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| Withdrawal of Islamic Powers from Spanish Territory |
The power of Islam in Spain has had an invaluable influence on the development of civilization in Europe today. However, such a great power had to end due to various unexpected things.
The first and most important factor is the emergence of a caliph or leader who has no power in maintaining the power of the Spanish Islamic government.
The heyday of Islam in Spain began in the time of Muhammad Ibn AbdAr-Rahman, who was then continued by his son, Al-Hakam. In his second period, the political and economic conditions of Islamic Spain experienced enormous and stable progress.
This stable state of government could not last after Hakam II’s death. The next ruler, Hisham II who was still 11 years old, was considered the trigger for the decline of Islamic civilization in Spain.
At the age that is still very easy, he has to carry out a very big task. He was considered unable to run the government properly, so that all state affairs were carried out by his mother with the help of Muhammad Ibn Abi Umar, who was known to be very ambitious and thirsty for power.
Since then, the caliph has only been used as a puppet driven to fulfill the desire for power of Abi Umar’s successors.
Another factor that caused Islam to withdraw from Spanish territory was the policy of the rulers who did not carry out Islamization as a whole. The Spanish population at that time were freed to embrace their religion, and were allowed to maintain their traditions.
Islamic rulers only oblige citizens to pay taxes, without the slightest pressure. The government’s policy turned out to be a boomerang.
The Spanish people began to revolt. Finally a dispute arose between the Islamic government and the Christians there, so that Islamic rule could be overthrown.
Another important factor is the division among Muslims. This can be seen from the emergence of small dynasties, which made the power of Islam split and became weak.
Each dynasty wanted more power, so not a few of them turned to Christians for help. One by one the Islamic territories fell into the hands of Christian rulers, even important cities such as Cordoba and Seville were conquered in 1236 AD and 1248 AD.
Until the mid-13th century, the only city that Muslims could still control was Granada under the Ahmar dynasty. Granada was still ruled by Muslim rulers, but they had to pay taxes to Christian rulers.
The power of Islam was increasingly pressured by the policies given by Christian rulers to them, plus the emergence of internal conflicts betweenthe Ahmar Dynasty which resulted in the emergence of civil war.
Finally in 1492, the only Islamic territory in Spain managed to fall into the hands of Christian troops. Muslims in Spain are also prohibited from using any attributes related to Arab and Islamic culture throughout Spain.
Wallahu a’lam bishowab
