The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise

Muslims, Christians, and Jews Under Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain

By: Dario Fernandez Morera

Narrated by: Bob Souer

Scholars, journalists, and politicians uphold Muslim-ruled medieval Spain - "al-Andalus" - as a multicultural paradise, a place where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived in harmony.

There is only one problem with this widely accepted account: It is a myth.

In this groundbreaking book, Northwestern University scholar Darío Fernández-Morera tells the full story of Islamic Spain. The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise shines light on hidden features of this medieval culture by drawing on an abundance of primary sources that scholars have ignored, as well as archaeological evidence only recently unearthed.

As professors, politicians, and pundits continue to celebrate Islamic Spain for its "multiculturalism" and "diversity", Fernández-Morera sets the record straight - showing that a politically useful myth is a myth nonetheless.

©2016 Darío Fernández-Morera (P)2016 Tantor

Repetitive

This reads more like a text book. The subject is well researched, but the other repeats the same points throughout the book.

Refreshing

At first I thought this was going to be more of a history book it was more of a response to pro-Islamic notions that exist in academia. The author does a good job of addressing head on the claims that the Muslims who conquered Spain were fair and benevolent to the Jews and the Christians they defeated. He does a very good job of siting his sources and addresses all points of view to uncover the truth of what life was really like.

On a side note, I contacted the author about a request for further reading and he responded to me in less than a day with a few suggestions.

The real history.

No islamic apology or whitewash here. The author has used primary spanish sources and contrasted them to current comments by multicultural islamic apologists. An interesting and detailed exposition.

A Fair Treatment of Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain

I appreciate the author's careful use of sources to support his arguments. The audiobook reader does a great job, too.

Great for Students

This book is what it's title suggests, it busts myths that float around about Spain when it was Muslim. He explains how that even if today there is such a thing as religious tolerance, in medieval times this was not the case and religious favortism if not systematic discrimination was the norm in both the Chtistian and Muslim Spain. For instance, the Visigoths (pre-Islamic rulers of Spain) are often depicted a crude and price peoples by historians, but archeology and the claims by invaders from north Africa that they deliberately erased all traces of what came before them show otherwise. He also explains how these misconceptions are the product of both medieval propaganda, the lack of interest in the subject, the difficulty in becoming familiar in the requisite languages for first hand research, and modern ideological interpretations and political agendas.

This book has two potential problems: First is that it is, of course, an esoteric book. It's easier to follow if you have a basic knowledge of what medieval Spain was (if you don't know what the Reconquista was, this book might be to much for you). The second is the inevitable issue that the writer has his own perspective. He is a European Christian, addressing distinctly European and western issues. To his credit he avoids religious arguments, instead going straight to primary sources to show what the theory and practice of medieval Spain was. And he concludes that it in no way matches up to statements made by modern progressives and the anti-religious.