The Most Noble of People

Religious, Ethnic, and Gender Identity in Muslim Spain

Nonfiction, History, Spain & Portugal, Medieval
Cover of the book The Most Noble of People by Jessica Coope, University of Michigan Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jessica Coope ISBN: 9780472122677
Publisher: University of Michigan Press Publication: April 10, 2017
Imprint: University of Michigan Press Language: English
Author: Jessica Coope
ISBN: 9780472122677
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Publication: April 10, 2017
Imprint: University of Michigan Press
Language: English

The Most Noble of People presents a nuanced look at questions of identity in Muslim Spain under the Umayyads, an Arab dynasty that ruled from 756 to 1031. With a social historical emphasis on relations among different religious and ethnic groups, and between men and women, Jessica A. Coope considers the ways in which personal and cultural identity in al-Andalus could be alternately fluid and contentious.

The opening chapters define Arab and Muslim identity as those categories were understood in Muslim Spain, highlighting the unique aspects of this society as well as its similarities with other parts of the medieval Islamic world. The book goes on to discuss what it meant to be a Jew or Christian in Spain under Islamic rule, and the degree to which non-Muslims were full participants in society. Following this is a consideration of gender identity as defined by Islamic law and by less normative sources like literature and mystical texts. It concludes by focusing on internal rebellions against the government of Muslim Spain, particularly the conflicts between Muslims who were ethnically Arab and those who were Berber or native Iberian, pointing to the limits of Muslim solidarity.

Drawn from an unusually broad array of sources—including legal texts, religious polemic, chronicles, mystical texts, prose literature, and poetry, in both Arabic and Latin—many of Coope’s illustrations of life in al-Andalus also reflect something of the larger medieval world. Further, some key questions about gender, ethnicity, and religious identity that concerned people in Muslim Spain—for example, women’s status under Islamic law, or what it means to be a Muslim in different contexts and societies around the world—remain relevant today.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Most Noble of People presents a nuanced look at questions of identity in Muslim Spain under the Umayyads, an Arab dynasty that ruled from 756 to 1031. With a social historical emphasis on relations among different religious and ethnic groups, and between men and women, Jessica A. Coope considers the ways in which personal and cultural identity in al-Andalus could be alternately fluid and contentious.

The opening chapters define Arab and Muslim identity as those categories were understood in Muslim Spain, highlighting the unique aspects of this society as well as its similarities with other parts of the medieval Islamic world. The book goes on to discuss what it meant to be a Jew or Christian in Spain under Islamic rule, and the degree to which non-Muslims were full participants in society. Following this is a consideration of gender identity as defined by Islamic law and by less normative sources like literature and mystical texts. It concludes by focusing on internal rebellions against the government of Muslim Spain, particularly the conflicts between Muslims who were ethnically Arab and those who were Berber or native Iberian, pointing to the limits of Muslim solidarity.

Drawn from an unusually broad array of sources—including legal texts, religious polemic, chronicles, mystical texts, prose literature, and poetry, in both Arabic and Latin—many of Coope’s illustrations of life in al-Andalus also reflect something of the larger medieval world. Further, some key questions about gender, ethnicity, and religious identity that concerned people in Muslim Spain—for example, women’s status under Islamic law, or what it means to be a Muslim in different contexts and societies around the world—remain relevant today.

More books from University of Michigan Press

Cover of the book Private Guns, Public Health, New Ed. by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book Signifying Bodies by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book The Heimat Abroad by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book State Trading in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book Elections in Australia, Ireland, and Malta under the Single Transferable Vote by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book Passionate Amateurs by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book Waiting for Cancer to Come by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book Academic Ableism by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book Causal Case Study Methods by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book Silent Hill by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book Community Identity and Archaeology by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book The Isthmus of Corinth by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book Information and Legislative Organization by Jessica Coope
Cover of the book I Want to Be Ready by Jessica Coope
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy