Muslim Journeys: Let's Talk About It: Ornament of the World

1. What can a work of literature convey about a historical moment that a work of history cannot? How is our vision of medieval Spain enriched by reading the works of writers who mined their exquisite imagination as well as their understanding of history? If you were going to take some "episode" from the history of medieval Spain and turn it into a short story or a novel (or a play or a poem... ) which historical episode would you choose and why?
   
   
2. Although there is a tendency to see Muslims, Christians, and Jews as stable, internally coherent communities in interaction with one another, Menocal’s book sheds light on tensions, rivalries, and divisions within each of these communities. In al-Andalus, what were some of these divisions, how did they change over time, and what implications did they hold for relations between the different religions?
   
   
3. In the history of al-Andalus, there seems to be a surprising correlation between rising political disunity (following the dissolution of the Caliphate) and rising cultural florescence. Why might this be? Can you think of other, analogous examples from world history, or the present day?
   
   
4. What role does language play in the history of al-Andalusian culture? What is a “Mozarab”? What does “Judeo-Arabic” mean? And what implications do these terms have for the way we think about identity, ethnicity, and language in modern times?
   
   
5. What do you think about María Rosa Menocal’s insistence on the “uniqueness” of the culture of tolerance of al-Andalus? Is it convincing, or overstated? What is it based on? What lessons, if any, would such a culture hold in regard to issues of tolerance and coexistence in the contemporary world?
   
   
6. If you are already familiar with one or more of the literary classics discussed in The Ornament of the World (El Cid, Don Quixote, The Song of Roland), has Menocal’s portrayal changed your understanding of those works? If so, in what way?
   
   
   Discussion points developed by Giancarlo Casale, University of Minnesota (questions 2-6) and author Maria Rosa Menocal (question 1)

http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys/items/show/159

A POEM BY ABU AL-BAQA AL-RUNDI
Everything declines after reaching perfection, therefore let no man be beguiled by the sweetness of a pleasant life.

As you have observed, these are the decrees that are inconstant: he whom a single moment has made happy, has been harmed by many other moments;

And this is the abode that will show pity for no man, nor will any condition remain in its state for it.

Fate irrevocably destroys every ample coat of mail when Mashrifi swords and spears glance off without effect;
…
Where are the crowned kings of Yemen and where are their jewel-studded diadems and crowns?

Where are [the buildings] Shaddad raised in Iram and where [the empire] the Sassanians ruled in Persia?

Where is the gold Qarun once possessed; where are ‘Ad and Shaddad and Qab’an?

An irrevocable decree overcame them all so that they passed away and the people came to be as though they had never existed.

The kingdoms and kings that had been came to be like what a sleeper has told about [his] dream vision.

Fate turned against Darius as well as his slayer, and as for Chosroes, no vaulted palace offered him protection.

It is as if no cause had ever made the hard easy to bear, and as if Solomon had never ruled the world.

The misfortunes brought on by Fate are of many different kinds, while Time has causes of joy and of sorrow.

For the accidents [of fortune] there is a consolation that makes them easy to bear, yet there is no consolation for what has befallen Islam.

An event which cannot be endured has overtaken the peninsula; … The evil eye has struck [the peninsula] in its Islam so that [the land] decreased until whole regions and districts were despoiled of [the faith]

Therefore ask Valencia what is the state of Murcia; and where is Jativa, and where is Jaen?

Where is Cordoba, the home of the sciences, and many a scholar whose rank was once lofty in it?

Where is Seville and the pleasures it contains, as well as its sweet river overflowing and brimming full?

[They are] capitals which were the pillars of the land, yet when the pillars are gone, it may no longer endure!

The tap of the white ablution fount weeps in despair, like a passionate lover weeping at the departure of the beloved,

Over dwellings emptied of Islam that were first vacated and are now inhabited by unbelief; In which the mosques have become churches wherein only bells and crosses may be found.

Even the mihrabs weep though they are solid; even the pulpits mourn though they are wooden!

O you who remain heedless though you have a warning in Fate: if you are asleep, Fate is always awake!

And you who walk forth cheerfully while your homeland diverts you [from cares], can a homeland beguile any man after [the loss of] Seville?

This misfortune has caused those that preceded it to be forgotten, nor can it ever be forgotten for the length of all time!

O you who ride lean, thoroughbred steeds which seem like eagles in the racecourse;

And you who carry slender, Indian blades which seem like fires in the darkness caused by the dust cloud [of war],

And you who are living in luxury beyond the sea enjoying life, you who have strength and power in your homelands,

Have you no news of the people of Andalus, for riders have carried forth what men have said [about them]?

How often have the weak, who were being killed and captured while no man stirred, asked our help?

What means this severing of the bonds of Islam on your behalf, when you, O worshipers of God, are [our] brethren?

Are there no heroic souls with lofty ambitions; are there no helpers and defenders of righteousness?

O, who will redress the humiliation of a people who were once powerful, a people whose condition injustice and tyrants have changed?

Yesterday they were kings in their own homes, but today they are slaves in the land of the infidel!

Thus, were you to see them perplexed, with no one to guide them, wearing the cloth of shame in its different shades,

And were you to behold their weeping when they are sold, the matter would strike fear into your heart, and sorrow would seize you.

Alas, many a mother and child have been parted as souls and bodies are separated!

And many a maiden fair as the sun when it rises, as though she were rubies and pearls,

Is led off to abomination by a barbarian against her will, while her eye is in tears and her heart is stunned.

The heart melts with sorrow at such [sights], if there is any Islam or belief in that heart!

-Abu al-Baqa Al-Rundi (fl. 1248 CE)

James Monroe. Hispano-Arabic Poetry: A Student Anthology. Gorgias Press, 2004. pp. 332-336.