Pacem Portantes Advenerint: Ambivalent Images of Muslims in the Chronicles of Norman Italy

The goal of this essay is to call attention to some of the more positive and ambivalent depictions of Muslims in a set of historical texts associated with the Norman takeover of Sicily in the fifth/eleventh and sixth/twelfth centuries. To achieve that aim, it considers social vocabulary applied to Muslims in five sources written by Amatus of Montecassino, Geoffrey Malaterra, William of Apulia, Alexander of Telese, and Hugo Falcandus. Although recent scholarship has posited that medieval identity was often felt through a “self versus other” or “Christian versus non-Christian” dichotomy, this essay questions the notion that the actual language contained in these sources ever devolved into such simplistic, binary terms. On the contrary, though the perceptions and definitions applied to this group of people were, admittedly, sometimes based on uninformed stereotypes, they were more often deliberately constructed images that were highly dependent on the cultural milieu in which they were created.     

Sicily: A Frontier in the Centre of the Sea?

ABSTRACT

As part of the Ancient Maritime Dynamics project, this study uses a new interpretive methodology to model the creation and use of maritime places in the western-Mediterranean basin. In turn, the results of this modelling suggest that the waters around the island of Sicily acted as a frontier, distinguishing a distinct zone of activity in the western Mediterranean as well as a western maritime community that segregated itself from other sailors and merchants elsewhere in the sea.     

“A Crusade from the First”: The Norman Conquest of Islamic Sicily, 1060–1091

In the creation myth of the Crusades, Pope Urban II (r. 1088–1099) is the founding father and 1095 is the critical year. During the twentieth century, French, Spanish, and English scholars challenged this myth; yet this myth remains as durable as ever. Because the origins of the crusading enterprise came to be associated with the so-called First Crusade (1095–1102), scholars have created a vision of crusading at odds with Pope Urban's vision, which views the “First” Crusade as the third part of a triptych: first, the Norman conquest of Sicily (1060–1091); then, the Castilian and Catalan advances in Iberia; and finally the 1095 Eastern Crusade. Today, the study of the Crusades is hampered by a failure to concentrate on the direct evidence and to take into account what contemporaries understood by crusading. To get a sense of what contemporaries understood by crusading, this paper examines the Norman Crusade in Sicily, drawing upon both Christian and Islamic sources.     

Orthodox Communities in Eastern Anatolia in the Thirteenth to Fourteenth Centuries. Part 2: The Time of Troubles

Eastern Asia Minor underwent profound changes in the thirteenth to fourteenth centuries. The period in question is marked by the decline of the Greek Orthodox Church in Anatolia. Why did the Greek population, prosperous in the thirteenth century, dwindle in the next century? The answer may lie in the general development of Eastern Anatolia at that time: the wealthy provinces of the Sultanate of Rūm and the state of Ayyubids became an arena of constant struggle between powerful warlords, which led to depopulation of many cities. Neither Islamisation nor the process of Turkisation seem to have been a decisive factor of the decline of the Greek settlements in Eastern Asia Minor.     

Louis IX in Medieval Arabic Sources: The Saint,the King,and the Sicilian Connection

This article examines the portrayal of Louis IX in medieval Arabic historiography to show the importance of cross-cultural Mediterranean interaction. It argues that the image of Louis was influenced by information originating from the Sicilian Hohenstaufen court and reports that Frederick II sent to Egypt. Arab historians connected to the courts of Frederick and Manfred disseminated a “Sicilian narrative” that shaped Louis's portrayal in Arabic historiography. This argument on the importance of cross-cultural transfer in understanding Arabic historiography is buttressed by reports about the King, the Pope, and the Emperor that are traced back to the entourage of prominent Muslims closely linked to Sicily. Moreover, it is argued that Arab authors were aware of Louis's proto-sanctity and pious reputation. This led to the infusion of medieval Arabic historiography with Western ideas about sacrosanctity. Finally, this research assesses how the portrayal of King Louis during his captivity was used in internal Muslim rivalries.     

He Polis healo: The Fall of Constantinople in 1453 in Post-Byzantine Popular Literature

This article examines the reaction of the Greeks to one of the most momentous events in their history, the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in May 1453, as it is portrayed in works of Greek popular literature up to the seventeenth century. The popular lores, apart from reflecting the emotions and thoughts of the conquered Greeks, also contributed to the creation of legends, aiming at encouraging the Greeks to keep their hopes alive for eventual liberation from the Turkish occupation.     

Dressing for Succession in Norman Italy: The Mantle of King Roger II

The subject of this article is the mantle of the kings of Sicily, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Made in Palermo in the 1130s, it is often known as the mantle of Roger II. Following his coronation in 1130, King Roger II saw the need to ensure the succession of his sons. As part of his strategy to consolidate dynastic succession, Roger invested his sons with important titles in the mainland regions of the kingdom. This article has two parts: the first discusses the materials used to make the mantle, the journeys they took to reach Sicily and the diplomatic and commercial relationships necessary to acquire them. The second part argues that the mantle may have been made for the investiture ceremonies of the king’s sons and examines how the materials and their exoticism shaped the ceremonial meaning of the garment.     

“To be or not to be”: the double consciousness of the Tamil Muslims during the early 20th century

When the nation building process was gaining momentum during the early 20th century, all the communities in British India had to participate in the process and the Muslims were no exception. Although the Muslim community in British India was as diverse as any other community, there was an attempt to unite its members under the identity of “Muslims” during the first half of the 20th century. But the Tamil Muslims remained aloof from the idea of an “Indian Muslim Community.” They had a double consciousness of being a Tamil as well as a Muslim. They highlighted their “Tamilness” more than their “Muslimness.” More than the Muslim League, their involvement with the Dravidian Movement was substantial. They supported both the movement for Dravidasthan as well as Pakistan. This paper will look into the process of “nation making,” particularly a “Muslim nation” and the anxiety of the Tamil Muslims during these processes. It will analyse the reasons behind the Tamil Muslims being alienated from the other Muslims, the British colonialist denying the identity of “pure” Muslims to the Tamil Muslims and their involvement in the Dravidian Movement.     

Mudejars helping other Mudejars in the kingdom of Valencia

By the late thirteenth century the balance of power that had been established in the 1250s in the kingdom of Valencia between Christians and Muslims had been deeply altered. Christian demographic pressure resulted in increased encroachment of Mudejar privileges. At a time when their military leadership had left the kingdom, the Mudejars were forced to create a different apparatus to resist Christian abuse, especially from local officials. Thus, the Mudejars created an internal network of support that through legal and illegal channels, both at the individual and communal level, helped other Mudejars who were fleeing from the law.     

The Saljuq Turks’ Conversion to Islam: The Crusading Sources

This article contributes to the important debate over the conversion of the Turks to Islam. Previously, it was thought that the Turks abandoned their former steppe faith and customs very swiftly to become staunch Sunni Muslims, but this view has recently been challenged by a number of studies. The current consensus seems to be that the Turks’ adoption of Islam was a process of far longer duration, spanning many decades. This article broadens this discussion by demonstrating that the chronicles written by the First Crusaders contain much useful information that is pertinent to this question. It works through these texts, showing that they can shed new light on this point.     

The Expulsion of the Muslims from Portugal (1496–1497)

The expulsion of the Muslim minority from Portugal, decreed by King Manuel I in December 1496, has been one of the most overlooked aspects of the end of religious tolerance in the Iberian Peninsula at the close of the Middle Ages. Using unedited documentary sources preserved in the national Portuguese archives, this article focuses on the expulsion of the Muslims from Portugal and seeks to challenge a number of assumptions concerning this unprecedented event. Three major questions concerning this expulsion are examined. What evidence is there that the expulsion of the Muslims did take place? Where did the expelled Muslims seek refuge? What were the causes of this expulsion? This article will endeavour to present a new hypothesis relating to the causes of this expulsion, which radically differs from that advanced by modern historians.     

The Island Frontier: Socotra,Sri Lanka and the Shape of Commerce in the Late Antique Western Indian Ocean

ABSTRACT

The islands of Sri Lanka and Socotra c. 200–700 provide a useful comparison, both with each other and with islands in the Late Antique and medieval Mediterranean. Using the analytical framework of frontiers as a comparative tool, this study proposes using the parameters of scale and proximity in order to evaluate where the frontier(s) of an island lay (along the shoreline or within an island space, sometimes both) and the difficulty or ease of controlling them from inside or outside the island. In its results, this analysis allows for change over time, but also establishes the diachronic effect of physical parameters. It offers a new way through the insular dichotomy of isolation versus connectivity and indicates a particularity of Mediterranean islands. This exploratory approach also sheds new light on an embargo established in ancient Socotra, suggesting it to have been a much shorter-lived phenomenon than previously speculated.     

From Invitation to Provocation: “Holy Cruelty” as Christian Mission in Ninth-Century Córdoba

Ninth-century treatises written by Eulogius (d. 859) and Paulus Alvarus (fl. ninth century) have been studied in some detail for their anti-Muslim rhetoric and for what they have to say about a group of ninth-century martyrs killed in Córdoba, Spain. Less attention is given to how the authors pair their views of Christian mission with what one of them refers to as “holy cruelty”. With this in mind, this study examines how Eulogius’ construction of Islam as a Christian heresy informed his view of mission. Building off of this, we will also examine how Alvarus saw his notion of hatred for the enemies of God as a justified means for engaging Muslims.     

Acculturation preferences and perceived (dis)loyalty of Muslims in the U.K.: Two vignette-based experimental studies

Muslims in the U.K. who maintain their religious culture are often viewed as a suspect community. This pre-registered experimental research examined the mediating role of perceived (dis)loyalty as underlying process and the moderating role of acculturation expectations. A total of 334 non-Muslim White British participants in Study 1 and 810 in Study 2 were asked to indicate their acculturation expectations towards Muslims. They were then randomly assigned to read a text that described Muslims in a fictional town as either (a) maintaining their religious culture or (b) adopting the mainstream British culture, or they read (c) a neutral control text. As expected, in Study 1, when Muslims were presented as maintaining their religious culture, trust decreased compared to the control group. Conversely, when described as adopting the mainstream culture, trust increased while support for surveillance of Muslims decreased. Both effects were mediated by the perception of Muslims being disloyal or loyal to the U.K in both studies, respectively. Perceived loyalty to their religious group did not significantly mediate any effect. We replicated these findings in Study 2. Moreover, we showed that describing Muslims as maintaining their religious culture decreased trust and increased support for surveillance especially among participants who expected Muslims to give up their religious culture. Moderated mediation analysis showed that these effects were partly mediated by perceived loyalty to the U.K. We discuss the societal implications of the findings for policymakers and Muslim leaders along with recommendations for future research.     

Development of an intergroup anxiety toward Muslims scale

Understanding intergroup relations and the anxiety that can result has become increasingly relevant to interactions between Muslim and non-Muslim individuals due to current tensions between Islamic extremist groups and many Western nations. The anticipated increase in migration from countries with large Islamic populations to Western countries will undoubtedly lead to increased contact between these groups. Currently, there are no measures of intergroup anxiety elicited when interacting specifically with Muslims. Thus, the goal of the current studies was to fill this gap by developing a measure of intergroup anxiety toward Muslims. Across 3 studies, the reliability and validity of a new measure of intergroup anxiety toward Muslims was assessed. An exploratory factor analysis (Study 1) identified 11 reliable items that were supported by confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2). Across all 3 studies, the scale demonstrated good convergent validity, such that participants who reported higher levels of intergroup anxiety toward Muslims also reported more negative attitudes toward Muslims and greater general intergroup anxiety than individuals with lower intergroup anxiety toward Muslims. Assessment of discriminant validity showed that the scale differentiated between attitudes toward Muslims and other out-groups, as well as general anxiety and depression. The Intergroup Anxiety toward Muslims Scale was also reliable across different samples (i.e., college students and community members) and methods of data collection (i.e., online and in person).     

Islam,state and society in Singapore

Abstract

Muslims are a politically significant religious minority in Singapore. This is compounded by the fact that an overwhelming number of Malays are also Muslims. This conflation of Malay ethnicity and religious identity has led to assumptions of homogeneity when addressing Islam in Singapore. This paper argues for greater care in understanding Muslims in Singapore. It tries to show how the conflation of ethnic and religious identities is a product of historical and political factors. It explores the growing pluralism within Islam as Singaporean Muslims are exposed to processes of modernization, globalization and Islamization. Ultimately, the paper argues that growing heterogeneity is leading to new tensions in the vertical linkages between Islam and the State in Singapore. New contestations for religious authority are producing pressures to de-link ethnic and religious identity in political representation.