14335

WiSe 13/14: (S) Social relations between Muslims, Jews and Christians in the Medieval Islamic West

Camilla Adang

Information for students

Only open for students enrolled

Additional information / Pre-requisites

Online (no room); Israel Time: 14:00-15:30 h; s.t.

Comments

This course will deal with social contacts between Muslims, Jews and Christians in the Islamic West: al-Andalus, North Africa and Sicily, in the 9th through 15th centuries CE as reflected in legal sources (especially fatwas and notary forms), historical chronicles and biographical dictionaries. It will be seen that despite misgivings of Muslim legal scholars (and not only theirs), close relations between members of the different religious communities often prevailed. After a detailed discussion of the Covenant of 'Umar and related documents that stipulated the rights and duties of non-Muslims living in the House of Islam and that reflect the norm rather than reality, we shall address different aspects of convivencia ("living apart together") in practice. Among the topics to be discussed are: ritual purity; dietary restrictions and ritual slaughter; intermarriage; conversion; litigation by non-Muslims before the qadi; swearing oaths; participation in each other's religious festivals, and trade. Towards the end of the course we shall also discuss the position of Muslims in Spain and Sicily after the Christian reconquest. close