The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise

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

By: Dario Fernandez Morera

Narrated by: Bob Souer

Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Smashes myths

Even freedom lovers have been fooled that there was freedom in Spain that the inquisitor Reonquistas ruined. Their heirs razed American civilizations and stole their wealth. Now we know that if they had a model for conquest, rule and run, it was Islam. That alone created the dark ages, more barbaric and totalitarian than the barbarians. Who were the Visigoths? You will know when you finish and what happened to them including the persecutions. There was little freedom, no women's liberation, but there was plenty of slavery.

Excellent book of the true story of Spain under The Muslims.

This book turned out to be excellent and I became more excited about it as it went on. At first the scholarly nature, and somewhat flat narration, of the book made it initially troublesome to follow. However, after persevering through the first chapter, I came to appreciate the author's depth of research and the tremendous amount of original sources, both Christian and Muslim, which the author referenced to prove the author's arguments. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has been suspicious of the "history" portrayed as conventional wisdom in mainstream liberal, frequently anti-Christian, writings, which are read without question by most and accepted, from the time of elementary school on, as "the truth".

Unvarnished Truth About Islamic Spain

Islam was tolerant and advanced, Christians backwards and stupid. The fairy tales meant to please the Saudi and other Muslim donors to history departments are widespread . You won't find that here. You will find throughly sourced, credible
And non biased review of the historical record of Spain under Muslim religious imperialism.

You will learn and explore Spain's history through clear lenses and will find yourself fascinated with this amazing story of cultural survival in the face of brutal oppression.

Changed my perspective on Spain's history

I was thinking about how I had often heard about the harmony between religions and the gracious tolerance of Muslims during the Moorish rule in Spain. I wanted to find out more about it, hoping to find a way to reconcile it with current conflicts.
I found many books on the subject, but this was the only one that took a dissenting view of this supposed harmonious time.
This book, while very dry, is extremely well-researched and documented. The author does not editorialize much, but instead takes passages from other modern works that praise the supposed harmony of Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Spain during Moorish rule, and deconstructs those rosy, often politically-motivated statements using CONTEMPORARY sources. So, when a professor from Princeton says that one sect was particularly gracious and loving towards another, this author quotes multiple sources written at the time, from all three religions, which proves the exact opposite. For me, it was very eye-opening, and a lot of what the author presents makes total sense from a purely logical standpoint and I am not sure why I never thought of some of these things before. I do believe the author is very pro-Christian, but as stated earlier, he backs up all his assertions with multiple contemporary sources from all sides of the debate. This book also opened my eyes to the realities of medieval Islamic rule, which can not be considered, in any way, tolerant, unless you consider the fact that all Jews and Christians in Spain were not killed outright is evidence of tolerant. After listening to this book, I am going to be skeptical of a lot more of what I read that is written by our modern professors, historians, and artists, and I certainly will not be deceived again that this period of history in Spain was one of harmony between religions.

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.

Great book, but a little academic for audiobook

Good book, but some of the conventions for academia come off as odd in audio.