Edward Rothstein expresses skepticism in the Arts section of the New York Times about Maria Rosa Menocal's case for the existence of a tolerant, Muslim-dominated culture in the Andalusia of pre-Isabella Spain. Menocal, a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Yale, writes in The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain that Andalusia's culture was "rooted in pluralism and shaped by religious tolerance" in a period of about three hundred years that lasted until 1030 CE.
This culture was centered in Cordoba, "the ornament of the world," and produced such scholars as the Muslim Averroes and the Jew Maimonides. It was marked, Menocal claims, by the participation of members of all three "religions of the Book" in governing and by tolerance for the practice of the minority faiths of Christianity and Judaism.
Rothstein is not convinced. He points to the violence that settled power struggles within the ruling class and claims that Christians and Jews were really "second-class citizens" in Andalusia. During this three hundred year "golden era," there were pogroms and massacres and forced exiles of religious minorities and Maimonides left town because of persecution.
Judging the Andalusia of the 1st millenium CE by the standards of 21st century America is unhelpful if we're looking for historical examples of pluralistic and tolerant societies. We learn the most about a culture when we first compare it to its surrounding environment before evaluating it in light of our own principles and standards. Otherwise, we are saying little more than, "people were sure primitive back then."
A strong argument can be made that our culture is as tolerant and peaceful as any in the history of the world, yet we are facing ever-greater challenges as inter-cultural contact brought about by globalization continues to increase. As far as we have come, we must go even further, and we must encourage other cultures to do the same. Efforts like that of Menocal to find instances of tolerant, pluralistic cultures in the past should not be easily dismissed. Of course, Rothstein is right that 10th century Andalusia was not an ideal world, but the success that culture enjoyed in being uniquely tolerant and diverse for its time can serve as an example for us in these difficult times.
For a more positive assessment of Menocal's book, I recommend two sources. Back when he still met the standards to write for The Nation, Christopher Hitchens discussed Menocal's book and finds the Andalusia she portrays to be a place "where civilization touched a point hardly surpassed since fifth-century Athens." Christian Science Monitor reviewer Jane Lampman notes the role that Cordoba played in rescuing Europe from the "Dark Ages."
Posted by Allen at September 28, 2003 01:46 PM | TrackBack