This book looks at how Muslims in Spain have changed legislation linked to religious pluralism and immigration and have fortified Spain s frail history and practice of democracy since 1975. Spanish Muslims have achieved this through active civil engagement and a persistent struggle for rights and for status as immigrants and as citizens on par with ethnic Spaniards. Muslims have interacted with Spanish popular traditions, challenged Eurocentric historical narratives, and used Spanish concepts such as convivencia (peaceful coexistence) and arraigo (rootedness) to expand the prevailing construction of belonging. The Muslim struggle for civil rights took off in earnest in Melilla with its historic ties to the Islamic Kingdom of Fez up to 1497 between 1985 and 1988, when Muslim residents questioned nativist control of the enclave. Subsequently, from 1989 to 2001, on mainland Spain, Muslims formed independent organizations, pushed for national regularization of undocumented residents, and proposed modifications to immigration laws. A primary focus of the book is on how devout Muslims lobbied to institutionalize Islam in Spain, fought for the right to construct mosques despite heavy nativist resistance, and balanced women s rights in the Muslim community and broader secular context. The author also examines the ways that Muslims have interrogated the memory of the Moor in Spanish history and in popular festivals, such as the Festival of Moors and Christians, and how this has played out in regions with strong nationalist traditions, such as Catalonia. The book concludes with a survey of the writings of Muslim immigrants in Spanish and in Catalan, and how these works have publicized the everyday experience of migration in Spain."
Author(s): Aitana Guia
Publisher: Sussex Academic Press
Year: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 224
Tags: Colonialism, Spain, North Africa
Front Cover
About the book & About the Author
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Preface by Series Editor, Tim Rees
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
The Migrant Experience and the Transition to Democracy in Spain
Democracy, Inclusion, and Citizenship
Repositioning Democratization in Spain
Islam and Democratization in Spain
1 The Fight for Citizenship and Inclusion in a Borderland City: Melilla, 1985–1988
A Critical Borderland City
The 1985 Immigration Act
Muslim Melillans
Muslim Women Activists
Spanish Nativism
In the Shadow of Morocco, but a Long Way from Spain
From Constitutional Patriotism to Sedition
Repercussions
2 The Struggle for Voice, Status, and Rights in Mainland Spain, 1989–2005
Finding an Independent Voice
“I could only think about papers”
Racism and Migrant Rights
When “Exceptional” Becomes “Ordinary”
The World Upside Down
Twisting the Government’s Arm
Achievements and New Challenges
3 Religious Pluralism, Secularism, and Women’s Rights, 1968–2010
From State Catholicism to Religious Pluralism
The Construction of Spanish Islam
“Worthless Piece of Paper”
Conflicts Over Women’s Rights
The Public Practice of Islam in Spain
4 Mosque Building, Catalan Nationalism, and Spain’s Politics of Belonging, 1990–2010
Mosque Building and Nativist Resistance in Spain
Barcelona and the Mosque that was Never Built
A Path Towards Peace or “Ravalistan”?
Muslim Immigrants on Catalonia’s Nationalist Fault Lines
The Spectrum of Possibilities for Muslims in Catalonia
Osona: the Rise of the PxC and the Collapse of Convivencia
Interculturalism
5 Reclaiming Islamic Spain: from the Córdoba Mosque to the Festival of Moors and Christians, 1965-2010
Islam in Spain’s Memory Debates
The Córdoba Mosque-Cathedral and the Limits of Convivencia
The Festival of Moors and Christians
Interpreting the Festival of Moors and Christians
“Mooricization”
The Festival of Moors and Christians in Democratic Times
“We are Not Fanatics”
Dynamics and Alternatives
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Back Cover
