continue to do so. The Umayyad created the jizya taxation wherein those who were not Muslim paid a percentage to the dynasty to live in lands ruled by the Caliph. Women, children, those deemed mentally unstable, or those only temporarily living in the lands were not required to pay. In some cases, those who were Jewish or Christian were treated as second-class citizens or did not have enough to pay the jizya, and they converted to Islam. The jizya extended even when the Umayyad invaded Gibraltar in 711 CE and began extending into modern-day Portugal, Spain, and even into parts of France.
In 732 CE, the slow downfall of Al-Andalus began as the Charles Martel and his army defeated Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi at the Battle of Poitiers (Tours) and the Islamic army was driven out of modern-day France. For the next centuries after many quarrels, revolts and Caliphate changes, the only remaining area of Al-Andalus was Emirate of Granada. Granada was also home to many Muslims and Jews who were fleeing the persecution of the Reconquista, which had grown immensely deadly by this time. In 1469, the marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon beckoned the fall of the last domino in Al-Andalus. The Crown declared a war on all Muslims and later Pope Sixtus IV declared the war a “crusade”. Efforts to extinguish all non-Catholics from Iberia intensified. The Treaty of Grenada was signed November 25, 1491, and the city of Granada fell on January 2, 1492. Per the treaty, the Capitulations of 1492 allowed Muslims still residing in Grenada could continue practicing their religion. However, Spanish promises of tolerance did not last. By 1502, the Crown began forced conversions on all who practiced any religion other than Catholicism and various sentencing for those who refused. Those who refused were expelled or killed. This lasted for another two centuries before Spain believed it had eradicated Islam.
In the video, one ISIS member says, "With God's permission, Al-Andalus will once again be the land of the caliphate." When we look at what transpired in Barcelona and Cambrils this month, it is clearly an act of terrorism. There is a dark history regarding Islam, especially throughout Europe. But there is no justifying the mass murders of citizens no matter how well you gift wrap your rhetoric in victimhood.
Image depicting a Jewish cantor reading the Passover story in Al-Andalus, from a 14th century Spanish Haggadah. Artist Unknown.
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