The Dhimmī as the Other of Multiple Convivencias in al-Andalus

Protection, Tolerance and Domination in Islamic Law

Abstract

The figure of dhimmī is certainly the most emblematic juristic figure in the history of Islamic law. Strangely, it also has the juristic status of being the most ambiguous and complex, as it lacks a coherent, genuine legal shape and doctrine. Quranic references to dhimma or ahl al-kitāb (People of the Book) complicate the landscape. However, the dhimmī’s juristic corpus has played a major role in organising the cohabitation, domination or exclusion of non-Muslims in conquered territories for centuries.
Convivencia in al-Andalus represents a unique experience in the history of Islamic law and Europe, the results of which are still felt today. But what is to be learned from the former inclusion / exclusion of dhimmī? This issue, linked to understanding ›otherness‹, is fundamental to studying Convivencia and grasping its mechanisms. Monotheistic Others in Islam (Jews and Christians) can thus teach us about Islam and guide us as we do.
Iberian Convivencia, seen as a narcissistic injury and repressed memory to this day, is a historical and cultural chance to reflect upon and research the Self and the Other. If Muslims in Europe today consider themselves, often unconsciously, as being a kind of dhimmī, it is because Islamic discourse on the Self and the Other is profoundly inscribed into this juristic and historical heritage. Understanding facets of Convivencia / (de-)Convivencia from an Arab-Islamic view requires examining dhimmī in all states: protected, tolerated, dominated or persecuted. Focusing on dhimmī’s legal status is methodologically fruitful, as pitfalls in research based solely on Islamic legal texts are avoided. It further does justice to the often obscured human dimension of Muslims and dhimmī living together.