“Oh Munkar, Oh Nakir, he is a Muslim but he forgot!” One of the deeply sorrowful phrases Muslims in Andalusia would bury with their loved ones after the Inquisition courts forcibly converted them to Christianity. First and foremost, you will see the oppressor as an unwelcome guest whom you welcomed yourself, then he will overpower you, then he will share your land, then he will propose agreements and treaties, and then you will either accept or reject them. Eventually, he will break the agreements and crush you unregretfully!
Between the Treaty of Granada and the Oslo Accords, the lands of Muslims were lost. The cries of the people of Granada to their brothers in North Africa and the Arab Maghreb were met with secret messages on how to teach Andalusians the ways of Taqiyya to conceal their Islam. This is very similar to the calls from the people of Gaza to their neighbors in Egypt and Jordan and to Muslims worldwide, where these calls fall are met with deaf ears!
In the shadow of the first anniversary of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, and with the escalating crises facing Palestine today, a significant historical comparison unfolds before our eyes between what is happening now in Palestine and what happened in Andalusia five centuries ago. Andalusia, which was the center of Islamic civilization in the West, fell due to internal divisions and the collusion of some of its rulers with the enemy, and of course, the absence of a supporter. Should we allow Palestine to meet the same fate? Or do we draw lessons from the past and change the course of history in our favor?
Since the fall of the last Islamic stronghold in Andalusia in 1492, a series of persecution and displacement began, where Muslims in Andalusia lived through the tragedy of the Inquisition and cultural and religious extermination. The Moriscos were subjected to attempts to erase their identity, which bears a striking resemblance to what is happening in Palestine today, where the same tragedy is repeated. The Israeli occupation practices policies of displacement and settlement and seeks to erase the Palestinian identity by imposing forged historical narratives and changing the demographic reality in its favor.
What distinguishes the fall of Andalusia is not only the strength of the enemy but also the betrayals of some Taifa (factions) princes who chose to ally with the Christian kingdoms in pursuit of power and wealth. They gave up their fortresses and cities and paid tribute to the kings of Spain, forgetting that their fate would be like that of their brothers who fell before them. Today, we witness similar behaviors in the Arab and Islamic world, where some countries rush to normalize relations with the Israeli occupation, in pursuit of temporary economic and political interests that complicate the Palestinian scene and delay the restoration of legitimate rights.
In Andalusia, Muslims were deprived of practicing their religion and rituals, and Arabic books were burned in the squares of Granada, symbolizing the attempt to erase all traces of Islamic civilization. Despite these practices, most Moriscos held on to their identity until they were forced to emigrate or die, while the surviving generations forgot their original Islamic roots. Similarly, in Palestine, the Palestinian people face the same schemes. The occupation does not only confiscate lands and build settlements but also seeks to Judaize Jerusalem and change the cultural and religious identity of the holy sites. The policy of forced displacement practiced on Palestinians since the Nakba continues to this day, where the people of Jerusalem and the residents of the West Bank face constant threats of eviction, not to mention the millions of Palestinian refugees worldwide since 1948.
Conversely, despite all these attempts, there was resistance in Andalusia, just as there is in Palestine today. The Morisco revolts, despite their weakness and dispersion, expressed their refusal to accept cultural and religious extermination, similar to the Palestinian resistance today, which stands as the last line of defense against the Israeli occupation’s attempts to erase the Palestinian existence.
The “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, which began in 2023, marked a turning point in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, demonstrating that the Palestinian people can confront the Zionist project despite Israeli military and technological superiority. Resistance is not just armed action; it is an expression of the steadfast will to remain and endure in the face of attempts of displacement and extermination. However, this resistance faces the same fate as the resistance in Andalusia, where the Taifa princes deserted and conspired against it, a scenario we see today.
Palestinian resistance suffers from persecution, intimidation, and drying up of resources from its Arab and Islamic surroundings more than it suffers from the occupier itself, responding to the international will opposing Palestinian resistance and refusing to grant the Palestinian people their legitimate rights. This takes us back to the same conspiracy that plagued Andalusia, where the Christian world colluded with the Spanish kings to eliminate the Islamic presence. The popes in Rome blessed these campaigns and helped spread propaganda portraying Muslims as enemies that must be eradicated, prolonging the suffering of Muslims in Andalusia and ultimately leading to the collapse of Islamic civilization there.
Today, we see similar collusion by some international powers with Israel. The United States, in particular, continues its unlimited political and military support and uses its veto power in the Security Council to obstruct any resolution condemning the occupation's practices. These policies make it difficult for Palestinians to achieve any progress in their international struggle and complicate the field situation on the ground.
The significant similarity between the tragedies of Andalusia and Palestine should prompt us to deeply reflect on the future of the Palestinian cause. Just as Andalusia was lost due to betrayals, divisions, and collusion, there is a real danger that Palestine might face the same fate if these challenges are not seriously addressed. The isolation of Gaza and Jerusalem today could repeat the historical tragedy we lived with Andalusia. It is true that Palestine today possesses new tools that were not available in the past: modern communication means, the increasing power of global public opinion, the presence of a front rejecting the Zionist existence in the region, and a general popular awareness more advanced than the rulers. These tools can play a pivotal role in exposing the occupation's practices and gaining international support. The battle is no longer confined to the land alone but is also a battle for awareness and understanding.
Avoiding the repetition of the Andalusian tragedy in Palestine requires Palestinian and Arab unity, rejecting sectarian and side conflicts, and rejecting all forms of normalization with the enemy. It also requires continuing resistance in all its forms and not yielding to international pressures that seek to impose temporary solutions that do not achieve justice.
Palestine today stands at a crossroads: between the choice of resistance and steadfastness and the danger of turning into another Andalusia. History teaches us that peoples who resist and hold on to their identity and culture cannot die no matter the circumstances. Just as the Moriscos in Andalusia endured for centuries, the Palestinian people will continue to resist until they can fully restore their rights. But this resistance requires all of us to be more aware of the challenges facing Palestine and more determined to prevent the repetition of the Andalusia’s tragedy.
Palestine will not become another Andalusia as long as there are people who resist, a nation that awakens, and an undying will.
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