Description
Book SynopsisThe Religious Polemics of the Muslims of Late Medieval Christian Iberia examines the corpus of polemical literature against the Christians and the Jews of the protected Muslims (Mudejars). Commonly portrayed as communities in cultural and religious decay, Mònica Colominas convincingly proves that the discourses against the Christians and the Jews in Mudejar treatises provided authoritative frameworks of Islamic normativity which helped to legitimize the residence of their communities in the Christian territories. Colominas argues that, while the primary aim of the polemics was to refute the views of their religious opponents, Mudejar treatises were also a tool used to advance Islamic knowledge and to strengthen the government and social cohesion of their communities.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments List of Figures Note on Transliteration, Conventions and Abbreviations Introduction Mudejar Polemics Scholarship on the Mudejars and Their Literature Main Questions and Chapter Overview 1 The Connection between Religious Polemics and Notions of Identity and Religious Authority among the Mudejars Introduction 1.1 The Sacred Law, or Sharīʿa 1.2 The Relationship of the Mudejars with Jews and Christians 1.3 The Mudejar Aljamas Conclusions 2 Concepts and Methods for the Study of Religious Authority and Identity in the Religious Polemics of the Mudejars Introduction 2.1 Recent Approaches to Religious Polemics 2.2 Towards a Definition of Mudejar Polemics 2.3 Theoretical Framework and Methods Conclusions 3 Previous Research and Identification of the Mudejar Polemical Sources to be Discussed in the Present Study 3.1 Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Scholarly Views on Mudejar Manuscripts of Religious Polemics 3.2 Mudejar Polemical Sources 3.3 The Sources of the Kitāb al-Mujādala 3.4 The Place of the Copying of the Kitāb al-Mujādala: The Geographical Location of Piṭrūla Conclusions 4 Muslim Literature of Religious Polemics Introduction 4.1 al-Andalus 4.2 Christian Iberia 4.3 The Maghreb 4.4 The Mashriq Conclusions 5 Mudejar Polemics with the Jews Introduction 5.1 The Taʾyīd 5.2 The Kitāb al-Mujādala 5.3 The “demandas” [Questions] Conclusions 6 Mudejar Polemics with the Christians Introduction 6.1 The Kitāb al-Mujādala 6.2 Religious Authority in the Kitāb al-Mujādala 6.3 An Ethical-Centred Model for Islam in the Kitāb al-Mujādala 6.4 Political Philosophy in the Kitāb al-Mujādala Conclusions 7 Mudejar Polemics as a Discursive Tradition Introduction 7.1 Mudejar Identity in Polemics 7.2 Religious Leadership 7.3 Notions of Minority Identity and Government among the Mudejars Conclusions Conclusions Manuscript Description of the Kitāb al-Mujādala (MS AF 58) Codicological Description Bibliography Source Overview Annex MS BNE 4944, ff. 1r–36r: Transcription and Rendering into Modern Spanish MS L 536, ff. 123v–125r: Transcription and Rendering into Modern Spanish References Index of Names and Places
