Campus Quest - Join The Cast Debate

Can modern Arab nations like Morocco be tolerant towards other faiths?
Can the co-existence of the three faiths in Andalusia be repeated today?
Can Moses, Jesus and Muhammad all be considered equal 'prophets' of the same God?

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To enter the debate, first click on the Intro Video for a brief introduction, Then click on each member of the team's response to see and hear their opinion.

	Intro Video View It
	Dina's Answer View It Read It		Michael's Answer View It Read It
	Tanjila's Answer View It Read It		Nezar's Answer View It Read It

Andalusîa was once an Arab or 'Moorish' empire of nearly 800 years, ruled by Islamic Caliphs which traced their lineage from the Ummayad dynasty. What makes this particular chapter in history so important is that during those nearly eight centuries of Islamic rule, Jews, Christians and Muslims lived and worked in closer harmony than ever before -- or ever since.

We want to understand how this unique era of peaceful coexistence came about -- why it lasted so long; and if, by any chance, it holds a special key to promoting tolerance in a multi-cultural society.

After the Romans, who ruled in Spain for 5 centuries, Andalusia was briefly held by the Visigoths, who established Christianity. Then, in 715, the south of Spain was conquered by Arab armies, and Abd al-Rhman I of the Ummayad dynasty established the first Islamic Empire on European soil.

Maimonides and Averroes are two unique figures in this fascinating period. Maimonides, nicknamed Rambam in Hebrew, was a rabbi and scholar, but also a physician and philosopher. Steeped in Aristotle, his works bridge the world of Greeks philosophers and the Jewish theology. Of the Qur'an and the Jewish Bible, Maimonides wrote in the 12th century that "these are two manifestations of the same truth; there are only contradictions when you are too close to the literal meaning of the text to overlook the essential meaning."

Maimonides' counterpart was an Arab physician and philosopher named Averroes. Like Mainmonides, Averroes was a great interpreter of Aristotle, who reconciled the Greek concepts of reason with faith in a single God.

All through Cordoba, you still find traces of Moorish architecture and its refined ornamentation. The most impressive example is the ancient Mosque or Mezquita, which was built by four successive caliphs over a period of 200 years. The project was begun in 780 by Abd ar-Rahman I, on the site of an old Visigoth Church. In fact, this ancient church was actually shared for worship by Christians and Muslims alike, until a bigger place of worship was needed. The mihrab or sacred prayer niche is one of the finest examples of Spanish Muslim design.

Dina: I think that what happened in Cordoba and in Grenada, the coexistence, I think to some extent it was definitely a fluke, it was a coincidence of time and happening.

One thing we are always trying to do is look at is what factors, what is the one two three factors what are the one two three factors in Andalusia that made it work or made it not work and I think that can maybe point us in the right direction of how to replicate the problem.

Michael: I don't think it was a fluke either, I don't think it was a golden era, I don't think it was a perfect era but people were definitely working together, yeah it wasn't perfect but they weren't exactly bashing heads and it worked.

Tanjila: It was not just a fluke, I think there was a lot of, it was a time of learning and flourishing, that could happen again.

I think we need to really look at this age, not as an age of perfection but as an example of tolerance, because I think what the problem is these days is that we are so easy to say that there has been an age old conflict between Arabs and Jews, Muslims and Jews, that is not necessarily true.

Nezar: Why did it go wrong? What was it, was it because there was this rival period, was it political power, was it money what was it and what is it right now, that is making it go wrong for instance in Israel and Palestinian? Was it the sense of exile that the Moroccans felt? That the Palestinians feel today or that the Andalusians felt that the Palestinians feel, I mean it is interesting that the Andalusians in Morocco still have, some of them, still have old keys to their houses, the Palestinians have the same feeling, Israelis too, many of them had to be, a lot of them had to be forced away from their houses, even in the Arab world and in Europe, this feeling of exile is all over here. The original leaders were exiled and maybe we have to work and understand exile and how that has affected the three religions.