*** In the current political climate it might be easy to assume that Muslims in the ‘
West’ have always been viewed in a negative light. However, when we examine the historical relationship between Muslims and their non-Muslim neighbors we find a much more complicated picture. In Muslims of
Medieval Latin Christendom, c.1050-1614 (
Cambridge University Press, 2014),
Brian A. Catlos, professor of
Religious Studies at the
University of Colorado, offers the first comprehensive overview of Muslim minorities in
Latin Christian lands during the
Middle Ages. The book provides a narrative history of regional Muslim subjects in the
Latin west, including
Islamic Sicily, Al-Andalus, expansion in the
Near East, the Muslim communities of
Medieval Hungary, and portraits of travelers, merchants, and slaves in
Western Europe. Here we find that Muslims often had great deal of agency in structuring the subject/ruler relationship due to the material and economic contributions they made to local communities. The second half of the book explores thematic issues that were shared across Muslims communities of the
Mediterranean world. Catlos surveys ideological, administrative, and practical matters, including Muslim concern about legitimacy and assimilation, legal culture, and everyday social life in these multi-confessional communities. In our conversation we discussed the reign of
Christian Spains,
Norman rule, the adoption of Arabo-Islamic culture, Morisco hybridity,
Islam in Christian imagination, the role of
Muslim women, and everyday public religious life. ***
- published: 19 Jun 2016
- views: 28