Al-Andalusia … Decline of a Plural Culture

From the article:

{{Jews had smaller presence but it was very effective, for Jews it was the most fertile period for their religious and cultural survival and evolution. Maimonides is the person who laid the foundations of legal thought within Jews and is considered to be the one o the greatest intellectuals of Jewish history.

...

It seems to be a paradox that for Judaism their greatest legal scholar Maimonides was in Al-Andalusia, as the plural attitude of Muslims had a fertile ground for Jews at that time.}}

Interesting that Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon) should be mentioned. He was born in Cordoba in 1135 but had to depart Spain entirely by about his thirtieth year, moving to Morocco and then eventually to Egypt. I suppose his family was just struck with wanderlust (whence the proverbial term, Wandering Jew).

{{For Jews Al-Andalusia was golden period and after persecution and destruction by roman empire in early centuries , it was Al-Andalusia which gave them high place in society . The Royal Physicians of Umayyads( Ibn-e Ishaq family), for more than 125 years was the Jews. There was a Jew Samuel who became Vice-President in Spain and it was an indication of the rising influence of Jews}}

The career of Shmuel ha-Nagid (Samuel ibn Naghrela) vizier to the Berber ruler of Granada, and the fate of his son, Yehosef ha-Nagid (Joseph ibn Naghrela) are indeed instructive and a shining example of the tolerance and pluralism of Moorish rule in Spain.

Al-Andalus of the Jews, indeed!

Re: # 26 read post 20 again and try to learn and understand process of history, do not hide yourself under garb of hatred and bias. Do not try to mix age of Ashoka with age og Modie! Let India grow up!

Re: # 25Sufism is within Islam, and Islam is not within Islam... the fact that certain prtactices are not done by certain people does not mean that hte esence has gone away.
Temporary decline or lowered number of tolerant people does not obliterate the basic.

Quran and Sunnah are bases not other things. Mere present is not always the ideal to be pursued, and knowing past is not worshipping it,it is a tool to create new future... past lets us chart new ways. Past has seeds of future in a new way not mere copying or following it blindly!

Abdur Rehman Dakhil in had issues of survival in mid 8th century. Abdur Rehman III in 10th century had no such issues, he declared him Caliph in 929 AD ... he had resources, means and vision to stand for himself. Do not mix earlier period with later period. Presence of present mess does not mean there was always mess.

I am still waiting for you and your fan club to respond to my challenge from message #19.

So good luck with your fairy tales. Until islam renounces its history of imperialism and use of force (obviously not unique to islam - many empires and cultures have been built out of force) it will continue to earn the suspicion of non-muslims as a supremacist ideology. And, yes, we all appreciate Akbar (declared a heretic!) and Al-Andalus - but we would like to see examples of pluralism TODAY.

Give me a call when the Saudis allow the first synagogue or hindu temple in Riyadh. Till then you are just pushing propaganda...

Re:#9 - "Re: # 3 It was not survival , it was essence of humanity, Ibne Arabi's understanding of Ultimate reality was certainly not an attempt to survive!"

Mahfari

Abd ur Rahman was saving his own ass. He fled his own country in fear of his life! And Ibn Arabi would have likely been executed for his beliefs in the Middle East. He was lucky there was an Al-Andalus for him to openly practice. Sufis have been on the sharp end of the Muslim sword for most of history and still continue to be persecuted.

So let's open our eyes. Islam is a beautiful religion which has been molested and manipulated for centuries. The result is to place the entire Revelation of Allah into question by dullards like the author of comment #19.

His or her superficial analysis and prejudice is supported by backwards looking and backwards thinking muslim leaders who totally misrepresent the religion they use for position and power. And all Muslims have a responsibility to refuse such manipulation and share the blame in allowing frauds to come into power again and again.

The same way all Americans bear the responsibility for being lulled to sleep and deceived by Bush and the Neocons.

Am I suppose to tell you to forget about Bush and remember Abe Lincoln? You would not stand for that. Why should anyone?

Stop looking back and think present. What has Islam done for humanity lately?

And if the answer is less than enough, blame us Muslims and not Allah, the Holy Prophet (s) or the Qur'an. All religions fall prey to abuse and human weakness is inherent in all cultures.

Re: # 23 Yea this tension of Globalization is simmering hot!

Pluralism is back with a vengeance in Europe, because it needs migrant labour, due to declining birth rate. Germany is offering $30k reward to mothers who give birth to a child. Pak-panjabis are migrating in their thousands, legally and illegally that has the potential to transform panjab. There will be some tensions, because Europe is the birth place of modern nation state, one people, one language, one religion and one culture, the right wing groups would like to keep it that way.

Re: # 21 Nice points raised. As to cultural learning and knowledge it is collective wisdom of humanity irrespective of any religion or idea. there is saying of Holy prophet peace be upon him that learn knowledge even if you have to travel to china. There is saying of Hazrat Ali RA that do,nt bother who is saying ponder over what is being said and nother Hadith of Prophet Peace be Upon him that wisdom is lost treasure of Muslim , get it from all the sources.

As to acceptance of thsi fact Muslims in past and in present never denied the understanding and synthesis of learning zero was taken from India and it was said so and attributed to India. many ideas were transalted from Indian classic mathematics and were accepted as same.

The knowledge is collective wisdom of humanity and it can not be attributed to any single source. it is of humanity , and Muslims never deny thsi fact... we should learn to respect realities and differ or refute with patience and knowledge instead of pouring out our inner frustrations and hatreds.

As to idea of haram and halal it has special detailed rules and regulations in Islam and yes , there are many similarities in many religious practices of world religions.

As to veil.. it is alter innovation of anti-feamle attitude of male chauvinists and it was not chocie fo free women in early Islam , thjere si a quotation of Hazrat Umer RA that he said to a slave woman that take on veil so that others may not confuse you with a free woman. It was Satar not veil as practiced today as a cultural trait being equated with Islam. Let light prevail!

#18 mahfari: thanks for posting some veryh interesting material - i have read some of it and will come back and read the rest.

For now, let me say this: it is indeed true that muslim contributions to the west have been downplayed historically. what is not recognized is that the west's contributions to islam are downplayed vastly more so (imho) among muslims.

The west's impact on islam started from day 1, when the byzantine roman empire (about which there is an entire, complimentary surat dedicated - "al Rum") was looked up to by both muslims and europeans as being culturally advanced. Thus, many "muslim" customs, notably the woman's head covering which has particularly in recent years become a a symbol of "in-your-face" islam practiced by many muslims, was taken from the byzantine empire. From the byzantine empire, it was a short hop back in history for muslims to study ancient greek civilization which made them the veritable torchbearers of knowledge - which, hundreds of years later when europe was ready for it, they passed on. The other great muslim "icon" (i.e. the prohibition of pig eating) comes from the priests of ancient egypt!!

I should also note that in addition to learning (or simply borrowing customs, as in case of the veil and the pig-prohibition from older civilizations), muslims made of course original contributions in science and philosophy and in practical folk wisdom as well. Thus, Sheikh Saadi was the original Benjamin Franklin (of "Poor Richard's Almanack") whose wisdom has become completely integrated in the english language (e.g. english aphorisms like "haste makes waste").

My point is thus: we all learn from one another. We (hindus, muslims, subcontinent desis, arabs, europeans, everyone) just need to have a big enough heart to acknowledge that. In doing so, we could all become more appreciative cultures more, and become less defensive or abusive of other cultures and religions (an unduly common practice on chowk)

Re: # 19 Dear conflict is a bitter reality of human nature but to equate a specific people or religion as the sole source of violence is an idea which can nurture and reproduce in narrowmindedness of its followers but it can not be equated with its whole ideas and influences and here the topic was different!

But listen then in the life of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him more than 20 fights called Ghazwahs( the wars in which Holy Prophet peace be upon him himself participated) and Sarraya ( in which Holy Prophet peace be upon him did,nt participate himself )in total about 800-1000 people from both sides were killed and there is not a single historical, verifieable, documented evidence to prove forcible conversion of any person in the times of Holy Prophet peace be upon him and his true followers throughout the ages. Will you compare it with Kalinga war, Mahabharta 9 in them thousands died. Will you compare it with World War I and World War II where millions died?
Will you compare it with Iraq and Afghanistan War where thousands perished and still are perishing.
History tells us truths and then gives us ideas to know the exact place of those facts and to learn from them, mere to regurgitate unfounded, false and incorrect ionformation can be a tool of slandering but it can not be a good source of understanding and knowing our human past.

Read the original sources of Islamic history you will learn all the so-called violence (sic) which was committed or not committed. Let us know the truth and search for knowledge and truth and nothing else.

#15 Mahfari

Becuz of the hypocrisy of muslim intellectuals like you and general unwillingness to acknowledge the role of islam in genocide and cultural destruction of other traditions.

Show me ONE article from a traditional islamic source that acknowledges this violence and destruction. After that I will be happy to read and enjoy the wonders of islamic spain. Do you dare take up my challenge? of course not...

And, yes, I dont mean an article by some professor sitting in america or UK, well protected by their military and police forces! I mean an article written by a person in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Afghanistan, who openly speaks of the violence of Mohammed and later conquerors towards the native traditions of these countries.

Notes

Plaque attributed to Cordoba Spain
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/06/eusi/hob_13.141.htm See

See the original text of the book
This thesis may be corroborated by merely presenting a few quotations from eminent past and present scholars (interested readers may wish to consult the references for greater detail):
1. "No historical student of the culture of Western Europe can ever reconstruct for himself the intellectual values of the later Middle Ages unless he possesses a vivid awareness of Islam looming in the background." (Pierce Butler, "Fifteenth Century of Arabic Authors in Latin Translation, in the McDonald Presentation Volume; Freeport, N.Y., 1933; p.63)
2. "The Arab has left his intellectual impress on Europe, as, before long, Christendom will have to confess; he has indelibly written it on the heavens, as anyone may see who reads the names of the stars on a common celestial globe." (John W. Draper, History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, Harper & Row; Vol.2, 1876 & 1904; p.42)
3. "Because Europe was reacting against Islam it belittled the influence of Saracens [Muslims] and exaggerated its dependence on its Greek and Roman heritage. So today an important task for us is to correct this false emphasis and to acknowledge fully our debt to the Arab and Islamic world" (W. Montgomery Watt, Islamic Surveys: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe; Edinburgh, England; 1972; p.84).
4. "One of the hallmarks of civilized man is knowledge of the past - [including]the past of others with whom one's own culture has had repeated and fruitful contact; or the past of any group that has contributed to the ascent of man. The Arabs fit profoundly into both of the latter two categories. But in the West the Arabs are not well known. Victims of ignorance as well as misinformation, they and their culture have often been stigmatized from afar" (John Hayes, The Genius of Arab Civilization: Source of Renaissance; MIT Press, 1983; p. 2)
5. "Too often science in Arabia has been seen as nothing more than a holding operation. The area has been viewed as a giant storehouse for previously discovered scientific results, keeping them until they could be passed on for use in the West. But this is, of course, a travesty of the truth. Certainly the Arabs did inherit Greek science - and some Indian and Chinese science too, for that matter - and later passed it on to the West. But this is far from being all they did" (Colin Ronan, Science: Its History and Development Among World's Cultures; New York; 1982; p.203).
6. An eminent mid-20th century scholar, George Sarton (Harvard Univ.), traces the "roots" of Western intellectual development to the Arab tradition, which was "the outstanding stream, and remained until 14th century one of the largest streams of medieval thought." Further, "The Arabs were standing on the shoulders of their Greek forerunners, just as the Americans are standing on the shoulders of their European ones. There is nothing wrong in that." Then Sarton criticizes those who "will glibly say `The Arabs simply translated Greek writings, they were industrious imitators...' This is not absolutely untrue, but is such a small part of the truth, that when it is allowed to stand alone, it is worse than a lie" (George Sarton, A Guide to the History of Science; Mass.; 1952; pp.27-28). http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/ghazi1.html See for reference

See History of Muslim Philosophy Ed. Muhammad Sharif , Outline of Islamic Culture M.A Shushtery
See the work of dr. Fowad Cesgan of turkey working in Germany and his research on this topic of copying books of Arabic into Latin with their own names by their publishers without acknowledging this fact. On this topic his Tarikh Tassarat al Arabi is the scholarly work which describes this event in great detail and quotes the names of works .
History of Muslim Philosophy Ed. Muhammad Sharif
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Shokel/000831_Nagid.html See
See History of Arabs by P.K.Hitti
http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/Al-Andalusia/Al-Andalusia_History/Al-A ndalus_Chronology.htm see
Waqat Kerta hei perwarsh bersun Hadsa yak dam nahin huta!
Asabiyah is a concept which was introduced by Ibn- e –Khaldun (1332-1408)the most enduring and outstanding example of Spanish intellectual fertility and creativity , even at its decline . The idea of Asabiyah has no proper and true equivalent of this term , but it can roughly be translated as Solidarity . Asabiyah is the cause, idea and vision which keep the societies intact and
Falcon of Al-Andalusia By Irving A book on the life and times of Abdur Rehman
The Muslims did not constitute anywhere near a majority of the population that numbered approximately 7 million Christians and Jews at the time of the first conquest in 711-716. By the beginning of the tenth century it has been estimated that the Muslim population of Berbers, Arabs and Muladies (Christians who had converted to Islam) was approximately 2.8 million out of a total of more than 7 million. By the beginning of the twelfth century, the number of Muslims had almost doubled but were just a bare majority of the total population of the peninsula. (source: "Judios, Moros y Cristianos; tres pueblos, ritos y costumbres" by Pastora Barahona, editorial Libsa, Madrid; 2004.) http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=4205&sec_id=4205
See the History of Arabs P.K Hitti and other sources on the issue.
http://www.science.co.il/hi/Turkish/ See
Economic History of Europe
This religious diversity was not always conducive to the development and progress of the society an d it varied from Christian Muslim riots to efforts of Ulema(Muslim religious scholars) to grab power on the name of Islam. It was never a settled issue it kept on raising its head and from Al Muawhedeen to the liberal and plural ideas of rulers of Grenada to extremist policies of Al Muawhedeen rulers , the Asabiyah was fractured and bitterly fought thus weakening the overall position of Muslims in Al-Andalusia.
The Fiqh is legal understanding in Islam and there are many Muslim Jurists whose followers follow the interpretations of those Imams and some time these differences result into conflict also.
Plural of Fiqh means many schools of legal thought
See detailed discussion on this topic in Muqaddamah of Ibn-e-Khaldun
Ijtehad means to strive and struggle and in Islamic legal terms it means to search for new issues which are not available in Quran and Sunnah9(way of Prophet peace be upon him)
For details of these issues see histories written by P.K..Hitti. Najeeb Akber Abadi, Ibn-e-Khaldun
Masaleh means to adjust legal stricter interpretation or clear cut commands to prevailing cultural traditions of local masses . It was doen specifically to keep the Berber element happy which gradually gave rise to ideas of extremism and resulted in later Al Muawhedeen. This compromise was the source of creative dead lock and a self destructive process over a long time.
See the official histories of Jewish people
Al .Maghreb was term used by Muslim intellectuals to describe area encompassing Al-Andalusia, Morocco, Tunisia and other attached area of North Africa.
Life of Ibn-e-Rushd is struggle to avoid persecution of conservative and extremist forces and his ideas had official patronage at that time , but it had also its negative side as he professed the ideas of state and proclaimed them in public despite differences with orthodox interpretation of common people. This contributed to bitter struggle and increased hatred and infighting between different ideologies and r3liogious leanings in Al-Andalusia.
See the historical sources on this issue
http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/middle2/summary_2.html see this for details of Reconquista and its evolutionary process
See P.K Hitti and Special Issue of Islamic Studies Published by Islamic Research Institute Islamaabd.
See history books for detail of this woman Queen
For bazaar and market place Arabic word is Sauq and from here Seeq’n which later changed into modern name check in banking language.
It was the highest civilian Minister and can be equivalent to Prime Minister in present system in a Monarchial System
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/06/eusi/ho_30.95.134.htm this site has beautiful artifacts from Muslim Spain
See the official version of American Jewish Council on this issue and their later refuge and development under Ottomans

Note :note portion I am trying to send it in document form as pictures are also missing.

Notes

Plaque attributed to Cordoba Spain
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/06/eusi/hob_13.141.htm See

See the original text of the book
This thesis may be corroborated by merely presenting a few quotations from eminent past and present scholars (interested readers may wish to consult the references for greater detail):
1. "No historical student of the culture of Western Europe can ever reconstruct for himself the intellectual values of the later Middle Ages unless he possesses a vivid awareness of Islam looming in the background." (Pierce Butler, "Fifteenth Century of Arabic Authors in Latin Translation, in the McDonald Presentation Volume; Freeport, N.Y., 1933; p.63)
2. "The Arab has left his intellectual impress on Europe, as, before long, Christendom will have to confess; he has indelibly written it on the heavens, as anyone may see who reads the names of the stars on a common celestial globe." (John W. Draper, History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, Harper & Row; Vol.2, 1876 & 1904; p.42)
3. "Because Europe was reacting against Islam it belittled the influence of Saracens [Muslims] and exaggerated its dependence on its Greek and Roman heritage. So today an important task for us is to correct this false emphasis and to acknowledge fully our debt to the Arab and Islamic world" (W. Montgomery Watt, Islamic Surveys: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe; Edinburgh, England; 1972; p.84).
4. "One of the hallmarks of civilized man is knowledge of the past - [including]the past of others with whom one's own culture has had repeated and fruitful contact; or the past of any group that has contributed to the ascent of man. The Arabs fit profoundly into both of the latter two categories. But in the West the Arabs are not well known. Victims of ignorance as well as misinformation, they and their culture have often been stigmatized from afar" (John Hayes, The Genius of Arab Civilization: Source of Renaissance; MIT Press, 1983; p. 2)
5. "Too often science in Arabia has been seen as nothing more than a holding operation. The area has been viewed as a giant storehouse for previously discovered scientific results, keeping them until they could be passed on for use in the West. But this is, of course, a travesty of the truth. Certainly the Arabs did inherit Greek science - and some Indian and Chinese science too, for that matter - and later passed it on to the West. But this is far from being all they did" (Colin Ronan, Science: Its History and Development Among World's Cultures; New York; 1982; p.203).
6. An eminent mid-20th century scholar, George Sarton (Harvard Univ.), traces the "roots" of Western intellectual development to the Arab tradition, which was "the outstanding stream, and remained until 14th century one of the largest streams of medieval thought." Further, "The Arabs were standing on the shoulders of their Greek forerunners, just as the Americans are standing on the shoulders of their European ones. There is nothing wrong in that." Then Sarton criticizes those who "will glibly say `The Arabs simply translated Greek writings, they were industrious imitators...' This is not absolutely untrue, but is such a small part of the truth, that when it is allowed to stand alone, it is worse than a lie" (George Sarton, A Guide to the History of Science; Mass.; 1952; pp.27-28). http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/ghazi1.html See for reference

See History of Muslim Philosophy Ed. Muhammad Sharif , Outline of Islamic Culture M.A Shushtery
See the work of dr. Fowad Cesgan of turkey working in Germany and his research on this topic of copying books of Arabic into Latin with their own names by their publishers without acknowledging this fact. On this topic his Tarikh Tassarat al Arabi is the scholarly work which describes this event in great detail and quotes the names of works .
History of Muslim Philosophy Ed. Muhammad Sharif
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Shokel/000831_Nagid.html See
See History of Arabs by P.K.Hitti
http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/Al-Andalusia/Al-Andalusia_History/Al-A ndalus_Chronology.htm see
Waqat Kerta hei perwarsh bersun Hadsa yak dam nahin huta!
Asabiyah is a concept which was introduced by Ibn- e –Khaldun (1332-1408)the most enduring and outstanding example of Spanish intellectual fertility and creativity , even at its decline . The idea of Asabiyah has no proper and true equivalent of this term , but it can roughly be translated as Solidarity . Asabiyah is the cause, idea and vision which keep the societies intact and
Falcon of Al-Andalusia By Irving A book on the life and times of Abdur Rehman
The Muslims did not constitute anywhere near a majority of the population that numbered approximately 7 million Christians and Jews at the time of the first conquest in 711-716. By the beginning of the tenth century it has been estimated that the Muslim population of Berbers, Arabs and Muladies (Christians who had converted to Islam) was approximately 2.8 million out of a total of more than 7 million. By the beginning of the twelfth century, the number of Muslims had almost doubled but were just a bare majority of the total population of the peninsula. (source: "Judios, Moros y Cristianos; tres pueblos, ritos y costumbres" by Pastora Barahona, editorial Libsa, Madrid; 2004.) http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=4205&sec_id=4205
See the History of Arabs P.K Hitti and other sources on the issue.
http://www.science.co.il/hi/Turkish/ See
Economic History of Europe
This religious diversity was not always conducive to the development and progress of the society an d it varied from Christian Muslim riots to efforts of Ulema(Muslim religious scholars) to grab power on the name of Islam. It was never a settled issue it kept on raising its head and from Al Muawhedeen to the liberal and plural ideas of rulers of Grenada to extremist policies of Al Muawhedeen rulers , the Asabiyah was fractured and bitterly fought thus weakening the overall position of Muslims in Al-Andalusia.
The Fiqh is legal understanding in Islam and there are many Muslim Jurists whose followers follow the interpretations of those Imams and some time these differences result into conflict also.
Plural of Fiqh means many schools of legal thought
See detailed discussion on this topic in Muqaddamah of Ibn-e-Khaldun
Ijtehad means to strive and struggle and in Islamic legal terms it means to search for new issues which are not available in Quran and Sunnah9(way of Prophet peace be upon him)
For details of these issues see histories written by P.K..Hitti. Najeeb Akber Abadi, Ibn-e-Khaldun
Masaleh means to adjust legal stricter interpretation or clear cut commands to prevailing cultural traditions of local masses . It was doen specifically to keep the Berber element happy which gradually gave rise to ideas of extremism and resulted in later Al Muawhedeen. This compromise was the source of creative dead lock and a self destructive process over a long time.
See the official histories of Jewish people
Al .Maghreb was term used by Muslim intellectuals to describe area encompassing Al-Andalusia, Morocco, Tunisia and other attached area of North Africa.
Life of Ibn-e-Rushd is struggle to avoid persecution of conservative and extremist forces and his ideas had official patronage at that time , but it had also its negative side as he professed the ideas of state and proclaimed them in public despite differences with orthodox interpretation of common people. This contributed to bitter struggle and increased hatred and infighting between different ideologies and r3liogious leanings in Al-Andalusia.
See the historical sources on this issue
http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/middle2/summary_2.html see this for details of Reconquista and its evolutionary process
See P.K Hitti and Special Issue of Islamic Studies Published by Islamic Research Institute Islamaabd.
See history books for detail of this woman Queen
For bazaar and market place Arabic word is Sauq and from here Seeq’n which later changed into modern name check in banking language.
It was the highest civilian Minister and can be equivalent to Prime Minister in present system in a Monarchial System
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/06/eusi/ho_30.95.134.htm this site has beautiful artifacts from Muslim Spain
See the official version of American Jewish Council on this issue and their later refuge and development under Ottomans

Note :note portion I am trying to send it in document form as pictures are also missing.

Re: # 15Can I know what is the reason that any historical reference or cultural discussion with reference to Muslims evokes mere hatred and bias by secular Indians? Why this bias? facts need to be supported or refuted by factys and logical interpretation , why to be wary of Muslims and hteri cultural contribution to humanity? If Modi like persons are not representatives of Hindus then how come some vested interest bigots can represent Islam? How far we can keep our minds shut and closed to new and fresh ideas? and learn to co-exist with our own identities without mud slinging?

#11 neembu

How many mosques are in Gujarat? Thousands. How many muslims live in Gujarat? 5 million or about 9%. Gujarati muslims are, on average, wealthier and more educated than their cousins in "secular" states like UP or West Bengal. So learn a few facts before spouting nonsense...

And, yes, Mr. Modi does take inspiration from the cultural genocide of jews/hindus/buddhists/christians in saudi arabia, afghanistan and pakistan implemented by muslims over the last 1000 years.. He admires the various tyrants who attacked non-muslims in the name of islam; he wants to do muslims what their "ghazis" did to non-muslims thoughout south-western asia.

This is why he is widely opposed in India and will ultimately remain limited to Gujarat. At the same time, media and democractic politics will force him to moderate his tone and actions, irrespective of his inner feelings.

Re: # 12 Read histories written by Spanish people themselves and ask Jews how thye were treated in Spain of 15th century