Granada: Crescent And Crown

Granada: Crescent and Crown A Political Ethnography of a Muslim Community in Andalusia Abstract: An exploration of the challenges facing the Moroccan immigrants in Granada, Spain, uncovers deep historical factors influencing the local civic identity, divisions within the city’s Muslim community and political obstacles impeding the creation of a multicultural state. Interviews with various actors in the political climate illustrate how grassroots organizations and personal connections can eclipse ‘official’ efforts in bridging cultural divides and creating a more accepting community. An exploration of the city’s Muslim past provides important elements with which present-day leaders can create a more multicultural identity.

After nearly five centuries, Islam has returned to Granada, Spain. In 1492, the Catholic Kingsi conquered the final stronghold of the Moorish kingdom used it as a focal

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Fernando II of Aragón and Isabella I of Castilla (‘Isabel la Católica’), whose 1469 marriage unified their kingdoms and began the political process leading to the creation of modern Spain.

Granada: Crescent and Crown – A Political Ethnography of a Muslim Community in Andalusia

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point for the intense reshaping of Spain into a Catholic country. Today, however, the city is once again home to a significant Muslim population, comprised of both Moroccan immigrants and native Spanish converts. This research examines the challenges facing the city’s Islamic community and how their presence has helped Spain begin to re-imagine itself as a multicultural state. The first section illustrates several interconnected challenges facing Granada today. First, many of the difficulties encountered by the growing Muslim population have been exacerbated by the consolidation of cultural policymaking in Seville, the regional capital, and Madrid.

Stronger local governance over education would enable Granada’s

municipal leaders to highlight how the city’s complex history plays an important role in shaping civic identity. Second, immigration will bring issues of religious discrimination into sharper focus, motivating the governments of Granada, Andalusia and Spain to more formally address not only the services provided to religious and ethnic minorities, but also their vision for a future multicultural community. In the second part, I explore the ways in which Granada’s past multiculturalism provides the basis for a re-imagining of the city’s identity as both a Catholic and Muslim community. By examining ways in which Catholic histories shaped the way Spanish history is currently portrayed, it is possible to remove the layers of interpretation and understand the character of convivencia – a time of great intercultural exchange that characterized the Golden Age of Spain. CHALLENGES FACING PRESENT-DAY GRANADA My primary research in January 2005 illuminated several factors shaping the present-day popular conception of Granada. Beneath its still-strong Catholic image,

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other voices have emerged, opening space in the public space for greater discourse on its character. However, the process of re-imagining Granada is far from complete, and my experiences and interviews illuminated a city in transition, with elements of the past juxtaposed against ideas about the future. One of the theories informing my inquiry was the distinction drawn by an article by Oxford professor Sebastian Poulter. Reacting to the 1997 amplification of the debate in France over Muslim schoolgirls’ wearing of the hijab, he contrasted “the French ‘assimilationist’ insistence on the denial of ethnic difference, at least in the public domain, in a spirit of uniform citizenship.”1 French cultural politics have long followed the traditions of laïcité and state centralization, emphasizing national identity over all other types of identity.2 In contrast, England has maintained a policy of “pluralism within limits”3 that allows members of ethnic minorities to maintain their traditional customs and languages. Particularly since the 1976 Race Relations Act, 4 this has also extended into the area of legal recognition, giving groups a measure of sovereignty. I found this distinction quite useful for illustrating the two possible extremes of multicultural policy. Spain, lacking a comprehensive cultural policy grounded in a philosophy as sharply defined as British civil law or French common law, will inevitably head towards one of these extremes. I found many people preferring the British model, probably because of the bad press that French cultural policy has received. However, as I discovered, the latter might be the direction in which, against the will of its minorities, the government may be taking the country. January 6 was the Festival of the Magi Kings (Fiesta de los Reyes Magos), the Spanish celebratory equivalent of Christmas Day.ii All businesses and offices were closed, halting my research progress but providing me a unique opportunity to observe an ii

It’s actually the twelfth day of Christmas; Spain, unlike most of the United States, celebrates all of them.

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unusual Spanish tradition. That night, I attended a parade celebrating the holiday down the Gran Vía de Colón, the city’s primary arterial. Although it had all of the typical pageantry (and commercializationiii) of an American Christmas festivity, the “Thousandand-One Nights” Orientalism emerged as a dominant theme. Symbols of numerous Arab and Persian cultures were condensed to create a pan-Islamic scene. Interestingly, the role of the Magi King Balthasar, the representative of the African kingdoms, was played by a white actor in blackface rather than a black man.iv Later, watching the national news, I saw this portrayal, which would have been understood in the United States as a deliberate statement of sheer racism, take place all over Spain. Although the use of blackface in the United States was abandoned during the Civil Rights Movement, the symbol retains its potent connotation and supports the stereotyping of Balthasar as the dark ‘other,’ a pernicious stereotype exacerbated by his role in popular Spanish tradition: to leave lumps of coal for the bad children.5 While I did not observe any connections explicitly drawn between the portrayal of Balthasar and perceptions of immigrants, as an outsider to the Spanish cultural context I found the polarizing imagery shocking. My interview with University of Granada engineering professor Rafael Gallego Sevilla, helped set the stage for my further investigation by identifying several key issues. He leads “Granada Laica” (‘Secular Granada’), which opposes the continued presence of religion in public institutions, particularly public education. According to him, religion is offered as an elective in primary curricula, although in many schools there is no other option besides Catholicism. The structure of education policymaking is particularly problematic for Spain’s Muslim population, because Islam does not have the hierarchical iii

As demonstrated by a Ronald McDonald float trailing those of the Three Kings. Because of extensive immigration from sub-Saharan Africa, there is no shortage of qualified candidates for the role of Balthasar. Thus, the use of blackface was a conscious decision made by municipal governments. iv

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organization of the Catholic Church. Thus, Muslims have no special religious authorities to represent them on a national level in the same way that the archbishop selects a representative to coordinate Catholic education policy with Madrid. This corresponds to other areas of social service, in which the Catholic Church has a dominant presence: “when a Muslim becomes sick, he goes to a Christian hospital.” The extent of the church-state partnership is most pronounced in the area of funding: citizens can mark a box on their income tax forms to donate up to 30% of it directly to the Catholic Church; other religions enjoy no such financing. The teaching of religion impeded modernity and social evolution and lead to cultural homogenization. He recommends that these classes be optional, and that local communities be allowed to decide whether religious instruction should occur in public schools, in extracurricular religious programs, or in the home. As an advocate for neither Catholic nor Muslim communities, Dr. Gallego’s position gave him a unique perspective on the political challenges faced by a cultural minority. However, I left the interview unconvinced that secularism could promote religious equality. Although the desire to teach Catholicism in schools may be waning, many Muslims see religious instruction as an integral part of their education. Tariq Ramadan, a scholar of European Islam, notes that “at the heart of every family, in every organization, and in Western Muslim communities generally, the same concern and fear are expressed about passing on Islamic values to the children. How can the flame of faith, the light of spiritual life, and faithfulness to the teachings of Islam be preserved in environments that no longer refer to God and in educational systems that have little to say about religion?”6

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I was able to explore the problems of Muslims’ access to proper services more thoroughly in my interview with Carín Carrasco, who leads the Junta Islámica de España, which according to him seeks to help people organize within communities to confront the stereotype that equates Islamic practice with fundamentalism (particularly “Arab Islam”v). He described the government’s apathy towards its own lack of a comprehensive Islamic cultural policy. In the realm of education, for example, “there is simply not the political will” to create necessary changes such as a standardized curriculum. Rather, there are many empty promises, such as a 1996 agreement between the Spanish government and leaders of regional Muslim associations to create a system for recruiting primary school teachers, but no action: he has waited for eight years for the government to fulfill its guarantee and provide the needed material resources and political support. To this day, the Islamic community is waiting for the state to authorize classes in Islam, which are currently taught in Ceuta and Mellila, Spain’s enclaves in North Africa, but they lack the power, both in terms of voice (because of their socially marginalized status) and capacity (because they remain a small minority), to compel the state to carry out its promise.

Part of the difficulty is structural: the Imam is not a figure of religious

authority, but merely the most knowledgeable person willing to lead. As a result, Islamic practices and traditions are very mixed. However, echoing the opinion of Dr. Gallego, Mr. Carrasco noted that in the future, as a more secular generation comes of age in Spain, the “Catholic State” might find it difficult to maintain its protection of the church, which he sees as in a “state of trauma.” I found his structural explanation of the problem an interesting (and refreshing) alternative to ascribing all of the problems to Spanish discrimination, although I suspected that both were likely operating, with the former v

By this I took him to mean the more conservative traditions of the Middle East.

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being an excuse offered by officials when the latter was the more central cause. However, I was uncertain that his willingness to blame the government was entirely accurate – my experience with popular campaigns had shown that they could succeed with enough involvement and targeted advocacy, even if they represent a small demographic. I next traveled to the Zona Norte, an area of low-income apartment high-rises on the edge of the city to interview Abdulqader Husni Qamhiyeh, the Imam of the Mezquita de la Paz. His mosque works with the area’s distinct population – the working class and students (the university is nearby) – to create a community. He preaches a “moderate, mainstream” Islam and hopes to appeal to youth of the “discothèque culture” with the message that Islam prepares them for the “second phase” – that is, the afterlife. He said that people truly wanted education in Islam, but the state has denied their right to access it. Comparing the racism with apartheid South Africa, he said that the state needs to uphold its part of the social contract by guaranteeing minimal rights, rather than giving each group certain rights and perpetuating the popular tendency towards cultural assimilation. I found the contrast to Mr. Carrasco interesting: while he wanted to work through government institutions to achieve a wider acceptance of Islam, Mr. Qamhiyeh sought to achieve this by working on the social level with the younger generations. As I would later learn, the two people represent very different groups: Mr. Qamhiyeh’s mosque is comprised primarily of lower-class Moroccan immigrants, while Mr. Carrasco’s group works with middle- and upper-class Spanish converts. Following my interview with Mr. Qamhiyeh, I met with Zakaría Maza, the Imam of the Mezquita del Temor de Allah, a larger mosque near the merchants’ area on Caldería

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Nueva street. He spoke of a “spiritual anxiety” among the general population caused by the “failure” of the Church: “Society permits drugs” among youth. “Western culture is conflicted by materialism.” He “wanted something authentic,” and found this in the religion brought back from people who had visited Muslim nations. For him, conversion – a “radical change” – inaugurated a “new phase of life.” His goal as Imam is to “create a society where people don’t need to steal,” emulating the original Muslim community and providing for a “healthy diet” of Islam.

He wants to use this ideal and the peace

between peoples it created as the vehicle for creating a community of “Muslim Spaniards.” Unfortunately, according to Mr. Maza, the Spanish state has made it difficult to establish a minority community. Regarding primary education, he asserted that the state didn’t want teachers in Islam; rather it wanted to assimilate students. He connected it to a larger failing of its cultural policy, which he found to be “hypocrisy,” for it “does not consider the mosque a place of worship” like a church. It “censures” historical books and allows the “falsification of history.” I was unable to determine exactly how the current government was falsifying history, although Rosa Rodríguez, the longtime Granadan I was staying with, speculated that he was referring to the Franco-era teaching of a narrow interpretation of Spanish history that virtually ignored the contributions of its Islamic kingdoms. Mr. Maza spoke of a mystical, spiritually focused interpretation Islam that I suspected might not appeal to all Muslims. Like Mr. Qamhiyeh, he wanted to present Islam as an alternative lifestyle to mainstream secularism and materialism that he saw pervading Spanish society. I could begin to see several important themes coalescing: the failure of the government for

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reasons structural or cultural, the appeal to Islam as an alternative lifestyle, the importance of the younger generation and the need for the equality of religions. Another component of my research involved a survey of the educational textbooks at the library of the University of Granada’s School of Education. Analyzing the texts offered insight into the moral philosophy underlying Religious and Ethicsvi classes, highlighted the values guiding Spain’s national cultural policy and provided a glimpse into an important influence of the granadino mindset. Although textbooks, like any other cultural artifact, are the result of numerous decisions opaque to the reader of the finished product and a product of their time and social context, their themes and patterns indicate areas of importance to the authors and sponsors. What mattered to me is that they were the official ‘approved’ texts in use in present-day schools. The central goal of the primary-level Ethics textbook Learning to Live was to impart the means to happiness: “True happiness is not in having video games…the true happiness is in health, friendship, caring, the possibility of helping and of joining with others in the enjoyment of nature.”7 The strategy of teaching morals by promising the goal of lasting happiness draws on the central principle of cognitive behavioral therapy, that thoughts cause particular positive and negative feelings and that the key to happiness is to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.8 Another textbook series invokes the social necessity of morality and a balance between universalism and relativism9. Both books appeal to personal necessities, corresponding to the second through fourth (of five) on Abraham Maslow’s famous ‘Hierarchy of Needs.’

Happiness corresponds to

“love/belonging,” the third level, and “esteem,” the fourth, promising that the need for vi

Ostensibly, a class in Ethics (non-sectarian civics and training in moral inquiry) is an option to Religion (which amounts to a heavy dose of Catholic doctrine). However, many of the people I interviewed said that Ethics was never taught in public schools.

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“love and affection”10 and “self-esteem.”11 Social acceptance invokes, on a primitive level, fear of isolation and chaos12 and desire for a structured, orderly world.13 While these textbooks assume that students are religious, they skillfully avoid invoking the tropes of any particular religion. However, because of this, they avoid discussing themes of self-actualization and self-transcendence that comprise much of the literature of moral philosophy.vii Ethics textbooks emphasize the practice of religion as a value, which, although explicitly avoiding an endorsement of Catholicism, implies support for it as the majority religion. “Nonreligious human nature of the present descends from previously religious human nature,”14 proclaims one textbook. The emphasis on Catholicism is subtle but ubiquitous: in The Moral Life (1995) monotheism is presented as the standard for religion, and the only two images of Islam are a mihrab and the Ayatollah Khomeini. The textbooks for Religion, in contrast, were dominated by appeals to religiosity: “There is no doubt that the knowledge of the religious thing is generator of values and attitudes for the development of the personality and the social integration.”15 However, the focus quickly shifts from explaining the necessity of religion in modern-day society to the particularities of Catholic doctrine. With a survey of the New Testament comes a strong message about the role of the Church in society, past and present. The two textbook genres indicate two corresponding traditions: one secular, leading to the relatively unfulfilling pursuit of worldly happiness, and one religious, guiding students towards a life of faith and reverence. However, neither presents a balanced view of the fundamental texts of modern moral philosophy.viii This failure to address critical issues of identity and morality from a neutral perspective is a possible cause of the ambiguity felt by Granadans vii

Except when applied to politics in order to inform the creation of a moral society. Although it must be remembered that these are primary and secondary textbooks, the text is quite transparent to the underlying philosophy. viii

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toward their culture and history and of the polarizing vacuum that pervades issues of multiculturalism. Textbook reform can be the vanguard of Spain’s addressing its own issues with cultural identities. However, first, it must thoroughly exposing the implicit partialities embedded within the present texts. Although no textbook is without its controversy over bias and misinformation, I thought that the Spanish textbooks should have better explained the tenets of Islam so that students could understand the religion as a legitimate way of life, rather than a mysterious and distant presence. Textbooks should engage in general discussions about sacrality and the importance of ritual without necessarily privileging those of any particular group. Although they could use somewhat broader curricular horizons, the Catholic textbooks function well in instructing Catholic students; however, to be useful, parallel curricula should be developed for Spain’s religious minorities (including Jews and Protestants) so that all students learn the same ethical lessons. I briefly met with Dr. Rafael López Guzmán, Professor of Art History at the University of Granada. He saw the city’s religious dualism as a defining characteristic: “Rome and Islam constructed the city.”ix Mudéjarx art comprises an integral element in the city’s architecture. The cathedrals, he noted, are really just transformed mosques, and many of the traditions, social norms, and forms of conduct result from what he called a “cultural synchronism.” Walking back home afterwards along the Gran Vía del Colón, I observed how the modern city created space for both legacies: to my left, the shops along Elvira and Caldería Nueva streets bustled with activity, selling handcrafted wares imported from Morocco and the Middle East; to my right, behind the main cathedral, the ix

“Rome” referred to the Catholic Church, rather than the Roman Empire. “Mudéjar” is the term for both the Moors living in Catholic kingdoms after the reconquista and the art style they perpetuated, which combined Islamic forms with contemporary European designs. Mudéjars were converted to Christianity in the sixteenth century became Moriscos. x

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modern shopping center, replete with the most fashionable brands and glamorous stores, sprawled westward. Each side drew inspiration from the other: the shopping center’s narrow streets echoed those of the Albaicín, while the numerous restaurants along Elvira Street have adapted to the modern tourist economy, advertising their specialties and offering multilingual menus. Reflecting on this conjunction, I remembered something Dr. López Guzmán had said, that only Granadans can inherit their city’s past. That evening, I met with Mohamed el-Hadat of Mediadores Interculturales, which monitors and prevents religious discrimination by arbitrating disputes between groups. He acknowledged the magnitude of the problem, which involved the concepts people use to understand society. Although there is no xenophobia, there is fear. Granada’s Muslims, 4% of the population, are marginalized because they do not participate in civic life. To alleviate these complex problems, his group looks for points in common to begin the mediation. Often the “mediator is the translator” between different perspectives. The ultimate goal is cooperation: if everyone doesn’t work together, they all eventually lose out. In this way, the group’s reaction to a situation can begin to build connections. He commented that the Ayuntamiento (municipal government) does not have much contact with smaller organizations such as his. It also doesn’t understand the complex struggles facing immigrants as they try to establish themselves in a community, pursue employment, and secure legal residency.

Greater civic organization among the

immigrants and with the general community is needed to prevent further segregation. Reflecting on the day’s interviews, I found it interesting that Mr. El-Hadat and Dr. López Guzmán held quite different views regarding the progress of relations between Islam (and Muslim community) and the Spanish government. Looking back over 30

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years of democratic development and nearly a century of changes in Spanish historiography, Dr. López Guzmán observed how Granadans’ conception of Spain as an exclusively Catholic country was being replaced by a more pluralistic understanding that accords to each monument or artwork its unique genealogy. In contrast, Mr. El-Hadat saw how a burgeoning immigrant population and the municipal government’s inability to mediate conflicts could allow the perpetuation of negative stereotypes and an increase in antagonism and disjuncture. It seemed to me that in different ways, each was correct: although the ‘official’ government perspective was one of multiculturalism and tolerance, its incapacity or unwillingness to change social norms to create a more open and accepting atmosphere has allowed continued discrimination. In order to understand the network of social service organizations that have reached out to the Moroccan immigrant community, I next met with Charo de Gorostegui of Granada Acoge, which provides legal and occupational services and has created a thriving support network. Ms. de Gorostegui estimated that there are approximately 9000 documented and 4000 undocumented immigrants in Granada, most of whom are young and recently arrived. In analyzing the challenges they face, she noted several prominent trends. First, there is marked “cultural racism” in the hiring of immigrants: employers tend to favor Ecuadorians over Moroccans due to the perception of cultural affinity, and the former enjoy a higher quota of residency permits. Second, numerous instances of racism indicate how entrenched the problem is: “it is very difficult to change dispositions.” Third, Spaniards’ unwillingness to take low-wage jobs, particularly in the agricultural sector, has created an “ethnic labor segmentation” of the work force. Unfortunately, the Spanish state does not have a clear policy or a political will to prepare

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Because national administrations can change every four years, they react to

immediate situations rather than dedicating themselves to creating what is needed for lasting institutional change.

The Andalusian government, Ms. de Gorostegui, must

“create bases of services for immigrants,” offering information, legal counseling and employment opportunities.

To achieve this, pressure must come from the general

population, which must be informed of both the true nature of immigration and the different ways the government can improve the situation. Out of their small office, Granada Acoge acts primarily as a resource bank for immigrants, distributing information about housing, employment, health services and legal protection. It connects recent immigrants to established communities, and organizes new groups. Finally, Granada Acoge raises awareness among Granadans of the problems of discrimination and marginalization. However, I found that perhaps their most valuable function was their weekly social teas, attended by immigrants, volunteers and other Granadans. I came to the tea that evening and was impressed by the event’s ability to create a space of safety and relief and facilitate the creation of strong connections between disparate individuals.

Lively discussions unfolded in several languages

(Spanish, French, Arabic and probably Berber) between classes, age groups and ethnicities. I chatted with teenagers about soccer, charity networks with a volunteer and politics with Moroccan students, the latter of which consisted of them thoroughly and incisively grilling me about the various idiosyncrasies and peccadilloes of American politics and foreign policy. The tea connected all of Granada Acoge’s other services by helping immigrants learn the language and culture, giving Granadans contact with real people and encouraging constructive and proactive dialog. It gave participants the

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opportunity to take a primary role in shaping a hybrid Moroccan-Spanish identity that serves as a point of cultural unity for immigrants, a reference point for Spaniards to understand them and a unique foundation for the construction of a community. I was extremely impressed with Granada Acoge’s ability to mobilize resources to identify and solve the most pressing issues facing Granada’s immigrant population. Their pragmatic, hands-on approach contrasted with larger cultural organizations that I visited, such as Fundación Legado Andalusí (Andalusian Legacy Foundation), which receive significant corporate and government sponsorship to put on special programs that highlight particular aspects of Islamic culture or Muslims’ contributions to Andalusian life.xi Although the programs teach a great deal in dynamic and appealing ways, often through a high-tech medium (for example, with an interactive web interface), they do not attempt to address the difficulties expressed by Granada’s Muslim population. Although in their glossy (often bilingual) prospectuses, they claim as a goal building mutual cultural literacy, their methods are highly ineffective in this, for it is unlikely that isolated exhibits and school programs have the power to change popular sentiment. Reading through the carefully-designed brochures, which contrast in format and style with Granada Acoge’s no-nonsense statistics and realist analyses, I thought that a better strategy for increasing intercultural understanding would be to discuss Islamic culture today, perhaps even highlighting the traditions of the Moroccans in order to erase the ‘Moro’ characterization from the popular mindset. Later that day, I discussed the nature of the Granadan Muslim community with El Hadji Ahradou Faye of the Andalusia chapter of SOS Racismo, an NGO that combats xi

For example, I attended an excellent exhibit entitled “El Jardín Andalusí” (The Andalusian Garden) organized by Fundación de Cultura Islámica (Islamic Culture Foundation) that explored the Moors’ employment of a wide variety of plants in their gardens. It was fascinating but completely unrelated to any of the issues facing present-day Granada or Spain.

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political and labor discrimination by documenting it, denouncing it to the press, researching causes and making recommendations to municipal and regional authorities. The organization works directly with the Ayuntamiento to develop specific strategies, such as intercultural education programs for youth. The chapter itself is of the same scale and composition as Granada Acoge. According to Mr. Ahradou, the primary divisions in the Muslim population of Granada are between converts and Moroccans and between Sufis and non-Sufis. Some mosques are members of the umbrella organization FEERI (Federación Española de Entidades Religiosas Islámicas), others not. Combined with the external financing that some mosques (such as the Grand Mosque of Granada) receive, these tensions have created significant divisions.

Complicating this dilemma is the

Spanish cultural policy of ‘assimilationism,’ which excludes immigrants by challenging their beliefs and imposing socioeconomic consequences to the maintenance of a Maghreb identity. Mr. Ahradou would like to see mosques be able to build the kind of relationship with the Ayuntamiento that Catholic churches currently enjoy, in which the government supports politically and financially the religious institution’s providing of basic social services. Discussions have always existed, but the government has always claimed that the Muslim community is not cohesive enough to present a unified front for negotiation. He would also like to see a liberalization of residency requirements and greater voting opportunities to allow immigrants to have a voice in their communities. He insisted that there exists a European Islam, and that the governments of Europe have the responsibility of providing for it. However, they must focus on political integration while respecting cultural differences. However, Muslims must also buy into this concept and accept its norms, which may conflict with those of their country of origin. I noticed that, as a

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human rights watchdog for Granada, Mr. Ahradou was in a unique position to call for reforms. However, I was struck by perception that although neither civil society leaders nor the government wanted discrimination, nobody had stepped forward with a unified plan to combat it.

Instead each group works towards tolerance without municipal,

regional or national coordination. It seems like this would be possible, accomplished through a coordinated campaign in public exhibits, curricular changes, newspaper columns, advertisements, etc. However, leaders would first need to determine the most effective course of action, which I would imagine would be a contentious conclusion. The next day, I returned to the University of Granada, to talk with Javier Rosón, a researcher at the Intercultural Studies Laboratory (LDEI). He echoed Mr. Ahradou’s observation of the numerous and profound differences separating the Spanish converts and the immigrants. First, each side claims to have a deeper and more legitimate understanding of Islam, which is complicated by the proliferation of Sufism among the converts. According to Mr. Rosón, the converts are more orthodox in their practices and more interested in establishing religious authority.

Second, each side has specific

concerns that does not relate to the other. While converts have spearheaded efforts to change the tone of the Día de la Toma, the immigrants don’t necessarily want to challenge the established tradition. The converts have tried to recover the Al-Andalus of myth, while immigrants simply want to establish themselves economically and socially. Third, each group remains so isolated from the other that it seems impossible that they could ever unify to create a single voice for Muslims in Spain, which would significantly enhance their effectiveness. Meetings between leaders do not facilitate dialog and the two major groups, FEERI and UCIDE (Unión de Comunidades y Islámicas de España),

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have been unable to unify under the banner of the Comisión Islámica de España. As SOS Racismo’s Mr. Ahradou notied, excluded from this struggle is the Senegalese community, who remain insular but marginalized. In reality, all Muslims in Spain face many common dangers, such as the threat of Día being used by extreme right-wing groups to perpetuate the “myth of fundamentalism” – the notion of Spaniards’ pure European ancestry. Both people suffer from discrimination caused by the public “visibility” of Islamic symbols such as the hijab. From this commonality, Mr. Rosón asserted, must come a new Spanish Muslim identity, replete with values, symbols and a support system of imams and community organizations. Regional and national governments have some responsibility for creating a social atmosphere to facilitate this: teachers must impart lessons in tolerance and parents, the primary source of children’s’ training and awareness, must correct mistakes and not condone discriminatory attitudes. Rather than allowing employers to hire other immigrants when Moroccans picket for higher wages, the government could intervene and establish labor contracts. I was impressed with the potential and ambition of the LDEI, which Dr. García chairs, to take a strong leadership position by making empirically-driven recommendations and acting as an outside observer and mediator of antidiscrimination and community-building programs.

The academic fields of

multicultural and immigration studies are certainly rich with useful theory, but they could benefit from a long-term case study such as Granada. However, in order to fulfill their potential as catalysts for change, LdEI members must be willing to move beyond the university’s ‘ivory tower’ and onto the streets to engage residents and convince them to buy into the process.

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That evening, I met with members of the Moroccan Students Association of the University of Granada, whose work highlights important issues facing the community. The university currently hosts 2000 Moroccan students, 90% of whom study in the School of Pharmacy in the hopes of using their Masters degrees to pursue a career in the burgeoning pharmaceutical industry back home. Unfortunately, the university does not have many services to accommodate foreign students: it is difficult to get residency cards, and credits do not easily transfer between Morocco and Spain. Because Morocco has no consulate in Andalusia, the students could not obtain the residency papers necessary to find employment. The students formed the association to assist others in finding services and to help the university administration to better accommodate the Moroccan student population.

According to the members, Moroccan students feel alienated and

disconnected from the Granadan community. The lack of on-campus housing means that they live scattered throughout the city in apartments. University students arrive with stereotypes, creating an atmosphere of division. Each objects to particular elements of the other’s culture: Spaniards do not accept veiling, and Moroccans disapprove of drinking. Although Granadans welcoming, they exhibit a tendency to classify people without recognizing it.

At the same time, many Moroccans find their values and

experiences in conflict with each other; lessons from home do not match their perceptions. Political attitudes add another layer of friction. Modern-day youth receive a great deal of information from television, which, as the members pointed out, refers to Al Qaeda as ‘Islamic.’ The unpreparedness of the Spanish government to teach about Islam and ensure the dissemination of accurate information about global politics has created

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fear among people of a cultural clash. The members perceive Spain as ‘assimilationist’ rather than as willing to integrate ethnic, religious and geographic minorities into its society (‘España pura’ as one member called it). The members would like to see real commitment to change at all levels: “we don’t want Kleenex policy.” Granada benefits from the money that students bring to the city, but without a way to pursue legal employment, the students find life very difficult. Working with ATIME, the Moroccan workers’ union, the association seeks to actively combat discrimination on campus and in Granada by creating discussion and intercultural programs. The members saw France’s foreign student policy, which recognizes students’ need to work, as superior to that of Spain. I enjoyed speaking with the association members, who were hopeful of the future and seemed willing to work through intercultural issues in Granada. Learning about the social atmosphere at the University of Granada, I was struck by the great contrast with the great lengths taken by American universities to create an open and accepting campus environment. Although the University was immense, departments were distributed in a European style throughout the city. However, even the Cartuja complex, which contained the central humanities building several schools, seemed to lack any sense of community; its purpose was entirely educational and was built on a steep hill, precluding any common spaces such as the ubiquitous American campus quad.

Although many buildings

contained cafeterias, there were no student centers or places for congregation. This lack of functional public space discourages meaningful contact between students of different origins, which might lead to the ongoing public dialog and interpersonal exchange necessary to defuse tensions and overcome stereotypes.

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My most interesting interview was with three Moroccan immigrants at another Granada Acoge tea. Each was in their early twenties; one had spent six years in Spain, another one year and the third, six months. They said that they were in Spain exclusively to find a job and earn money. Spain presents them with a thorny Catch-22: although other countries offer better rights, services and community, Spain has the best employment opportunities and the lowest cost of living. If they could obtain money and residency papers, they would move elsewhere because they don’t feel comfortable in Spain: “people say to others, ‘I don’t want to work with Moroccans’,” and people in Almería (a neighboring province) react to women who wear the hijab. They acknowledged that Spaniards exhibit a “difference in mentality” “when they know we’re Arab.” They find that “half of the things [Spaniards learn] are lies,” such as that the Alhambra was ‘improved’ by Christians. When I asked what the Alhambra means to them, they said that it is very difficult to accept the Islamic monument a commercialized tourist attraction. However, although “no [adult] Spaniard wants a foreigner to enter their county,” youth are more accepting. They are disheartened by incidents of discrimination, but they see it as part of the reality of immigrant life in Spain. Even though jobs exist in Spain, the country’s economic policies make it difficult to earn a living: employers are not legally bound to pay fair wages, and every change in national administration brings unpredictable changes in the Foreigner’s Law (Ley de Extranjero), which governs immigration. Because there is no Moroccan embassy outside Madrid, it is expensive and logistically difficult for them to begin the residency application process. Spaniards only want to speak Castilian, creating an often-insurmountable hurdle. Besides better rights protections, they would like to see improved access to health services: when the Red

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Cross finds out they are immigrants, they leave. Unfortunately, I see them facing an uphill battle to find both their citizenship and acceptance in Spain.

Regarding

participation in established Muslim communities, the immigrants said that the groups within the mosques are only for Spanish Muslims, not Moroccans. They find that the Eid-al-Adha (Fiesta del Cordero) is particularly difficult to celebrate. I asked about which community they most identify with, hoping that they would describe themselves in hyphenated terms (e.g. African-Spaniard). However, because they see Spain as simply a transitional location, they do not identify with the area or its people and describe themselves as Muslims and Moroccans who happen to be currently living in Spain. Later that evening, I spoke with Lahsen el-Himer, the imam of the Mezquita Omar. located in an unassuming retail space in the city’s middle-class northwest, and president of the Islamic Community of Granada, a “religious entity” that is “more than a mosque”: it seeks to Islamic create spaces for students and families. His overall goals are to create a space for participation in Islamic life and to demonstrate that coexistence and tolerance is possible. The Community belongs to the national umbrella federation of UCIDE, whose goal is to provide an intellectual culture for students and workers. It does not receive funding from the government, though Mr. el-Himer said that he had good contacts within the government. He creates programs on a case-by-case basis, putting on a Muslim festival at a local high school, although he would like to expand them to a regional level. When I brought up the political contrast between France and England, he spoke of the necessity of integration rather than assimilation.

Unfortunately, the

application of laws of religious equality depends on the political will. Current Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has the political will to negotiate with the Islamic

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federations, but there should be a solution that does not depend on politicians. Some of this will depend on the ability of Muslims to maintain their values while contributing in the development of the society. They must work together despite differences in the interpretation of religious precepts because, ultimately, they seek the same end: to create space for cultural development and participation. I found it interesting that although each imam spoke of coexistence and tolerance, such a marked divide exists within the Muslim community.

It would seem that the leaders, who seemed very personable and

conciliatory, should be able to overcome religious differences or a rivalry for the legitimate claim to Andalusia’s Islamic past and aim towards the shared goals of greater recognition of Islam and the expanded delivery of services and protections. However, it seemed to me that the Spanish converts, observing the popular trepidation over the possibility of Moroccan immigration, want to carve out a niche in the nation’s social consciousness as ‘real’ Spaniards who happen to practice Islam. While this may have allowed them to gain prominence within the Spanish polity, it has made political unification and coordination difficult. To better understand the nature of the Spanish public education system, I sought an interview with a representative of the autonomous community’s education department. Upon arriving in Granada, I initially contacted their local office to inquire about meeting with the coordinator of Islamic education. I found that none of the staff had heard of the November 9, 2004 announcement that in January 2005 Spain would begin teaching classes in Islam would be taught on the mainland.xii16 I eventually ascertained through extensive telephone inquiries to Madrid that the Religious Affairs Department of the

xii

Spain offers classes in Islam in Ceuta and Melilla, two small patches of territory in North Africa surrounded by Morocco in which a large percentage of citizens practice Islam.

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Justice Ministry, whose director, Mercedes Rico-Godoy, announced the classes, had not communicated this to the Ministry of Education and Science, which directs educational policy. As I later learned, such pronouncements are regularly offered like appeasements; the reality is that the national government has not fulfilled a promise made in 1996 to fully support Islamic education. I spoke with Javier Botrán, the Director of IES (Instituto de Educación Secundaria). For children who do not speak Spanish, 10 hours per week of language immersion is offered. Madrid hires professors based on the annual education budget, and the individual schools have no control over the process except to negotiate with the Junta de Andalusia based on specific student needs.

However, the main problem is that

teachers are hired to fill shortages in classroom hours rather than gaps in knowledge. Since all professors teach 18 hours per week, some end up teaching subjects outside their field of expertise, such as religion. In this particular subject, Mr. Botrán emphasized, all students attend classes in “religious cultures” and ethics (see discussion above), and a class in Catholicism is optional. Other religious classes, he said, do not function because the students are not motivated. I later spoke with José Manuel Palma of the IES Cartuja, a middle school in the northern area. In theory, he said, when a student matriculates, a class should be offered in his or her religion. The reality is that teachers are not requested. Rather, the state decides whether to hire a religion teacher. Catholic students can attend a class on their religion. However, while the class is optional, there are no educational alternatives – the only other activity is study help. Intercultural activities are part of all curricula, and the parents’ association helps create activities.

This interview confirmed for me the

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incontrovertibility of the connection between the educational administrative structure and the lack of classes in Islam. Whether a particular will towards discrimination drove the desire for status quo or whether it was simply a case of bureaucratic inertia, the centralization of educational policy deprived those best equipped to respond to demographic changes – the directors of primary and secondary public schools and municipal educational officials – the ability to implement solutions. However, if the Spanish government were to decentralize educational planning, it would need to strengthen local alliances between government, social organizations and research institutions in order to prevent a tyranny of the majority. One of my final interviews was with Malik Ruíz, the president of the Grand Mosque. Ironically, although he maintains the most public presence of any of Granada’s Muslim leaders, he was the most difficult to reach: I had to submit credentials and draft a letter explaining by background and intentions. The first modern Islamic communities in Andalusia, including the current group in Granada, were begun in the 1970’s by members of the Murabitun.17 Among the sect’s set of beliefs is that all Muslims should abandon their nations’ currencies in favor of the Islamic dinar to “challenge the hegemony of the US dollar.”18 Although the influence of the founders’ extremism has long since faded, 19 their vision of Islam as the spiritual solution to the secularism sweeping Western Europe20 has continued to inspire mosque leaders. Completed with funding from Libya, Morocco and Gulf monarchies21 after a twenty-year struggle to secure the stunning location in the Albayzín, it stands as a dramatic assertion that Islam is in Spain to stay. Although he asserted that the Grand Mosque was founded on the model of an “open mosque,” the impression I received from speaking with others was that the mosque primarily served

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converts (Mr. Ruíz himself converted in 199222). He spoke of an articulation of an existing European-Muslim identity, which suggested that the Grand Mosque converts are trying to assume a leadership role in the development of Spain’s Islamic policy, a move that could empower members of the group in the short term, but might deleteriously impact immigrants, who could become outcasts within their already marginalized community. I left the brief and painstakingly scheduled interview a bit frustrated, as we had managed to gloss over the Grand Mosque’s major controversies (such as its location) and accusations leveled against it (such as it not being very welcoming to Moroccans). Given Mr. Ruíz’s national and international prestige, I doubt he would have admitted or addressed them in a balanced manner.

Certainly, his denials of a division between

converts and immigrants were contradicted by my interviews with other leaders and by the conclusion of Liliana Suárez-Navaz, that “many [immigrants] dispute the ‘authenticity’ of Spanish converts as leaders of the Islamic community of Granada.”23 I concluded that although the Grand Mosque creates an ‘official’ center for Islam in Granada that helps establish the community’s presence, its attempt to position itself as the official representative (much in the way a cathedral would eclipse all other churches) could cause future difficulties. Walking home from my final day of interviews, I reflected on the depth and complexity of the issues facing Granada and its Muslim community.

My original

research concept – to investigate classes in Islam – turned into a sociological journey through the profound complexities of the politics of identity and a political study of the challenges of immigration to Southern Europe. Clearly, the history of the city has helped shape present granadino attitudes, particularly the discrimination expressed by many of

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my Muslim interviewees. The transformation of Granada into a tourist destination has made its Islamic past suddenly appealing (and profitable), but many questions remain about the veracity of its historical remembrance and the ulterior motives of those involved in it. Larger and more divisive issues such as the role of religion in the Spanish public sphere and the claim to the legitimate inheritance of the city’s Islamic heritage. Each merits a thorough exploration, for the answers will have not only lasting consequences for the societies of Granada and Spain, but also an impact on the definitions such global constructions as ‘Christendom’ and ‘the Islamic world’ and ‘the West’. While Granada remains a thoroughly Catholic city, associations such as LDEI and Granada Acoge have created important opportunities for underrepresented groups, such as the city’s Muslim community, to make their voices heard. However, as the problems of public education illustrate, significant challenges lie ahead on the path to integration and multiculturalism. However, unlike many other European countries, Spain possesses a rich and proud Islamic history. Muslim rule from the 711 landfall of the Umayyads to the 1492 capitulation of the Nazaris was characterized by the spirit of convivencia, in which each of the religious communities was allowed to establish its own laws. Reaching through layers of interpretation to access this past provides the basis for this process.

GRANADA’S MULTILAYERED PAST The city’s past offers important cultural categories and concepts for defining Spanish multiculturalism. However, they are often hidden beneath the standard Spanish

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history that casts Christian warriors, namely Rodrigo (El Cid) and the Catholic Kings as heroes and Muslims, such as Tariq and Boabdil,xiii as adversaries. This story, authored by nineteenth- and twentieth-century historians and taught throughout the Franco period 24, that has most profoundly influenced modern-day granadino perspectives on Muslims, Islam and the city’s Moorish heritage. However, it does not tell the complete story, and by removing layers of interpretation it is possible to understand the ways in which the city’s past can shape its present identity. Moorish rule saw a flowering of civilization along the Guadalquivir River. Governance stemmed from a cultural policy of convivencia (‘coexistence’) of religious tolerance that encouraged minorities to take active roles in civic life. 25 Although the Umayyads attempted to create a kingdom equivalent to the one they lost in Damascus (hence their later use of ‘Caliphate’), in reality the land was a rich, dynamic cultural meting pot, best exemplified by Córdoba’s Grand Mosque (begun in 786), “a rich amalgam of Roman, Visigothic, Byzantine and Syrian Islamic architectural and ornamental ideas, some imported to Iberia from abroad, and others observed locally.” 26 Their distinctive style

exemplifies the artistic wealth of the region’s Golden Age.

Elements of this style were integrated into subsequent buildings, reaching into the twentieth century, indicates the centrality of Moorish designs to the local identity. Moreover, as Robin Totton notes, the fandango style of flamenco,27 particularly the granaina,28 can be traced back to Moorish dance forms. Ruggles points out that the mothers of future Umayyad rulers were often Berber, Frankish or Basque.29 The region’s prosperity as a global center of agriculture production and trade generated great wealth xiii

The last Emir of Moorish Granada, called Muhammad XI (sometimes Muhammad XII) by European sources and Abu Abdullah by Arabic sources, the latter of which became corrupted into the current moniker Boabdil.

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for the Umayyad rulers, allowing them to develop their cities into some of the world’s foremost artistic and intellectual capitals. Dr. Carmen Trillo San José, Professor of Arabic Studies at the University of Granada, described the use of Moorish irrigation techniques after Andalusia’s conquest and subsequent sociopolitical restructuring. In many cases, the old techniques have survived to the present day simply because they are the most effective. However, 19th- and early 20th-centrury historians rejected much of the period’s actual history, preferring to craft a tale of subjugation and moral decay and infusing into Spanish historical remembrance a “‘Thousand-and-One Nights’ atmosphere,”30 reflecting their own Orientalism rather than accurately characterizing Umayyad rule as decadent. For example, Washington Irving’s The Alhambra captures this folkloric mystique attached to that building,31 and the book’s commercial success ensured the proliferation of this image throughout Europe and the United States, even though it was a work of pure fiction.

That today’s landmark buildings of Andalusia (Córdoba’s Umayyad Grand

Mosque, Seville’s Almohad Giralda, Málaga’s Hammudid Alcazaba and Granada’s Nazari Alhambra) were largely constructed under the reign of Islamic rulers highlights the power of the legacy of the era. In the collective Spanish memory, the reconquista, the retaking of Iberia by Christian forces began with the minor Second Battle of Covadonga in 722, not chronicled until two centuries later but glorified today as the “cradle of the reconquest.” 32 In this remembrance, the reconquista acts as a counter-narrative to that of convivencia and the Islamic dynasties, creating a linear historical narrative out of a protracted series of battles whose causes and outcomes depended on a wide variety of factors such as the political

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stability of each side.xiv Two central beliefs anchor the general theory of a linear historical progression: that the Reconquest completely reshaped the demographics of the Iberian Peninsula and that “pure” Spaniards descend only from the Catholic conquerors. However, both are refuted by historical modern DNA evidence.33 The Reconquest culminated in La Toma de Granada (Taking of Granada), the Catholic Kings’ capture of the city. The moment of the city’s fall, on the morning of January 2, 1492, marks a momentous historical turning point not only for the city, but also for the course of world events. Although the Emirate, isolated on the Iberian Peninsula and well beyond the extent of the Ottoman Empire’s ability to help, was doomed, the final capture, marking the triumphant end of the 770-year reconquista, was meticulously planned and personally executed by Ferdinand and Isabella. This event is celebrated annually in the Fiesta del Día de la Toma de Granada, one of the most lavish of the archetypical “Moros y Cristianos” celebrations. In the drama, The Moorish king presents himself as the legal heir to the last Muslim ruler of the kingdom of Granada. The Christian leader invokes the Heart of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary for help, whereupon an angel is sent to him as an ambassador from Heaven. The Moorish king on his turn invokes Muhammad and is helped by Lucifer.34 This supernatural alignment invokes a recurrent theme in sixteenth-century literature (e.g. Torquato Tasso’s 1575 Crusader epic Jerusalem Delivered) of a European army demolishing its Islamic foe thanks to divine intervention on the side of the “righteous”. Consequently, in Granada’s reenactment, “The Moors are defeated and submitted symbolically by conversion to Catholicism…The pageant shows the victory of the [good Christians] over the [evil Moors], thus tying the destiny of the Spanish people to a heroic xiv

During this period the various Christian kingdoms fought with each other at least as often as they fought with Muslim forces. With few exceptions (such as the decisive Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa), the Reconquest was actually quite sporadic and military progress as much on the gradual crumbling of Moorish authority as the expansion of Christian power.

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and cosmic cause.”35 The drama of the historical moment, its ready identification of the expelled Moors as the barbarous ‘other’ and usage of Catholic tropes have helped to enshrine the narrative as a Spanish myth of origin. Steeped in a nonwestern culture and the longtime source of opposition to the Christian kings, “Granada long housed a particularly fluid and dynamic frontier society distinct from the more established social orders of many of Spain’s other major cities.”36 Although these celebrations are an old tradition throughout Andalusia, the twentieth-century promotion of the linear narrative has coincided with an increased popularity. In Granada the reenactment has become quite controversial in recent years, prompting the municipal government in 2004 to simultaneously stage a ‘Festival of the Cultures’ as an overtone-free celebration of the city’s entire history and heritage. The 2005 celebration provoked a heated exchange in the local opinion pages throughout the subsequent week. As Spanish rule consolidated the Iberian Peninsula under a unified church and state governance, local authorities made a conscious effort to marginalize and control its Muslim population and to recast the city as a properly Christian city. At the turn of the sixteenth century mass baptisms occurred in Granada. While its mudéjars, the Muslims living under Christian rule who comprised the “overwhelming majority”37 of the population, were forced to become moriscos, or converted Muslims, the sixteenth century saw increasingly severe attempts to solve “the Morisco problem,”38 culminating in their 1609 expulsion, following their condemnation by Philip III as “the most obstinate of their evil sect.”39 Opposition to the Moriscos served to strengthen the power and legitimacy of the Spanish crown: “political imperatives of the infant central state developing in Spain tipped the balance against the Moriscos. These people represented a common enemy or

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‘counteridentity’ that could serve all the different Christian people in this polyglot empire”40 The “ideology that transformed difference into deviance, beliefs into threats”41 tied racial opposition to imperial fervor, enshrining in the Spanish political psyche a false pride in European identity and fear of the Moorish ‘other’ that still powerfully resonates in the present day. According to historian Simon Doubleday, “since the conquest of Granada, Spanish identity has been based on a militant sense of difference from Islam,”42 and certainly it enjoyed no greater legitimacy and official recognition than during the 38-year rule of Francisco Franco, who infused his rhetoric with the language of reconquest and “demanded conformity in the form of national Catholicism.”43 During this period, “the ‘principle of nationality’ endowed the notion of citizenship with ethnic content whose peculiarity was that it is made invisible in relation to other purportedly less universal, more locally focused cultural identities designated as ‘ethnic groups’ or ‘cultural minorities’.”44 Historians of the age sought to find a biological difference between Europeans and Arabs that could explain the perceived differences in the level of civility: Although the Hispanic Christian and the Muslim agreed in maintaining the conscience of their person and of the world in around (en torno) in compact union, there was on the other hand a decisive difference; the direction of his vital interest incited the Arab to be invested in objects exterior to himself. In the Spaniard, the direction of the vital dynamism was the object of the person, by being thus the reality of its structure, of that gist that makes intelligible the history, and that I call vividura.45 These historians rejected attempts to create a continuous narrative, preferring to return to old concepts of discrete sections of Spanish history: “The integrationalism xv of Spaniards

xv

By integracionalismo, Castro means the tendency to look inward, studying only the history of one’s own civilization, rather than studying that of others.

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is not a simple projection of that of Muslims.”46. Moreover, as historian Maria Rosa de Madariaga notes, the participation of Moroccan troops in the 1936 Civil War on the Francoist side has been, to the best of my understanding, one of the factors most responsible for reviving and ingraining the image, already negative, of the “Moor” in the collective memory of the Spanish people.47 This ‘othering’ of Moors (and, by extension, all North Africans), led to a popular association of Catholicism with the Spanish national identity, a connection which greatly influences present-day civil society: “To all intents and purposes, Catholicism in Spain is still not so much a religion as the religion, and its pre-eminence has long been reflected in the unusually close ties between Church and state.”48 While these themes still remain, as I discovered, they have been tempered by the secularization of modernity. Although primary and secondary educational programs, which long reflected nationalist ideology, were modernized following the death of Francisco Franco, a vocal set of critics contend that “today’s young children have no idea what they are supposed to learn.” 49 Nationalism, “the concept of Spain [that] is based on the unquestionable assumption that the state is one single entity,”50 makes the historical narrative, which ends in the creation of the modern Spanish state, easy to teach. While much of the primary curriculum has changed to reflect a more objective and cosmopolitan perspective, the nationalist language remains dominant and continues to provide a context for popular social conceptions and norms.

TOWARDS A MULTICULTURAL GRANADA Chronicles of Spanish history, particularly those written around the sixteenth century, focus on events leading up to the capture of Granada. These texts portrayed the

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Moors in two lights: “on the ‘vilifying’ side, Moors are hateful dogs, miserly, treacherous, lazy and overreaching. On the ‘idealizing’ side, the men are noble, loyal, heroic, courtly – they even mirror the virtues that Christian knights aspire to.”51 Although the antiMuslim sentiment is fairly common (as exemplified by the 1430 Crónica Sarracina), particular elements of the more favorable characterizations remain a part of the modern remembrance. These descriptions, most often narrated as a secondary alternative to the dominant narrative of the reconquista, offer important historical elements that presentday leaders and groups such as LDEI could draw upon to create a more multicultural civic identity. The contradictory portrayals of Boabdil highlight the presence of multiple narratives and identify sources of identity for the present-day Muslims of Granada. Boabdil is commonly portrayed, with peculiar empathy, as a tragic hero, symbolic of everything forever destroyed by the sword of the conquering army. In writings by sixteenth century authors, the recurrence of melancholy attached to the remembrance of a fallen kingdom suggests a double layer to the granadino identity. Boabdil plays this role in Granada’s memory: that the meme of the “Moor’s last sigh”52 remains so strong in the city that celebrates the Día de la Toma speaks volumes about the profound depth of the Moorish legacy surviving beneath the reconquista narrative.xvi Even Washington Irving, the ultimate outside observer to Spanish culture, recognizes the weight of Boabdil’s tragedy in his historical fiction Conquest of Granada: “Their obstinate resistance, says an ancient chronicler, shows the grief with which the Moors yielded up the Vega, which was to them a paradise and heaven.”53 Boabdil’s quiet dignity contrasts with the muscularity projected by the Spanish crown.

xvi

Adding another dimension to the memory of Boabdil, the place at which he exhaled his final sigh has become a tourist destination (Puerto del Suspiro del Moro).

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Given these noble characteristics, how can the fallen king serve as a focus of identity and a source of strength? Strategies for remembrance can be elucidated by comparing him with Cuauhtémoc, the Aztec emperor of Tenochtitlán (Mexico City), who capitulated to the Spanish conqustador Hernán Cortésxvii on August 13, 1521, after a dramatic siege comparable to that of Granada. In the early years of colonial rule when the Spanish governed through puppet emperors, the native Mexicans Cuauhtémoc came to personify both the tragedy of the capture and the stoic heroism of remembrance. Today, “Cuauhtémoc represents the indigenous resistance against Cortés.” He is “the modern culture hero”54 who has undergone a complete “apotheosis” by followers of the “Cuauhtémoc cult.” Two similarities in these dramas enable the Mexican remembrance of their vanquished ruler to inform its Granadan counterpart. First, while the Christians-vs.-Others skits are frequently staged in both Andalusia and Mexico, in the latter the plays take on a more complex form and a moral ambiguity. In the uniquely Mexican manner of weaving disparate and seemingly contradictory elements into a narrative, the modern-day dances performed by indigenous communities, “[adaptations] of the Spanish tradition”55 of Moros y Cristianos, revel in double entendres and embedded subtexts: “although the names [of the characters in the dance] proclaim a Christian victory, the masks reveal a hidden transcript that speaks instead of the triumph of the Sun over pale-faced Spanish conquistadors.”56 “Cortés, if he appears at all is represented by Pilate, who wears the mask of the devil.”57 Although the Mexican remembrance takes a step beyond anything recorded in the literature on Granada by

xvii

Hernán Cortés (1485-1547) conquered the territory of modern-day Mexico for the Spanish crown. See below.

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creating a cycle in which the forces of Montezuma eventually prevail, the two narratives share a profound melancholy that colors the memory of subjugation. Second, the invocation of supernatural spirits haunting the landscape of their former kingdoms connects both tragedies: just as the specter of the fallen Aztec emperor haunts Valley of Mexico, Spaniards wait with anxiety for Boabdil to return to the site of his former glory.58 In fact, some observers today see immigration from Muslim nations as “Boabdil’s revenge”59. This image parallels the Mexican mythology of ‘Montezuma’s revenge,’ which long symbolized the colonial government’s worst nightmare of a peasant revolt.60 The structure of popular retellings of the Aztec dynastic cycles are anchored by the future return of “a king perhaps named Motecuhzoma,”61 a “messiahlike figure,” to “defeat the Spanish and initiate a new Indian hegemony.”62 Certainly the same revenge complex fuels the fictitious Mayan conquest of Spain that closes Fuentes’s novella63 and gives him opportunity to deliver his own interpretation of the conquest of the New World64. Author Ilan Stevens comments, “A famous legend in Mexico, ‘The Revenge of Moctezuma,’ suggests that if Hispanics are ever to regain control over their own destiny, it shall happen by infiltrating the aggressor’s terrain.”65

The imagery of the past,

particularly that of a powerful indigenous emperor, provides a focal point for asserting independence and strength. As in Granada, in Mexico Catholicism became superimposed over a powerful and resilient indigenous identity whose legitimacy was first recognized by chroniclers of the conquest. However, for Europeans, the indigenous identity held its own appeal: “They [the Indians] lived in a golden age: they did not know any measure for the land; nor [did they know] judges, nor laws, they did not know writing nor trade: they lived day by day

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and did not make plans for a longer period of time.”66 Much of the use of the concept of a primitive ‘golden age’ was meant to highlight the violence perpetuated by the Spanish soldiers67, whose conduct inaugurated the “Black Legend, in which the Christian principle was often invoked as the measure with which to judge and condemn the unquestionable cruelties perpetuated by the Spaniards in the New World.”68

This

romanticism of indigenous tranquilityxviii and its preservation through Christianized rituals meant that it could not easily be ignored or eliminated.

Nevertheless, for several

centuries, in colonial Mexico political and religious authority were virtually synonymous. A similar process took place in Granada. As Israel Burshatin notes, the “total domination over the Moor – the linking through teichoskopia, of metaphor and sword, the Moor as chattel and as romantic Other – is a key moment…in shaping the Spanish Orientalist tradition.”69 Spaniards needed to bestow upon the Moors qualities that made them a worthy opponent.

However, in doing so, they ended up creating a sympathetic

characterization that survived attempts to eliminate it. However, neither the Catholic identity nor its indigenous counterpart has prevailed in Mexico.

Rather, a hybrid identity borrowing from both traditions has

emerged. Philosopher Octavio Paz observes that “Mexicans…act like persons who are wearing disguises, who are afraid of a stranger’s look because it could strip them and leave them stark naked.”70 This character, which Paz calls the pachuco exists as an archetype within Mexican society whose “hybrid language and behavior represent a physic oscillation between two irreducible worlds – the North American and the Mexican – which he vainly hopes to reconcile and conquer.”71 Trapped between two great cultures,

xviii

Which is not altogether accurate; the empires of pre-Columbiuan Mexico rose and fell with great velocity.

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individuals are utterly alone in their struggle to discover their personal identity. Expelled through time or space from the geographic center of power, they struggle to make sense of the labyrinth of mystifying symbols in which they are trapped. In his attempt to reconcile the opposite realms, a hybrid identity emerges as a compromise between the two. The politically dominant identity functions only as an interface with society, while the oppressed native identity continues to shape the way individuals truly think. Thus, people with this identity can operate in the Catholic social sphere and its indigenous counterpart because of their familiarity with both systems of signs and symbols. However, Paz suggests that, in their hearts, Mexicans still hold faith in the native beliefs: Christianity condemns the world, while the Indian conceives of personal salvation only as a part of the salvation of society and the cosmos…nothing has been able to destroy the filial relationship of our people with the divine [that is, the Aztec panoply of gods].72 One can look for elements of this hidden identity by first weighing the relative importance of current rituals and searching for parallels in preconquest times.

Paz

skillfully dissects the lineage of the influential following of the Virgin of Guadalupe: It is no secret to anyone that Mexican Catholicism is centered around the cult of the Virgin…in the first place, she is an Indian Virgin…in the second place, the scene of her appearance…was a hill that formerly contained a sanctuary dedicated to Tonantzin, “Our Mother”…We know that the Conquest coincided with the apogee of the cult of two masculine divinities…The defeat of these gods…caused the faithful to return to the ancient feminine divinities.73 By aligning Catholic practice with indigenous beliefs and rituals, Mexicans took ownership of the religion by interpreting it and integrating it into existing customs and rituals, preserving elements of indigenous spirituality and cosmology while maintaining a certain level of Catholic piety.

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Could this process of conflict and eventual integration, well-documented and well-articulated in Mexico, be taking place in Granada? Clearly, some historical realities separate the two places, particularly the 1910-1917 Mexican Revolutionxix and subsequent 1926-1929 Cristero War,xx which led to the separation of religion from Mexican politics. However, the evolution of national identity has taken place on a much larger time scale, and although political developments matter in terms of the identities expressed by people at a particular time, it is very difficult to eliminate the concept of the identity. For example, although dictator Francisco Franco promulgated a nationalist identity that denied the people any connections to their Islamic heritage, the idea of Islam in Spain survived to be ‘re-discovered’ at the twilight of his rule. The politics of identity in Granada are subtle and complex, and the comparison with a better-articulated modern divided identity such as that of Mexico, can help illuminate the sources of contention and provide insight into the opportunities for reconciliation.

Why does multiculturalism matter? Although the exact nature of Spain’s cultural policy might seem an amorphous cultural category or a matter of semantics, it influences popular attitudes and politics, which in turn, directly affect minority groups such as the Muslim community. However, the economic and political realities of the twenty-first century mean that Spain can no longer afford to cling to a belief that it is ethnically or culturally homogenous; Spain will come to depend upon the contribution of its minority

xix

Sparked by a fraudulent election, it was fought primarily for control over farmlands. The primary result was the 1917 Constitution (still in effect), which guarantees extensive labor protections and the separation of church and state. xx Fought over controversial anticlerical measures initiated by the Mexican government, the war was ended by a pact that decreed that religious instruction would only be in churches, that the clergy could petition laws, that the church could control and manage its own properties.

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communities and will need to prove them constitutionally guaranteed services such as classes in Islam. First, to modernize Spanish society and prepare it for the economic and political realities of the twenty-first century, immigration must be accepted as a reality. Immigration from the Maghreb will be the reality for Andalusia in the twenty-first century. “Spain will need some 12 million foreign workers to sustain economic growth over the next 50 years, according to the government.”74 In the past, agricultural administration had tied class divisions into political rights, which excluded immigrants: Class solidarity among those who, in local terms, ‘honestly work the land with their own hands’ and local peasants’ utopia of equality and autonomy from outside forces were progressively displaced by a new ideological universe of impartiality and equality of citizens newly constituted before the law, under the aegis of a purportedly rational and neutral state. Left at the margins of this process were African immigrants, now categorized as foreign, disposable workers, racially and religiously marked; they had become ‘dangerous’ men, with no rights to settle down. Being categorized as ‘illegals’, their access to a shrinking welfare state was now seen as an illegitimate threat.75 “Spanish immigration policy has been characterized by Janus-faced discourses and measures on immigration issues.”76 Immigration law “produces and reproduces illegality and thus effectively criminalizes immigrants, yet simultaneously implicitly condones their presence” by not automatically deporting them upon their identification as such. 77 When I spoke with them, both the Moroccan students and immigrants conveyed their frustration with current policy, despite current rhetoric.

The perception of Spain as a

bridge to Europe is a both risky and unsustainable. In the short term, it could create the perception among North Africans that immigrating through Spain will allow them to shortcut other countries’ more restrictive barriers. In the long term, it might divert the Spain’s focus from creating a welcoming environment in which immigrants can settle, a

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necessary condition for maintaining a sufficient labor supply. “Spain’s legal framework… has been one of the main factors in the generation of ‘undocumented’ labour supply”; because immigrants cannot obtain an employment contract (required for entry) beforehand, they enter illegally.78 The EU-influenced concept of “Fortress Europe” and the “shift in the focus of the [policy] debate from immigration to ‘illegal’ immigration”79 reduces a normative discussion over policy into a polemical contest over principles. Second, although much progress has been made to teach tolerance, racism persists in Spain: when asked if they would expel Arabs from Spain if it were up to them, 26% of respondents answered affirmatively in 1993,80 compared with only 11% in 1986.81 In a 1993 survey of youth, the most visible products of cultural undercurrents,82 50% of respondents said that it would bother them to marry an Arab, a figure surpassed only by the long-marginalized Gypsies; but only 8% would feel the same about a European.83 In Granada, the growing local visibility of the ‘other', that awakes a historic hold and a refusal – by some of we will call muslimofobia, present in large sectors of granadino society, in which, basically the Moroccan immigration is being exploited to awake the old stereotypes of ‘poor, illiterate, quarrelsome, sexist, Moslems fanatic and intransigents, etc’ with the return of the ‘Moors of the coast.' This xenophobia anti-immigrant in general and the specific one of ‘Muslimophobia’ is confused in the media representation of culture and religion.84 Discrimination extends into the political realm as electoral campaigns mix political and cultural categories to appeal to voters. However, “the habitual question is, ‘will the immigrants integrate’, and never presented as “will we integrate with the immigrants?’”85 Although economic statistics indicate otherwise, Spaniards perceive that Moroccans are undercutting them in the race for employment, particularly in the low-wage agricultural

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sector.

Alan Cordova

Spain’s past use of Morocco and present use of Europe as a sociopolitical

reference point has helped create a polarized climate. In many places, peasants are thus embracing (European) citizenship as an identity category, fusing together ethnic loyalties and membership rights that depict Andalusians and ‘Moors’, or Europeans and Africans, as rivals. The labeling and criminalization of immigrants was thus part and parcel of the legitimization of social control and construction of modern legal subjectivities, which, in turn, perpetuated the stratified and segmented social structure of rural Andalusia.86 The combination of this economic discontent and latent prejudice can erupt unexpectedly into immense violence and chaos. Granada and other foci of immigration must keep in mind El Ejido, Almería, as a particularly severe example of the consequences of administrative inaction. The gateway to the winter farmlands of the province’s interior, El Ejido witnessed a dramatic population explosion due to massive immigration of foreign laborers, putting pressure on the civil infrastructure designed to serve a populace with one of Europe’s highest per-capita incomes.87 In February 2000, after a mentally ill Moroccan immigrant stabbed a Spanish woman, “local Ejidenses, allied with imported fascists, descended upon the Moroccans’ hovels,” burning, beating, and looting88. The conservative mayor, “secure in his local fiefdom”89, did nothing, and of the 50 arrests made after national police quelled the violence, only 16 were Spaniards90. “Associations involved with helping immigrants were targeted.”91 Although much of the tension in El Ejido comes from the economic pressures of the heavy agriculture in a desert environment, “the mutual distrust…seems to go deeper…and touch a hidden nerve. ‘You hear people say: ‘They’ve come to take our land’’, said [a local environmentalist].”92 The return to a primitive dichotomy of Moroccans and European Spaniards threatens opportunities for economic coordination and the development of support systems for the immigrant laborers Andalusian agriculture now depends on. “In

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the particular case of African Muslim immigrants, their cultural difference is constructed as a threat to the fundamental principles of modern liberal democracies.” 93 In order to avoid this bleak dystopia, regional governments must implement social sensitization and tolerance programs in order to prepare citizens for the realities of demographic changes. Fortunately, such solutions already exist in the form of programs offered by grassroots organizations, such as Granada Acoge’s brochure highlighting racially insensitive words and proper substitutes (see figure 1).

However, as I heard repeatedly from many

interviewees, the political will to undertake significant programs with difficult objectives and indeterminate outcomes simply does not exist presently in Spain. In my opinion, if fear of violence and chaos motivates people to anything, it should be towards engaging in strengthening intercultural dialog, monitoring discrimination and supporting a healthy local civil society network. In order to create a positive labor environment, curb racism and provide meaningful outlets for immigrant youth, Spain must make several important changes in its social policy. Although they are neither readily apparent nor quick fixes to problems in these three areas, they are ultimately necessary if Spain is to truly fulfill its role as a bridge between civilizations. First, it must move beyond relying on exhibits by cultural foundations for the crucial task of mass cultural reeducation. The first step is the development of general textbooks and curricula that specifically address the reality of Moroccan immigration rather than speaking in a broad and abstract manner about multiculturalism. Secondly, Spain must develop textbooks and other materials specifically for Muslims. The failure to properly equip and train teachers means that often “two education systems are created

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within the same school: one for native pupils and one for immigrant pupils, even though not all immigrant pupils need the same back-up to adapt to the education system.” 94 I would argue that secularism is not the best direction for Spain, as it would alienate the Catholic Church and necessitate a profound national soul-searching in order to find something to fill the gap left by faith. As the American experience with religion and public life has demonstrated, the balance between church and state is always contentious. Tariq Ramadan recommends local community engagement with the public schools “We might even contemplate a ‘school for parents’…with courses that provide basic information but also socialize fathers and mothers in the area of educational concerns.” 95 Furthermore, he argues, Islam must be taught independently, rather than as a subject in a curriculum: “The universality of the message of Islam is not adequately served by an intellectual hodgepodge through which students are supposed to acquire the tools they need to face the difficulties and to discover for themselves how to use them.”96 Just as Catholic textbooks integrate notions of social justice and order into lessons on doctrine and spirituality, lessons for Muslim students must draw on core religious and philosophical texts in order to reinforce the notion, expressed by numerous interviewees, of “Islam as a way of life.” Despite being dwarfed by the Catholic population, Muslim students deserve equal access to quality instruction and literature in schools.

The

question of deciding how the texts are interpreted should be left as open as possible so that each school can work with community groups to reach a consensus over its specific traditions. Beyond this, municipal governments could revisit the hidden subtext of events such as the Dîa de la Toma and Reyes Magos celebrations in the interest of presenting the

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events in their entirety. Beyond simply providing for political correctness, this conscious reexamination would set an example for inquiries into other areas of municipal cultural affairs. When setting economic policy, business and community leaders should take immigrants’ unique skills and needs into account in order to both protect them against marginalization and maximize their contribution to local wealth.97 To accomplish this, the national government must recognize that the key to addressing difficulties in providing social services is the inversion of present authority. Top-down governance, dominated by centralized authorities who frequently misunderstand local contexts, leads to situations similar to the that of the Albayzín, described to scholar Gunther Dietz by a social worker: There is no point of confluence among [Muslims], well, yes, their only point of convergence is Allah, they say, but I tell them ‘What’s Allah to do with this mess? Forget it!’ That’s why…they will never be able to achieve anything until…they strategically choose a common path, in order to become real counterparts of ours.98 This quote exemplifies the inevitable problems created when a large authority attempts to categorize and administer communities in which they lack direct experience. National government agencies must devolve authority, empowering local agencies to respond to changing demographics or social conditions. The changes implemented by Birmingham, England in the 1980’s might illuminate possible solutions for Granada and other cities with a large Muslim community. That city’s Muslim Liaison Committee brought together all major Muslim groups to draft a set of recommendations to the municipal education department, emphasizing community involvement in the educational process. At the conclusion of the yearlong process, the department issued a set of guidelines to its schools covering Muslim holidays, traditions and sensitivities.99 Rather than hand down

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arbitrary decrees or resign to letting chaos overtake order, the city government negotiated with major actors in a contractual and consensual manner, allowing the organizations to see their stake in the process. Granada could follow this example to ensure that each Muslim group had a voice in planning its cultural programs and policy. This process provides a modern alternative to traditional methods of political representation, such as petitioning, protesting or running for office, all of which are nullified by the Muslims’ relative demographic triviality and social marginalization. Second, however, rather than releasing all responsibility for creating an accepting social environment, the national government should reinforce local efforts by strengthening antidiscrimination laws. A study by the European Foundation concluded that although there are numerous examples of well-implemented laws, “policies to combat racial discrimination and promote equal treatment are not formulated at the various levels” of governance.100 Concurrently, Spain must reform its immigration laws to clarify divisions between residency and citizenship and to liberalize access to services. This legal ambivalence, likely derived from a multilayered historical identity, places immigrants in a precarious position between wanting to live and work in Spain and not being able to enjoy the privileges of legal residency. While the immigrants I spoke with at the Granada Acoge tea did not express fear of arrest or deportation, they were concerned about being the victims of racist attacks (many mentioned El Ejido). Regional authorities should adopt elements of successful reconciliation efforts: “A crucial element in the integration process was participation by all parties in civil affairs. Immigrants were considered social agents who should speak for themselves.”101 These reforms will give

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administrations at all levels of governance more flexibility to deal with demographic and economic changes. Third, equally critical to the process of consensus-building is the will of Muslim organizations to work towards the articulation of a moderate, mainstream Islamic identity: although Islam provides a powerful source of identity for both the Spanish converts and immigrants, it will most likely not “[replace] Marxism as the ideology of contestation”, which Gilles Kepel finds happening in France102. Nevertheless, the community must fight against the perception that it is expanding in a “completely uncontrolled fashion.”103 Islamic associations that “help normalize the presence of Muslims in the West”104 by assisting immigrants, teaching non-Muslims about their religion and helping to build a common identity, must be strengthened. To do this, local mosques must find points of unity and build upon them a structure to interface with the municipal government. Rather than ignoring or rejecting immigrants and their needs, Spanish converts, who hold a great deal of influence, must become their advocates. They must advocate pragmatic policies, rather than radical notions such as the plan proposed at a 2003 Granada conference for Muslims to stop using Western currencies in favor of a reinstated gold dinar.105 Moreover, mosques must begin to develop independent social services to offer Muslims an alternative to relying on Catholic charities for assistance. Although this depends on capital that most mosques currently lack, the Spanish government could help by cosponsoring programs. Most importantly, Islamic leaders must come together to agree on a set of traditions and principles that defines Spanish Islam. According to scholar Tariq Ramadan, unlike public schools, which encourage selfexpression and dialog, “the exact opposite is found in some mosques and Islamic

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organizations [in Western Europe]…there is no room for discussion.”106 “To our way of thinking, normalizing our presence without trivializing it means insisting, for Muslims, not on sustaining a sense of Otherness but rather on an awareness of their belonging and commitment to society in general.”107 Compromises with community leaders, which facilitated the construction of the Grand Mosque of Granada, must be made in other areas in order to ease the transition for Muslims and the Spanish government towards accepting and embracing a permanent Muslim presence in Spain. An important actor in the process is Morocco, which has far too many employment-age youth for its own economy. Rather than accepting a northward flow of immigration, it could strengthen ties with the Gulf states in order to create an eastward emigration flow.108 For Morocco, questions of remittances, the traditional boon received by a labor-exporting economy, must be dealt with as its emigrants begin to lose their connections to their former country. Ultimately, the nation must abandon its emphasis on cultural differences and commit to accepting Moroccan immigrants as equally legitimate heirs to the glory of the Golden Age of Spain.

In doing so, it will resolve the

contradictions of its present split identity and the subsequent anxiety of contemporary politics. To transition from a split identity to a hybrid one would require a significant reopening and reconciliation of past injustices, but it would lead to a strengthened national identity and political unity. “Otherness,” Octavio Paz soliloquizes, is a projection of oneness: the shadow with which we battle in our nightmares. And, conversely, oneness is a moment of otherness, that moment in which we know ourselves as a body without a shadow-or as a shadow without a body. Neither within nor without, neither before nor after: the past reappears because it is a hidden present.109

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Most importantly, reconciling with the reality of the past will lay the foundation for a national re-imagining along the lines of history and culture, rather than authority and tradition. As Javier Rosón comments: On the other hand, the increasing importance of immigration from the Muslim regions of the Maghreb is widely accepted by the Andalusian intellectuals who aim at ‘re-discovery’ and ‘re-invention’ by the Muslim roots of Al-Andalus; thus arises a movement of muslimophilia.110 If the Granada, Andalusia and Spanish governments can channel the desire for change into this multitiered cultural project, the unprecedented opportunity exists for a fundamental redefinition of what it means to be Spanish: as Tomás Calvo Buezas concludes, “today a malevolent collective paralysis among the adults, who do not dare to promote to the youth humanitarian ideals, utopian messages, open horizons and illusions of delivery (entrega) sacrificed to noble causes. Perhaps it is the expression of flat pragmatism and empty consumerism or the old, invalid and disillusioned ones, but the youth have the right to dream of the creation of a new world, more just and more humane, without frontiers and above race and location.”111

The critical question,

however, is the determination of a specific social framework within which this reconciliation and reconstruction could take place. Will Granada, as the historic focal point of the convivencia that marked the blossoming of Moorish civilization, reach into its past to provide the answer for Spain’s future?

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1

• • • • • •

Acknowledgements Dr. Dwight Reynolds, Professor of Islamic & Near Eastern Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara Rosa Rodríguez Valdivía, longtime Granadan María José Gálvez and Agustín García, ILYC Granada, S.L. Dr. Armando Vargas, Gaius Charles Bolin Fellow in Comparative Literature, Williams College Dr. Olga Shevchenko, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Williams College Special thanks to the Gaudino Trust Board of Williams College for providing the funding for my fieldwork.

Interviewees • Dr. Rafael Gallego, Professor of Engineering, University of Granada, Laica (“Secular Granada”) • Carín Carasco, Junta Islámica de España • Abdul-Qader Husni Qamhiyeh, Imam of the Mezquita de la Paz • Zakaría Maza, Imam of the Mezquita del Temor de Allah • Dr. Rafael López Guzmán, Professor of Art History, University of Granada • Mohamed el-Hadat, Mediadores Interculturales • Charo de Gorostegui, Granada Acoge (“Granada Welcomes”) • Dr. Carmen Trillo San José, Professor of Arabic Studies, University of Granada • Dr. F. Javier García Castaño, Professor of Anthropology, Laboratorio de Estudios Interculturales (LDEI), University of Granada • El Hadji Ahradou Faye, SOS Racismo

• • • •

• • • • • • •

and Chair of Granada

F. Javier Rosón Lorente, Researcher, Laboratorio de Estudios Interculturales, University of Granada Hind Tsouli, Lemkhur Houda and Mohamed Eskarme, Asociación de Estudiantes Marroquíes, University of Granada Dr. Emilio Molina López, Professor of Arabic Studies, University of Granada Francisco Garrido Fernández, Jefe del Servicio, Servicio de Gestión de Personal (“Personnel Management”), Delegación Provincial de Educación y Ciencia de Granada Juan Rodríguez Hidalgo, Presidente, Confederación de Federaciones Católicas de Asociaciones de Padres de Alumnos de Andalucía (CONCAPA) (“Catholic School Parents’ Federation”) Javier Botrán, Director, IES Albayzín 3 Moroccan immigrants Lahsen el-Himer, President, Mezquita Omar José Manuel Palma, Director, IES Cartuja Malik Ruíz, President, Mezquita de Granada

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