Forced conversions of Muslims in Spain
The forced conversions of Muslims in Spain were enacted through a series of edicts outlawing Islam in the lands of the Spanish Monarchy.
At this time, Muslims living under Christian rule were given the status of "Mudéjar", legally allowing the open practice of Islam.
In 1499, the Archbishop of Toledo, Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros began a campaign in the city of Granada to force religious compliance with Christianity with torture and imprisonment; this triggered a Muslim rebellion.
The last realm to impose conversion was the Crown of Aragon, whose kings had previously been bound to guarantee the freedom of religion for its Muslims under an oath included in their coronations.
Finally, in 1524, Charles petitioned Pope Clement VII to release the king from his oath protecting Muslims' freedom of religion.
While adhering to Christianity in public was required by the royal edicts and enforced by the Spanish Inquisition, evidence indicated that most of the forcibly converted (known as the "Moriscos") clung to Islam in secret.
In daily public life, traditional Islamic law could no longer be followed without persecution by the Inquisition; as a result, the Oran fatwa was issued to acknowledge the necessity of relaxing sharia, as well as detailing the ways in which Muslims were to do so.
[6][7] Three months after the conquest of Granada, in 1492, the Alhambra Decree ordered all Jews in Spain to be expelled or converted; this marked the beginning of a set of new policies.
[1] Initial efforts at forcing the conversions of Spanish Muslims were started by Cardinal Cisneros, the archbishop of Toledo, who arrived in Granada in the autumn of 1499.
[13] In contrast to Granada's own archbishop Hernando de Talavera, who had friendly relations with the Muslim population and relied on a peaceful approach towards conversions,[14] Cisneros adopted harsh and authoritarian measures.
[17] Subsequently, Cisneros convinced King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella that, by attempting a rebellion, the Muslims lost their rights in the treaty, and must now accept conversions.
[19] However, after a series of campaigns in 1500–01 in which 80,000 Christian troops were mobilized and King Ferdinand personally directed some operations, the rebellion was defeated.
[22] On paper, the edict ordered expulsion rather than a forced conversion, but it forbade nearly all possible destinations; in reality, the Castilian authorities preferred Muslims to convert than emigrate.
[28] It designated Biscay in the Basque country as the only port where the Muslims could depart, which meant that those from the south (such as Andalusia) would have to travel the entire length of the peninsula.
[25] Historian L.P. Harvey wrote that with this edict, "in such a summary fashion, at such short notice", Muslim presence under the Mudéjar status came to an end.
[28] Navarre's queen Catherine de Foix (r. 1483–1517) and her co-ruling husband John III had no interest in pursuing expulsion or forced conversions.
[12] When the Spanish Inquisition arrived in Navarre in the late fifteenth century and began harassing local Muslims, the Navarran royal court warned it to cease.
[29] Kings of Aragon, including Ferdinand, were required to swear an oath of coronation to not forcibly convert their Muslim subjects.
[34] Supporters of this decision argued that the Muslims had a choice when confronted by the rebels: they could have chosen to refuse and die, but did not, indicating that the conversions happened out of free will and must remain in effect.
[36] Clement initially resisted the request, but issued in May 1524 a papal brief releasing Charles from the oath and absolving him from all perjuries that might arise from breaking it.
[34][39][40] In order to leave the realm, a Muslim would have had to obtain documentation from Siete Aguas on Aragon's western border, then travel inland across the entire breadth of Castile to embark by sea from A Coruña in the northwest coast.
[48] However, the newly converted were also pressured to conform outwardly to Christianity, such as by attending Mass or consuming food and drink which are forbidden in Islam.
[45][49] The situation led to a non-traditional form of Islam in which one's internal intention (niyya), rather than external observation of rituals and laws, was the defining characteristic of one's faith.
[54] It was issued by North African Maliki scholar Ahmad ibn Abi Jum'ah and set out detailed relaxations of sharia (Islamic law) requirements, allowing Muslims to conform outwardly to Christianity and perform acts that were ordinarily forbidden when necessary to survive.
[57] Even before the systematic forced conversion, religious leaders had argued that Muslims in Christian territory would be subject to direct and indirect pressure, and preached emigration as a way to protect the religion from eroding.
[61] For example, in Sierra Bermeja, Granada in 1501, an option of exile was offered as an alternative to conversion only for those who paid a fee of ten gold doblas, which most citizens could not afford.
[62][63] In the same year, villagers of Turre and Teresa near Sierra Cabrera in Almeria fought the Christian militias with help from their North African rescuers at Mojácar while leaving the region.
[34] Religious studies scholar Brian A. Catlos said that emigration "was not a viable option";[39] historian of Spain L. P. Harvey called this prescribed route "insane" and "so difficult to achieve" that the option of exile was "in practice almost nonexistent",[34] and Sephardic historian Maurice Kriegel agreed, saying that "in practical terms it was impossible for them to leave the peninsula".
[68] An initial royalist assault was repelled, but the town capitulated in March 1526 after a five-week siege, resulting in the rebels' baptism.
[74] A convert named Pedro de Mercado from the village of Ronda refused to join the rebellion in Granada; in response, the rebels burned his house and kidnapped members of his family, including his wife and a daughter.
