Posted on 03/16/2004 9:12:49 PM PST by ambrose
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Laden's "revenge" about 6 centuries old
Mohamad Bazzi
BEIRUT, MARCH 16 Osama bin Laden's grudge against Spain goes back a very long time. The Al Qaeda chief has a penchant for historical symbolism, and in the Islamic world few symbols are as resonant as the 15th century downfall of the Muslim empire of Al-Andalus, centered in modern-day Spain.
"Laden thrives on historical symbols," said Diaa Rashwan, a leading expert on Islamic militants at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo. "He views the demise of the Caliphate in Spain as if it happened yesterday."
The Caliphate was the political and religious authority carried by the men who succeeded the Prophet Muhammad after his death in 632 AD as rulers of the Islamic state. As the Muslim empire expanded, there were competing dynasties based in Damascus, Baghdad and Granada, Spain.
In his speeches and religious decrees, Laden has alluded frequently to the collapse of the Islamic Caliphate as the major turning point for the world's Muslims.
The Caliphate was not officially abolished until 1924, but to many scholars, its decline began with the fall of Al-Andalus.
"Let the whole world know that we shall never accept that the tragedy of Al-Andalus would be repeated," Laden declared in a videotaped statement broadcast around the world on October 7, 2001.
It was the start of the US bombing of Afghanistan. At such a decisive moment in his own life, specialists say, Laden chose to highlight the story of Al-Andalus as a cautionary tale to Muslims. To Laden and other Islamic militants, the Islamic empire in Spain collapsed because of infighting among rival Muslim princes and clans.
"To Laden, Al-Andalus represented the height of Muslim glory and its downfall was a great betrayal," said Mohammad Salah, an expert on Islamic militants at the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat. "He uses it often as a lesson for Muslims about the importance of remaining united."
In the eighth century, Moorish armies from North Africa conquered the Iberian Peninsula and annexed it into the growing Muslim empire. The Moors established a vibrant society centered around the cities of Granada and Cordoba.
They used Spain as a base from which to fight Christian armies in Europe and try to further spread the Muslim empire. By the mid-1400s, Christian forces had pushed the Muslims out of much of Europe. In 1492, Granada was ceded to Ferdinand and Isabella, who later expelled all Muslims and Jews from the newly created Kingdom of Spain. To militants such as Laden, that was when the golden age of Islam ended. Laden has singled out Spain repeatedly for its backing of the US-led war in Iraq and its crackdown on Al Qaeda operatives since 9/11.
In one audiotape broadcast last year on the Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera, Laden warned that Spain would be among six countries he considered "special" targets for their role in the Iraq war.
In a letter claiming responsibility for last week's train bombings in Madrid, an Al Qaeda-linked group hinted at a historical grudge. "This is part of settling old accounts with Spain, the crusader, and America's ally in its war against Islam," said the statement sent to a London-based Arabic newspaper. It was signed by the Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri, a group named after Al Qaeda's commander, who was killed in 2001 during the American bombing of Afghanistan.
-ccm
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