Al-Andalus Rediscovered: Iberia's New Muslims By MARVINE HOWE

The Iberian Peninsula deserves for several reasons the attention of those studying the history and culture of the Islamicate world. Although al-Andalus became part of Dār al-Islām fairly early, it turned into an outlier in the mid-eighth century when Umayyad rule survived the ‘Abbasid revolution in the far West. The Iberian Peninsula is also the only major landmass among the Umayyad conquests which did not remain under Muslim rule. The Muslims and Jews of Iberia were victims of the first European genocides. In the last few decades, immigration from North and sub-Saharan Africa to Portugal and Spain has added a new dimension to the long historical relationship between this southwestern part of Europe and Islam. The present book, at least judging from its title, seeks to explore the state of ‘Iberia’s new Muslims’ in the light of the area’s history. While there is no preface to the volume which would describe what exactly its aim is, the topics of the thirteen chapters confirm the impression that there is not one clearly defined theme which lends coherence to the book. The first chapter deals with the humanitarian crisis of immigrants arriving by boat on the shores of southern Spain, the unfolding of this crisis in a European context and Iberian responses to it. Most of these immigrants are Muslims and Spain can be increasingly seen as following the pattern of other Western European countries with significant Muslim minorities. A distinctive feature of Iberia, however, is its Muslim past and ch. 2 surveys different academic approaches to this history. Chapter 10 deals with the history of the persecution of the Iberian Jews and efforts of modern community leaders to raise awareness of this history. Most of the book, however, is more exclusively concerned with the modern period. Chapters 3 and 4 cover the early Muslim immigration to Iberia in the 1960s, the labour market for immigrants and Islamic terrorism, in particular the events of 11 March 2004 and the aftermath. Chapter 5 focuses on Iberian strategies of dealing with immigration and cultural diversity. The author returns to these subjects in chs. 11–13. She notices that the Iberian governments and public are more sympathetic towards immigrants and more tolerant as far as religious and cultural diversity are concerned. Chapters 6 to 9 explore Muslim life and public activities in Spain and Portugal. In many respects, Portugal offers more reason for optimism than other Western European countries. The distinctive demographics of the Muslim population of Portugal may explain why this part of the population has experienced less alienation, marginalization and segregation than in France, Germany or the Netherlands. Many Portuguese Muslims are of South Asian origin, but have come to Portugal via Mozambique. The community also includes a large number of Ismailis, Lisbon being the sect’s third important centre after Toronto and London. Furthermore, the author accounts for the frequently observed fact that Spain constitutes an exception among Western nations—although hard hit by a terrorist attack, Spain has not curbed its civil liberties. The relatively recent dictatorships in both Iberian countries are still present in people’s memories. Lands of emigration and economic hardship, both states share features of the countries of origin of the Muslim emigrants.

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