The Muslims advocating the construction of the “Cordoba” Mosque and their supporters like to talk about how good in was for all back then in Spain—for Muslims, for Christians and for Jews—a golden time of tolerance, what one Wall Street editorialist gushed was the “pan-confessional humanism” that prevailed there, all one big, happy, peaceful family, during the 800 years span in “al Andalus,” i.e. Muslim Spain, and “Cordoba” was the epitome of that harmony. The Muslims and Islamophiles who write and speak about Islam like to dwell on the beautiful architecture of the Alhambra and its gardens, on beautiful Muslim calligraphy, on the gorgeous tile work in Mosques, and on the glittering porcelains and metalwork–the artifacts of Muslim rule (but not on the Christian and Jewish slaves and dhimmis who created and maintained them), but what was really going on in Spain under Muslim rule, and in Cordoba (see, for example, an overview at http://www.jihadwatch.org/2004/04/andalusian-myth-eurabian-reality.html)?
Well, first and foremost, during these 800 years Spain was a conquered Christian nation under Muslim rule, and Jews and Christians—“the people of the Book” were second class citizens, called “dhimmis” because of the “dhimma,” the temporary promise their Muslim conquerors gave them that they would not be subject to Jihad–that they would not be despoiled, their women would not be raped, and that they would not be killed by their conquerors if they “cooperated” and obeyed the rules laid down by Muslims; and what where those rules?
All dhimmis were subject to a systematic, comprehensive Muslim regime of humiliation and oppression—to begin with, each man, woman and child, and even those who died during the previous year, incurred and had to pay a ruinous annual poll tax, the “Jizya,” on their net worth, and the living were responsible for the debts of their dead relatives, and missed payments were cumulative. The Jizya was “protection money” to pay for Muslim forbearance from waging Jihad against them and robbing, raping or killing the dhimmis, a transaction that any organized crime family member will instantly recognize, and was one of the three major sources of revenue for their Muslim conquerors—their other two being stolen physical “booty” like gold and other precious and valuable objects, and the revenue brought in from the sale of slaves, for theirs were extractive regimes. Moreover, since such dhimmis had to acknowledge that they were “subdued,” and were willingly submitting themselves to Muslims, they often had to pay this Jizya on their knees and had to endure the slaps and punches of the Muslim tax collectors (backed up by Muslim soldiers) to demonstrate just how “subdued” they were; a practice recorded as still taking place in some of the lands ruled by the fading Ottoman Empire as recently as the early 1900’s.
The testimony of a “dhimmi” was not accepted in Muslim courts and, thus, dhimmis were at the absolute mercy of any Muslim who accused them, and, if accused, the dhimmi’s “contract of protection” was canceled, and he and his family were now the targets of Jihad, and could be robbed, or raped, or killed by any Muslim.
Dhimmis had to ride on the side of the road and get out of the way when a Muslim passed, had to provide food and shelter for any Muslim who demanded it, or carry whatever a Muslim bought at the store back to the Muslim’s house if a Muslim demanded he do so, dhimmis could not posses or bear arms, could not ride a horse or have a fancy saddle, could not build a house as high as any Muslim, could not build or repair any church, ring a church bell, or cause any unbeliever religious item to be seen, dhimmi’s doorways had to be built low so that they had to bend down to enter or leave, and their dorways could not be lighted, and dhimmis could not mention Muhammad; a dhimmi who did any of these things, or was merely accused of such conduct by a Muslim, forfeited the protections of the dhimma.
To make themselves instantly identifiable, dhimmis were often forced by their Muslim conquerors to wear special, prescribed, distinctive hats, belts, coats or shoes and special identifying colors—this requirement is often said to be the source for the Nazi’s policy of making Jews wear an identifying “star of David” patch on their clothes.
See, for instance, this prescription on Jihad and treatment of dhimmis by the famous Muslim jurist and “peaceful,” “spiritual” Sufi–no less, Al-Ghizali, who many scholars have considered to be second only to Muhammad:
“[O]ne must go on jihad (i.e., warlike razzias or raids) at least once a year…one may use a catapult against them [non-Muslims] when they are in a fortress, even if among them are women and children. One may set fire to them and/or drown them…If a person of the Ahl al-Kitab [People of The Book – primarily Jews and Christians] is enslaved, his marriage is [automatically] revoked…One may cut down their trees [in lands where trees are a major source of food and nutrition]…One must destroy their useless books. Jihadists may take as booty whatever they decide…they may steal as much food as they need…
[T]he dhimmi is obliged not to mention Allah or His Apostle…Jews, Christians, and Majians must pay the jizya [poll tax on non-Muslims]…on offering up the jizya, the dhimmi must hang his head while the official takes hold of his beard and hits [the dhimmi] on the protruberant bone beneath his ear [i.e., the mandible]… They are not permitted to ostentatiously display their wine or church bells…their houses may not be higher than the Muslim’s, no matter how low that is. The dhimmi may not ride an elegant horse or mule; he may ride a donkey only if the saddle[-work] is of wood. He may not walk on the good part of the road. They [the dhimmis] have to wear [an identifying] patch [on their clothing], even women, and even in the [public] baths…[dhimmis] must hold their tongue…. [2]
(From the Wagjiz, written in 1101 A.D. Emphasis added.)*
* These excerpts are taken from a much longer and well documented article written by Andrew G. Bostom titled, “Sufism without Camouflage (Beyond Stephen Schwartz),” posted on Jihadwatch.org for February 6, 2005.
Seems the writers of these old books about the glories of “al Andalus,” in love with Muslim “civilization,” forgot to mention the dhimmis at all, or all the Spanish towns destroyed and/or depopulated–Barcelona, Castile, Toledo to name a few–all their inhabitants killed or sold into slavery–and, I guess they just overlooked all those messy crucifixions, mutilations, burnings, and throat cuttings, too. And why just upset their readers by mentioning all the weeping and wailing, when young girls and boys were dragged off to stock all those harems. They even forgot to mention all those raiding parties (razzias) and Muslim armies departing from Spain to pay friendly visits to France, the Rhone Valley, and the Sicilian and Italian coasts, hundreds of years before the First Crusade; I’m sure a lot of happy dhimmis were there, too, to see them off, and to wave their hankies.
Oh, yes, it was a “golden age of tolerance” and “pan confessional humanism.”
For background and confirmation of these facts, also see any of the books of Bat Ye’or such as:
“Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide,” “The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians Under Islam,” “The Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam: From Jihad to Dhimmitude, Seventh through Twentieth Century,” and “Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis.”
See also Andrew Bostom’s excellent compilation, drawn from mostly Muslim sources, titled “The Legacy of Jihad.”
