Islamic Spain is known across the whole world for its incredibly rich intellectual, artistic and cultural contributions to human civilisation. But perhaps a lesser-known story is that of the final century of Islamic Spain following the Christian conquest of the last Muslim stronghold of Granada in 1492.

The Nasrid kingdom of Granada, which came into power in 1232, fell to the forces of the Catholic monarchs (King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castille) in 1492. Following this conquest, the Jewish population was immediately expelled from the Iberian Peninsula by royal decree. Sultan Bayezid II of the Ottoman Empire sent his navy to Spain to bring the Jews to his empire where he granted them permission to settle and become citizens. Many Muslims fled at this point choosing to migrate to safer abodes in the Mediterranean and other parts of Europe. The population of Muslims in Spain in 1492 was around 500,000; approximately 200,000 of those chose to migrate to Africa.

Muslims were very much a key part of societies under Christian rule and held great economic value to their rulers. Over time, however, this changed as attitudes toward non-Catholic religions in Spain became strained. The Catholic Church made it a priority to convert all Muslims to Christianity now that they did not have the protection of a Muslim state. One of the first attempts, taken by the Spanish government, to convert Muslims to Christianity was through bribery. The converts were showered with gifts, money and land. Soon, however, this approach proved to be unsuccessful as many of these ‘converts’ returned to their practice of Islam after acquiring such gifts.

Towards the end of the 15th century, it became clear that the Muslims of Spain were determined to continue practising Islam and that they were far more attached to their beliefs than to wealth. This triggered the Spanish government to take a new, tougher approach. In 1499, Francisco Jimenez, a Catholic cardinal, was sent to the south of Spain in order to ‘speed up’ the conversion process by use of harassment, persecution and arbitrary imprisonment. In his own words, he declared that ‘if the infidels couldn’t be attracted to the road to salvation, they had to be dragged to it.’ The cardinal was resolute on erasing any trace of the Muslims. In October 1501, he was given royal approval to order the public burning of Arabic religious texts (some books on medicine were spared). Many Muslims were also arbitrarily imprisoned due to their refusal to convert to Christianity. They were tortured and even had property confiscated in a bid to convince them to convert. It is estimated that between 18 and 25 December 1499, 3,000 Muslims were baptised.

Harassment and oppression were important tools used by the Spanish government in order to provoke and agitate the Muslim population, ultimately causing them to revolt. So if they did revolt, the Spanish military would be called in to violently suppress the rebellion. And that’s exactly what happened. The Muslims of Granada protested in the streets, declared their defiance to the efforts of de Cisneros and threatened to overthrow the tyrannical Catholic rule. Soldiers were sent to Muslim towns to repress rebellion, often conducting massacres and forced conversions of entire villages.

On 12 February 1502, the Catholic monarchs imposed a conversion-or-expulsion decree against the Muslims in ‘all kingdoms and lordships of Castile and Leon.’ Islam had finally been outlawed in legislation. According to the edict, Muslim males aged under 14 and females aged under 12 had to stay behind for their ‘spiritual salvation.’ On paper, the edict ordered expulsion rather than a forced conversion, but it forbade nearly all possible destinations; in reality, the Castilian authorities preferred Muslims to convert rather than emigrate. Migration to Aragon and Valencia was denied as the Mudejars of those areas had not yet been subject to forced conversion. Moving to other destinations overseas, such as North Africa and the territories of the Ottoman Empire, were also ruled out. Those who chose to leave could only do so via the Atlantic ports which involved undergoing a long and arduous journey, so many decided to stay back. In 1526, this law was extended to cover Muslims living in the territories of Aragon and Valencia.

Most Muslims, at the time, converted to Christianity, but only did this publicly and continued to practise Islam in secrecy. This generation of Muslims became known as the ‘Moriscos.’

• 

• 

• 

Over time, the arms of the inquisition became more repressive as the authorities tightened restrictions on the Moriscos to prevent them from secretly practising Islam. Prohibited acts included the holding of Islamic beliefs, engaging in Islamic practices such as butchering animals according to Islamic law (1511), reading the Qur’an, wearing Muslim style clothing (1523), bathing on particular days and speaking, reading or writing Arabic (1526). Furthermore, those who were suspected of being Muslim were forced to keep the doors of their homes open at all times to allow soldiers to monitor their behaviour. Those who were found guilty of adhering to Islam were immediately killed without any chance of a trial. In many ways, it was as much a religious assault as it was a cultural one. The continued attacks on the religious and cultural heritage of the Moriscos only pushed them further underground and caused them to cling more vigorously to their practices and beliefs.

Despite the prohibitions and forceful ways in which they were enforced, for over a hundred years, the Moriscos stayed firm in their practice of Islam and wrote numerous works about Islamic beliefs and practices, mostly in secrecy. During this time, debates within the church arose about how to deal with these communities. Some advocated for a gentler approach in terms of conversion while some were in favour of an outright expulsion believing that only Christians were the pure inheritors of the land.

Eventually, these old exclusionist voices prevailed and in April 1609, King Philip III of Spain issued the Expulsion of the Moriscos decree. The entire Muslim population was accused of apostasy and heresy and the King’s intention to expel them was because he wanted to ensure the ‘conservation and security of his realms.’ They were only given three days to gather their possessions and board ships destined for North Africa and other parts of Europe.

Many Moriscos were robbed and murdered by soldiers and their Christian neighbours before even reaching the Spanish coast. Those who managed to board ships were expected to pay their own fare in their exile while some sailors looted, raped and killed the Moriscos that were onboard. Soon, Philip and his ministers also extended the expulsion decree to Castile, Andalusia and Aragon.

Over a period of five years, an estimated 300,000 Muslim men, women and children had been forcibly removed from Spain, roughly 4-5% of the entire population. By 1614, Spain had successfully implemented an ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Morisco community. Damian Fonseca, the Portuguese Dominican monk, described the expulsion as an ‘agreeable holocaust.’

Even after their exile, some Moriscos tried to return to Spain but these efforts failed as many were flogged and expelled again. Others found new homes in North Africa and eventually managed to assimilate into society while still keeping to their Andalusian identity. In a letter to his former lord, the expelled Morisco named Diego Luis Morlem said that he and his fellow exiles were ‘crying tears of blood’ for their lost country and were firm on returning ‘even if they hang us.’

The Moriscos were welcomed with open arms by the Ottoman Regency of Tunisia and around 80,000 went to Tunisia where they were received by Sidi Bulgayz. He encouraged the inhabitants of the capital to welcome the Moriscos into their homes and provide them with decent accommodation. He also turned mosques and religious centres into temporary accommodation for refugees. In addition, he helped provide basic necessities for every day of their first year, since the Moriscos had been forced to leave all their possessions behind and had no means of support. For months even after their arrival, he gave them clothes and provided them with all their daily meals.

The glorious past of Muslim Spain is still kept alive today by the Morisco communities that settled in North Africa. They remind us of the rich history of the Iberian Peninsula as well as the tragic story of their expulsion in one of the greatest genocides Europe has ever witnessed.