Representing and Remembering al-Andalus: Some Historical Considerations Regarding the End of Time and the Making of Nostalgia

Abstract

Th e place that al-Andalus occupies in contemporary popular and academic discourses is characterized by an ill-defi ned but heartfelt nostalgia. Th is essay returns to the historical texts written during and immediately following the Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula in order to elucidate the conceptual place al-Andalus occupied in them. Th ese narratives convey little in the way of nostalgia and frame al-Andalus instead as a place of wonders, jihād and eschatological events. Th is essay concludes with a brief consideration of when the understanding of al-Andalus as a "lost paradise" emerged and how this understanding may now itself be changing.

Versions and Visions of the Alhambra in the Nineteenth-Century Ottoman World

“…73 But al-Andalus was more frequently described in Arabic literature as a place of jihad, historical battles, and wonders. 74 In the many Arabic accounts of the history of al-Andalus and the several descriptions of diplomatic visits, the tendency was to describe the Islamic history of the region and its Christian conquest in a factual, descriptive voice without the tone of loss, regret, and mournfulness that was present in Western histories of the region from the eighteenth century. 75 That tone is only present in Arabic descriptions of the Alhambra from the early twentieth century.…”

The Impact of Spanish Inquisition on Islamic Civilization

“…It was inhabited by people long before the coming of the Vandals and the Goths, and even the Celts that preceded them. Andalus was originally the Arabic word for the Vandals, and by changing the last letter, from a shin to sin, it became Andalus (Stearns 2009) Undoubtedly, the most important event in medieval Spain's history and what made it unique in comparison with other European countries was the Muslim conquest of almost the entire Peninsula in 711. While Islam has been the dominant force for seven centuries, and the majority of the people of Andalus were Muslims, they coexist with Christians and Jews.…”