The following is a Google translation of the original Turkish. While it is not perfect, and far from idiomatic, it may be of benefit to English-speakers who cannot read the original Turkish review.
TURKISH JOURNAL OF SHIITE STUDIES
ISSN: 2687-1882
Cilt / Volume: 4
Sayı / Issue: 1
Haziran / June 2022
John Andrew Morrow. Shiism in the Maghrib and al-Andalus. I-II. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2021.
Değerlendiren / Reviewed by
Hümda Mirzen GÜLER
Marmara Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Yüksek Lisans mirzenkahraman@gmail.com
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5191-9007
Sümeyye ÖZDEN
Marmara Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Yüksek Lisans sumeyyeozden00@gmail.com
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1620-6156
Mehmet Mustafa BUĞCU
Marmara Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Yüksek Lisans
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2177-1993
Makale Bilgisi | Article Information
Makale Türü | Article Type: Kitap İncelemesi / Book Review
Geliş Tarihi | Date Received: 15.06.2022
Kabul Tarihi | Date Accepted: 26.06.2022
Yayın Tarihi | Date Published: 30.06.2022
Atıf | Citation: Güler, Hümda Mirzen vd. “John Andrew Morrow. Shiism in the Maghrib and al-Andalus. I-II. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2021.” Turkish Journal of Shiite Studies 4/1 (Haziran 2022): 144-158. Web: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/siader mailto: turkishshiitestudies@gmail.com
Abstract
North Africa and al-Andalus are the regions where the Maliki school of thought has been widespread as well as they have contained different minorities. Control of Fatimids in North Africa shows that Shi’ism had existed sometimes in the region along with the Sunni school of thought. In contrast to the ones who ignore the existence of Shi’ism here and completely focus on the Maliki identity, some others are claiming that Shi’ism has existed in al-Andalus and North Africa since the early period. John Andrew Morrow tries to prove the existence of Shi’ism in North Africa and al-Andalus in his book which is composed of two volumes and titled Shi’ism in the Maghrib and al-Andalus. In the first volume, he tries to evidence the existence of Shi’ism in the region with historical data. In the second volume, he gives narrations from the works of Moriscos. In this study, we have evaluated Morrow’s aforementioned work.
Keywords: Maghrib, al-Andalus, Berbers, Shia, Ahl al-Bayt, Moriscos, Narration
Abstract Although North Africa and Andalusia were places where Malikiism was widespread throughout most of history, different minority sects also existed in these regions. The fact that the Shiite Fatimid State dominated a part of North Africa shows that Shiism, along with Sunni sects, was also present in these regions from time to time. Despite those who ignore the influence of Shiism and focus entirely on the Maliki identity, there are also those who argue that Shi’a existed in North Africa and Andalusia and that this began to be seen very early. John Andrew Morrow aimed to prove the existence of Shiism in North Africa and Andalusia in his two-volume work titled Shi’ism in the Maghrib and al-Andulus. In the first volume, he tried to prove the existence of Shia in the region in the light of historical information, and in the second volume, he included narrations from the manuscripts of the Moriscos. In this study, Morrow’s mentioned work was evaluated. Key Words: Maghreb, Andalusia, Berbers, Shiism, Ahl al-Bayt, Moriscos, Narration Islamic geography was generally seen as consisting of two parts by Muslims and was divided accordingly. According to this division, with Egypt at the center, the Islamic countries to the east of Egypt are called Meşrek (East), and the countries to the west, including Andalusia, are called Maghreb (West). Especially Hijri II. Fiqh, hadith, kalam, Arabic language, etc. since the 16th century. Intellectual activities covering the sciences started in the east of the Islamic lands and continued here. As a result of the fact that the center of science is the Eastern Islamic lands, Islamic literature has developed intensively here and the total number of works written in the region is incomparable with the West. As a result of this situation, while the historical process of the Islamic world in the East had the opportunity to be examined more precisely and closely, historical information about the life and intellectual accumulation of Muslims in the Maghreb could not be recorded at the same rate. This situation, which was already negative for the Maghreb and Maghreb Muslims, worsened with the occupation of Andalusia by the Spanish in 1492, which the Spanish called reconquista, meaning “re-conquest”. After the fall of Andalusia, inquisition courts were established and Muslims were forced to change religion, and those who did not accept were deported to other Muslim countries, especially North Africa. However, not all Muslims left Andalusia, some of them, although relatively small, stayed in Andalusia and continued their lives under the rule of Christian administrators. The Spanish government took strict measures and pursued an oppressive policy against this Muslim community that did not migrate. While Muslims who were forced to convert to religion outwardly practiced Christian practices for years, they secretly fulfilled the requirements of Islam at home. This situation was caused by the Muslims of Spain, for whom the Spanish did not recognize the right to life and had inquisition courts established for them; It has made it very difficult to find historical data about their cultures, lifestyles and religious practices before and after the occupation.
Canadian writer John Andrew Morrow’s ancestry is based on American Indians, Moriscos and Europeans. Morrow, who started spiritual quests at the age of 13, embraced Islam at the age of 16 and took the name İlyas Abdülalim Islam.1 He completed his master’s and doctorate at the University of Toronto and during this period, he focused on the fields of Spanish Literature, Native Americans and Islamic Sciences. During his post-doctoral period, he went to Morocco, where he became interested in the Moriscos and their literature and history. He has given lectures at many universities, especially Toronto, Park and Northern State University. Morrow, who devotes his studies to Shiism, Sufism, Shiism in North Africa and Native Americans, speaks English, French, Spanish and Arabic very well. In 2016, he resigned and retired from Ivy Tech Community College, where he served as a professor, in order to devote himself entirely to academic studies.2
J. Andrew Morrow’s goal in his two-volume work titled Shi’ism in the Maghrib and al-Andalus is; It was to invalidate the claims of academics who are experts in the field of Andalusia, such as Fierro, Lomax, and Wasserstein, that “Shiism could hardly find a place for itself in Andalusia.” The opinion of the majority of these academics is that Andalusia consists of Sunni Malikis and Shiism is not dominant in the region. Although some of them accept the historical existence of Shiites, they are of the opinion that they are an ineffective minority. However, according to Morrow, although Malikiism is the official sect of the country and constitutes the majority of the society, there are also Evzai, Shafi’i, Hanafi, Ismaili and Jafari minorities among the population.
This book, written as a research, is very important as it presents the literature, beliefs and practical worship of Shiites living in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa to the scientific world for the first time in English. Morrow stated that his book is the most comprehensive study about the Shiite presence in Andalusia and North Africa, as he has been working on this work for thirty years. As stated above, the author’s aim is to refute the claims that there is no Shiite presence in Andalusia and North Africa, and even if there is, it is negligible.
In the first chapter of his book, the first volume of which consists of twenty-one chapters, the author states that Shiism in North Africa began neither with the two missionaries sent to the region by Cafer es-Sâdık (d.148/765), nor with the Idrisids nor with the Fatimids. The author describes this beginning much earlier, Hz. Hasan (d. 49/669) and Hz. He is of the opinion that Hussein (d. 61/680) was during the period they were in the regions today called Tunisia and Libya. As a matter of fact, Hz. Hasan and Hz. Hussein participated in the North African expedition in 647. Hz. It has been emphasized that although Hasan did not spend much time in the Maghreb, he had a great influence in the region thanks to his grandchildren who spread his teachings in North Africa.
In the second part, the presence of the companions in the Maghreb and Andalusia is examined. The author states that many companions participated in the North African expedition in 647 and that among these companions was Hz. He stated that there were supporters of Osman (d. 35/656) as well as supporters of Ahl al-Bayt. Mikdad b. Esved (d. 33/653), Abdullah b. Abbas (d. 68/688), Abdurrahman b. Abbas (d. 1/7th century) and Abdullah b. Cafer b. The author, who mentioned the names of companions such as Abu Talib (d. 80/700) as supporters of Ahl al-Bayt, briefly introduced these names by opening separate titles in the second chapter, and explained who they were, which wars they participated in, and in which important events they took part. The author said that the Companions, who were supporters of Ahl al-Bayt despite their small numbers, had a religious influence on people, and added that the efforts they initiated to spread Shiism in the region were continued by the Tabi’in.
The third chapter deals with the Tabi’in class living in Maghreb and Andalusia. First of all, Ömer b. It was stated that Abdulaziz (d. 101/720) stopped the anti-Ahl al-Bayt activities carried out by the Umayyad caliphs before him and prioritized Islamic unity, and it was stated that he focused on inviting the Berbers there to Islam rather than conquering North Africa. For this purpose, he sent some of his followers to North Africa. The author defines Saîd b. as a Shiite tabiin. Mesud, Haneş el- San’ani (d. 100/718), Abdullah b. Sa’d (d. 2/8th century) and Zayd b. He opened separate titles for Hübâb (d. 203/819), discussing the connections of these names with the companions and the importance of Islam and the Prophet in North Africa. He talked about their influence in the spread of Ali’s (d. 40/661) teachings.
The fourth chapter is about the presence in the Maghreb of the companions of the imams from the sixth imam Cafer es-Sâdık to the eleventh imam Hasan elAskerî (d. 254/868). Although the subject of the chapter is explained in this way in the introduction, it is seen that the content mostly includes people from Cafer es-Sadık’s circle. The author states that Shiism spread among the Berber tribes in Algeria and Tunisia, thanks to Abu Sufyan (d. 2/8th century) and al-Hulvani (d. 2/8th century), whom Cafer es-Sadık sent to Maghreb for the purpose of preaching, and states that Shiism spread among the Berber tribes in Algeria and Tunisia. The person who brought Zaydi Shiism is Hz. One of Ali’s grandchildren, brother of Muhammed en-Nefsüzzekiyye (d. 145/762), İbrahim b. He said that it was Abdullah (d. 145/763). In this section, Ali b., known as Ibn Versand and the founder of the Shiite sect known as Beceliyye among Moroccan Berbers, He also mentioned Hüseyin el-Becelî3 (d. 297/909) and touched upon his missionary activities in the Maghreb. Hz. One of Hasan’s grandchildren, İbrahim b. Abdullah, Süleyman b. Abdullah, Yahya b. Abdullah and Idris b. Abdullah (d. 177/793) are other figures included in this section.
The fifth chapter is about the Berber wives and mothers of Shiite imams. Hamîde al-Berberiyye, wife of Cafer es-Sâdık and mother of Mûsâ al-Kâzım (d. 183/799), Necme Hatun, wife of Mûsâ al-Kâzım and mother of Alî er-Rıza (d. 203/819), and Finally, people named Sammana, wife of Muhammad et-Takî (d. 220/835) and mother of Alî en-Nakî (d. 254/868), are included. Especially the scientific aspect of Hamîde el-Berberiyye was emphasized. In addition, information was given about the ancestry of these people and whether they were black people of African origin, and different opinions about the mother of the twelfth Imam Muhammad Mahdi al-Muntazar were also mentioned. While there are opinions that he was a Berber, there were also those who claimed that he was a Byzantine Christian. The author said that it was a remote possibility that he was Berber. Finally, in this section, the importance of the connection between Shia and Berbers is mentioned. The ties established by the Imams with the Berbers were effective in the spread of Shiism in the Maghreb and Andalusia, and thanks to these ties, Hz. Many descendants of the Prophet later settled in the Maghreb.
In the sixth chapter, the sherifs/seyyids living in Maghreb are mentioned. First of all, Hz. It has been stated that the first descendants of the Prophet to settle in the Maghreb were Beni Idris and that most of the sheriffs in the Maghreb came from this lineage. Hz. Some statistics are included regarding the distribution of the descendants of the Prophet in the world. Although these figures are open to debate, it has been stated that the sayyid population in Morocco is large and this indicates the prevalence of Shiism in the region. In the chapter, respectively, the founder of the Idrisids, Idris b. Abdullah (Idris I) and II. Idris (d. 213/828), Abdullah b. Cafer b. Ebû Tâlib, Muhammed en-Nefsüzzekiyye, Musa b. Abdullah al-Kamil b. The lineages of people such as Hasan el-Musenna, Musa el-Kazım, Ali er-Rıza are mentioned. Mostly, but not always, Hz. It has been stated that the descendants of the Prophet are subject to the imams in their families, and therefore the presence of sheriffs in a region is an indicator of the existence of Shiism there.
In the seventh chapter, Shiite mystics in the Sufi chains are explained. The chain of many sects is included here. The author said that the origins of most of the sects mentioned are based on Shiite imams. Şâzeliyye, Kâdiriyye, Nakşibendiyye, Halvetiyye, Çiştiyye and Kübreviyye are some of the sects whose lines are examined in this section. At the head of these sect chains is Hz. After the Prophet, some Hz. Ali and Hz. The presence of Hüseyin and imams such as Cafer es-Sâdık in some of them were mentioned. The author, who also included different chains of the same sect, pointed out names close to Shia and Shiite imams in these chains. The eighth chapter is about Berber Shiites in the Maghreb and Andalusia. First of all, the author states that the Berbers are the natives living in the Maghreb, and that after the conquest of the region, the Berbers quickly adopted Islam, but as a result of the Umayyads imposing heavy taxes on the Berbers, seeing them as second class, and even enslaving them, the Berbers became inclined to Kharijite, Imami and Ismaili Shiism. stated. Berber tribal names such as Zenâte, Sanhâce, Mesmûde, Miknâse, Kutâme are some of the titles in this section. Each of these tribes was examined separately, including information such as where they lived, their religious beliefs, their relations with each other and their political situation. Afterwards, Shiite Berbers living in Andalusia were especially mentioned.
The subject of the ninth chapter is Arab Shiites in the Maghreb and Andalusia. First of all, the author points out that, contrary to many orientalist and Sunni views, Shia is of Arab origin, not Persian. He also stated that the number of Arab Shiites in the region is much higher than the Berbers. Hashimoğulları, Beni Hilal, Beni Süleym, Yemen Shiites and Muvelledun Shiites are the titles in this section. Listing some Shiite names from Beni Hashim, the author added that the Idrisids who ruled in the Maghreb between 788-985 were from the Sons of Hashim. He examined the Beni Hilal and Beni Süleym tribes under the same title, stated when they became Muslims, in which regions they lived, and that these two tribes were branches of the Beni Amir tribe, and that they came to North Africa in the eleventh century and that they were Ismailis, the sect of the Fatimids who dominated the region in the same period. He stated that they adopted Shiism. It is possible to say that these two tribes are emphasized in this section due to the important role they play as Arab Shiites in the region. Later, talking about Yemeni Shiites, the author stated that most Arabs living in the Maghreb and Andalusia emigrated from Yemen. Under the title of Muvelledun Shiites, first of all, although the Arabs are the ruling group, it has been stated that there has always been a minority in Andalusia. It has been emphasized that there are two types of Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula: “müsalime” and “müvelledun”. The first refers to people who became Muslims from the public after the conquests. The second, in the author’s opinion, is used for descendants of Arabs or Berbers who married Spanish women. However, according to another view, this is a low probability and the concept of muvelledun is more accurate to be used for the descendants of musalima.4 Stating that the Muvelledun group did not have as much respect as the Arabs in society and as a result, they rebelled against the Arab rule like the Berbers, the author states that the great war that took place in the 740s He said that they also participated in the uprising. He also added that Muvelledun, like the Berbers, turned to Kharijite, Sufism or Shiism. In conclusion, the author stated that Shiite Arabs existed in Andalusia after the Muslims conquered the region, so it cannot be claimed that there are no Shiites in Spain.
The tenth chapter is about the sub-branches of Shia in the Maghreb and Andalusia. Imamî, Ismâîlî, Zaydi, Becelî, Jewish and Foundation Shiites, Qarmatians, Sufis and Gulât Shia sects are the titles in this section. Under the title of Imami Shiites, it is stated that the first Shiites in Egypt, the Maghreb and Andalusia were Zaydi and Imami, and that the spread of Imamiyya in these regions was due to the missionary activities of Cafer es-Sadik. In most of this title, the previously mentioned Berber wives and mothers of imams are discussed in detail. Becelî, Mûsevî and Vâkıfî Shiites are grouped under one title. After talking about the differences within Ismailia, the focus was on the Fatimis. The author stated that although some historians ignore the Shiite history of Egypt and the fact that there are Shiites in Morocco and Spain, there were Shiites there and the Fatimids were influential on Egyptian culture. He also included quotes indicating that Ismaili Shiism spread in Andalusia. He later stated that the Qarmatians were also found in the Maghreb and that they were likely to be found in Andalusia. Under the title of Zaydi Shiites, first of all, the features that distinguish Zaydis from other Shiite sects are mentioned, and it is stated that the Yemenis living in the Maghreb are Zaydi Shiites. In the title of Sufis, the author states that Sufism is among the Sunnis as well as the Shiites, and that many lines can be traced back to the Prophet Muhammad through Cafer es-Sadık. He said that he reached Ali, and therefore, although the relevant sects were Sunni in fiqh, they were Shiite in spiritual sense. Finally, it has been stated that the influence of extreme Shiite sects has also reached Andalusia and the Maghreb.
In the eleventh chapter, the Shiite states established in the Maghreb and Andalusia are explained. First of all, it has been stated that Shiites in North Africa are not a minority and weak group, on the contrary, they have gained a certain political power. Idrisids, Fatimids, Zirids and Hammadis are shown as examples of states established with this political power. In this section, in addition to these states, the Hudis, Nasrids and Hammudis were examined. It was emphasized that the Idrisids were the first autonomous Islamic state established in Morocco, and that it was established with the help of the Berbers and was the first Shiite state in Islamic history. Separate titles have also been opened for the ideologies and scientific contributions of the Idrisids. Fātimids, Hammādīs and Zīrīs were briefly mentioned. The author stated that the Shiism of the Hammudids, founded by the descendants of the Idrisids, was ignored by some researchers, and emphasized this. He also stated that although this state had a short life, it dominated two-thirds of the Iberian Peninsula. The Hudis are another state examined under this heading. The author, who said that there were Shiite slogans on the silver coins used here, concluded that the state was close to pro-Alid thoughts. He stated that the Nasrids were not Shiites, but that they were a state influenced by Shiism, and he touched on this state very briefly. In the title about the reflections of Shiism in the Maghreb and Andalusia, the nomenclature “ceziratü’l-hadrâ” was mentioned. Stating that legendary narratives have emerged that the place where the twelfth Imam Muhammad Mahdi al-Muntazar was during his great occultation period was a place they called ceziratü’l-hadrâ, the author said that there are different ideas about the place in question being the south of Andalusia, Greenland or the Atlantic Ocean. . The author stated that the story of jaziratu’l-hadra is a legend and was produced later, but – even if it is not true – this story is important in terms of pointing out the existence of Shiites in North Africa.
The twelfth chapter is about the Shiite uprisings in the region. In addition to the presence of the Shiite population in the region, Morrow put forward this as one of the proofs of the ability of this population to form a unity against the oppressive attitudes of the Umayyads and Abbasids. Although they were rarely successful, the Shiite population wanted to take advantage of the opportunities they had against the Umayyad and Abbasid regimes and sometimes supported the existing uprisings and sometimes started independent uprisings. Based on historical sources, the author identified approximately sixteen Shiite-originated or Shiite-supported rebellions for the period he examined. In this section, Morrow touched upon the names of the rebels, their connections with Shiism, the reasons for the rebellion and its consequences.
In the thirteenth chapter, the author discussed the famous Shiite scholars who came after al-Hulvani and Abu Sufyan, two students of Imam Cafer al-Sadik in the Maghreb, and who converted these scholars to Shiites. Even though their own works have not survived to the present day, it is possible to determine the existence of these scholars from the tabaqat type books. After discussing these scholars, the author states that it would be very difficult not to have a cultural and ideological exchange along with commercial-political relations between the Idrisid and Fatimid Shiites in North Africa and the surrounding Sunni states.
In the fourteenth chapter, Muhammad b. Meserre (d. 319/931) and his followers, Munzir b. He discussed Shiite scholars in Andalusia such as Said (d. 355/966) and Ibn Hayyun (d. 305/917-18). According to Morrow, although Shiites were spread everywhere in Andalusia, they tended to be concentrated in the same cities and towns.
The fifteenth chapter is on the Shiite centers in the Maghreb. Some of these centers, such as Fez, al-Mahdiyye, Basra, al-Mansuriyye, were established as Shiite centers, and some such as Kayravan, Granada, and Nefte hosted Shiite settlers. Among these cities, Fez; Kufa is one of the holy cities of Shiites, like Karbala and Qom.
The next chapter is on the Shiite centers in Andalusia. Seville, Cordoba, Pamplona, Zaragoza are some of them. While the author was able to identify more than forty communities associated with Shiism in North Africa, he could only detect the existence of about a dozen communities in Andalusia. The seventeenth chapter is titled “The Maliki Inquisition in the Maghreb and Andalusia”. In this chapter, Morrow examined the Umayyads’ antipathy towards Ahl al-Bayt and stated that the imposition of Malikiism in Andalusia was related to the aim of countering the threat of Shiism that was spreading among Spanish Muslims and Berbers. The situation did not change during the periods of the Almoravids, Almohads and Nasrids. The Shiite minority, who had to live under oppression, resorted to taqiyya and lived their beliefs according to the Maliki jurisprudence. Over time, Shiite fiqh disappeared and Shiite in belief and Maliki groups in fiqh were formed.
The eighteenth chapter is about the forcibly Christianized Moriscos after the fall of the Emirate of Granada in 1492. This community left us an Islamic literature using the Spanish language written in Arabic letters, known as Aljamia (Aljamiado/el-Acemiyye), which they created in their own way. According to Morrow, Moriscos are not a monolithic community, contrary to what some academics state. When Aljamia literature is examined, there is evidence that although they are mostly Maliki, there are also Shiites among them. It is possible to find traces of Islam in today’s culture of Spain, but it is difficult to find a sign of Shiism. However, the author is of the opinion that it is not possible to say the same thing for Morocco, and in the nineteenth chapter he aims to reveal the Shiite influences in today’s Moroccan culture. Hz. The Kufic writing style used by Ali and developed around Kufa was also used and developed in Morocco, cities such as Fez and Tangier are architecturally very close to Iraq, tombstones, idioms, and the presence of Ali, Hasan and Fatima among the commonly used names. He states that practices such as dhikr, Mawlid al-Nabi and Ashura celebrations are Shia remnants.
The twentieth chapter is on the revival of Shiism in the Maghreb. After years of oppression, Shiism re-emerged in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia with the 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution. They saw this not as a change of sect, but as a return to the faith of their ancestors, who had to practice taqiyya for years. The twenty-first chapter deals with the literary heritage of Shiism. The author presents as evidence the existence of works in this geography where the Shiite presence is evident. The fact that it has survived to the present day without being destroyed during the Almoravids and Almohads period indicates that these books have readers. Among these books, İbnü’l Ebâr’s (d. 658/1260) Dürerü’s-simt fî ahbâri’s-sibt, el-Bekrî’s (d. 487/1094) Kitâbu’l Envâr, Hz. There are manuscripts such as Nehcü’l-belâġa attributed to Ali, Küleynî’s (d. 329/941) el-Kâfi, Şeyh Sadûk’s (d. 381/991) etTevhîd.
In order to base his argument in his work, the author preferred to bring many evidence, albeit dubious, instead of focusing on a single and solid evidence as a method. For the first volume alone, there are 21 main headings and more than two hundred subheadings under these headings. According to this logic, if even one of these pieces of evidence turns out to be true, the author’s argument will be considered sound. For example, while discussing the Shiite scholars living in Andalusia, he mentioned the rumors that Ibn Harun (d. 319/932) could be a Fatimid agent, and then Fierro found these rumors exaggerated and said that at that time, there were also rumors in the Sunni community, such as speaking positively about the Ahl al-Bayt. He stated that even events that could be considered quite normal could be considered as Shiite propaganda. Again, the fact that a group of Ibn Masarra’s followers put their hands sideways in prayer was shown to be evidence that they could be Shiites, but it was stated that the Malikis, who constitute the majority in the region, did not tie their hands during the apocalypse. Abu’l-Khayr (V./XI. century) considered wine halal, and it has been said that he could be Ismaili in this respect; However, the author then stated that wine consumption was very common among Sunnis, so Abu’l-Khayr’s acceptance of wine as halal would not be a clear evidence that he was an Ismaili.
The author stated that while alcohol is haram according to Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbalis, it is legal and even good according to Hanafis. In our opinion, a wrong generalization has been made here. It is clear that wine made from grapes is haram among Hanafi jurists; they gave different rulings for drinks made from other substances, taking into account factors such as soaking time, cooking method, boiling and foaming amount; However, these discussions remained at the level of language and procedure. In practical terms, all fiqh sects, including the Hanafi sect, have deemed all kinds of drinks that have intoxicating properties haram.5 Moreover, if there is such freedom, it is expected that the consumption of beer and similar drinks will be common and normal in Hanafi geographies; However, when we look at the World Health Organization data, the countries with the lowest alcohol consumption in the world are the countries with a majority Muslim population.6 This includes countries with a predominantly Hanafi and Shiite population.
The author stated that while alcohol is haram according to Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbalis, it is legal and even good according to Hanafis. In our opinion, a wrong generalization has been made here. It is clear that wine made from grapes is haram among Hanafi jurists; they gave different rulings for drinks made from other substances, taking into account factors such as soaking time, cooking method, boiling and foaming amount; However, these discussions remained at the level of language and procedure. In practical terms, all fiqh sects, including the Hanafi sect, have deemed all kinds of drinks that have intoxicating properties haram.5 Moreover, if there is such freedom, it is expected that the consumption of beer and similar drinks will be common and normal in Hanafi geographies; However, when we look at the World Health Organization data, the countries with the lowest alcohol consumption in the world are the countries with a majority Muslim population.6 This includes countries with a predominantly Hanafi and Shiite population.
Morrow gave some clues about the method he will follow in the introduction to the second volume of the book. For example, he stated that due to the diverse hadith studies and ongoing digitalization, it is no longer meaningless to make detailed references to sources, and instead he will only give book titles. In this context, when making a reference, the author only mentioned authors such as Küleynî, Bukhari and Hakim and the names of their works. In addition, Morrow stated that the expressions in the book such as “The Imam said, the Prophet said” are not an evaluation of the authenticity of that hadith, on the contrary, he expressed it in this way because the Moriscos believed that way.
In the second volume, Morrow did not divide his book into sections, but instead compensated for this by providing a detailed table of contents. He based his work on manuscripts written by Moriscos in Madrid, Bologna, Algeria, Zaragoza and Paris. He presented the hadiths in the manuscripts under seventy-seven headings, mostly giving single, rarely more than one hadith under these headings. He started by mentioning the narrations in the manuscripts about the virtue of the Ahl al-Bayt, and then Hz. Ali and Hz. He wrote narrations about the virtue of Fatima (d. 11/632), the events they experienced and the prayers taught to them. Especially Hz. The hadiths about Ali and Fatima constitute half of the volume of the book, and the other hadiths are about Hz. It is devoted to the virtues and miracles of the twelve imams, especially Hasan and Husayn, respectively.
In the second volume of his work, Morrow followed the following procedures as a methodology; First, he stated in which library the manuscript of the narration he discussed was found, and then he presented the narration in question to the reader in English. After mentioning the narration, he stated under the title of “comment” whether this narration was authentic or not, in which sources it was mentioned, and whether there was any authority on it. He even went further and made some evaluations on the subject based on some clues in the narration. Morrow, who is an expert in source research and hadiths, shed light on the beliefs, worship practices and literature of the Shiite-oriented Moriscos, based on the data he obtained and the inferences he reached.
Based on the manuscripts of the Shiite-Moriscos, the author states that they were very lax about hadith, that most of the hadiths were devoid of attribution, that they included many narrations that were not included in Sunni-Shiite sources, and that sometimes they even made up hadith narrations in order to find consolation against Christian persecution; He found that they included many legendary-fairy-tale-like narrations about the Ahl al-Bayt, reminiscent of night tales. In some places, Moriscos even gave the names of imams incorrectly, Hz. Hasan and Hz. He stated that they confused the names of historical figures such as Hussein and that there was a lot of information circulating in the manuscripts that did not comply with historical reality. However, the author underlines that the reason for this situation to emerge is political pressure, and argues that this is quite natural. On the other hand, although there are inauthentic elements in the manuscripts, it has been proven that many other narrations overlap with Shiite-Sunni sources, and in some places, direct quotations are made from Shiite sources. Even if the hadith text does not have a hundred percent overlap with Shiite or Sunni sources, there is a considerable amount of authentic material in the hadiths of the Moriscos.
Morrow, in some hadiths, Hz. Abu Bakr (d. 13/634), Hz. He does not agree with the claims that “the Moriscos were so ignorant about their religion that they could not distinguish which of the sources was Shiite and which was Sunni”, based on the existence of tardiya statements about Omar (d. 23/644) and other companions or the confusion of the names of some imams. Because the author argues that some hadiths of Shiite Moriscos were taken from the basic books of Shia, that these books have been in circulation since 1492, and that this is proof that the existence of Shia in Andalusia dates back to earlier times. In the book, Hz. The positive mention of Abu Bakr, Omar and other companions is explained by the fact that the Moriscos have a syncretic religious view influenced by Zaydism, Hasanism and Shiite-oriented sects due to political pressure, or it is explained by the fact that they no longer care about the difference between them due to the existing Catholic pressures.
In any case, Morrow claimed that Shiism had existed in Andalusia since ancient times and that the Shiite-Moriscos were fully aware of what their beliefs were. As a matter of fact, we can easily say that this claim is repeated many times throughout the book and that this argument is the main thesis of the book.
We think that the reason why there are moderate narratives that are a mixture of Shiism and Sunnism in the examined manuscripts of the Moriscos is that the Moriscos put aside their differences and cooperated with the Shiite-oriented sects and the small number of Shiite communities due to the political pressure they were subjected to, or they did not realize the sectarian affiliation of the sources they had. However, we can say that the second option is more dominant in the emergence of the situation in question. As a result, the main thesis of the second part of the book, that the Shiite presence in Andalusia was strong contrary to popular belief and that the manuscripts examined indicate a conscious Shiite preference, seems a bit exaggerated.
Although the author fully complied with the academic style and produced a good work in the second volume of the book, he made obvious mistakes resulting from some informational inaccuracies. For example, although Morrow states that Üveys al-Karani (d. 37/657) was considered a companion by the Shiites (p. 37), this information is not correct. Shia considers him to be from the generation of Tabiun. Another incorrect determination is about Ibn Omar (d. 73/693). As a matter of fact, he was a strict supporter of Yazid b. He claimed that he was a supporter of Muawiyah (d. 64/683) (p.152). However, when historical sources are examined, it is seen that Ibn Omar was not a supporter of Yazid, on the contrary, he adopted a passive and neutral political attitude7. In the following pages of the book, the author uses the phrase “Shiite Muslim woman” about Zeynep bint Ali (d. 62/682) (p.175). It is obvious that this statement is an obvious and big mistake. Because it is impossible to talk about a sect called Shia in such an early period, from a theological perspective. The author makes another mistake about Şakîk-i Belhî (d. 194/810). Morrow stated that he was a disciple of Musa al-Kazim (p.201). However, when we examined Sunni sources, we did not find any information confirming the discipleship relationship between them. Likewise, we could not find any narration indicating the master-disciple relationship in Shiite sources, except for a story mentioned.
Some of the negative aspects mentioned above do not overshadow the value of the book. This work, which is the product of thirty years of work by Morrow, an expert in his field, was written in a completely academic style and has the identity of being an objective work. This study, prepared based on first-hand sources, appeals to everyone interested in Islamic sciences and is an extremely original and much-needed study. This work, in which the academic style is preserved throughout, fills the enormous gap in the field and constitutes a steppingstone for subsequent studies. We can say that this work, which offers a detailed perspective about the Moriscos, is a first in its field and that it destroys and rebuilds the image of Andalusia that existed in our minds. In short, Morrow’s work is a book that historians in general and those who want to study Andalusian history and Shia history, in particular, cannot ignore.
1 Although we cannot find clear information about the author’s sectarian affiliation, we see that in a website where he gave an interview, he refers to Sunni sources as well as Shiite elements. In our opinion, although the author is Sunni, he adopts the attitude we call “Teşeyyu”. Shafaqna, “Interviews” (Accessed 9 June 2022).
2 Dr. John Andrew Morrow, “About” (Erişim 9 Haziran 2022).
3 Mustafa Öz, “el-Becelî, Ali b. Hüseyin”, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi (Erişim 26 Mayıs 2022).
4 Mehmet Özdemir, “Müvelledûn”, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi (Erişim 30 Mayıs 2022).
5 Mustafa Baktır, “İçki”, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi (Erişim 6 Haziran 2022).
6 World Health Organization (WHO), “Levels of Consumption” (Erişim 4 Haziran 2022).
7 Şemsüddîn ez-Zehebî, Siyeru a’lâmi’n-nübelâ (Beyrut: Müessesetü’r-Risâle, 1982), 3/203-240; İzzeddîn İbnü’l Esîr, Üsdü’l-ğâbe (Beyrut: Dâru’l-Kütübi’l-İlmiyye, 1994), 3/336-341.
8 Bk. Ebû Nuaym el-İsfahânî, Hilyetü’l-evliyâ (Mısır: es-Saâde, 1996), 10/58-73; Muhammed b. Hüseyin es-Sülemî, Tabakâtü’s-Sûfiyye (Beyrut: Dâru’l-Kütübi’l-İlmiyye, 2002) 1/63-67; Muhmmed Bâkır el-Meclisî, Bihâru’l-envâr (Beyrut: Dâru İhyâi’t-Türâsi’l-Arabî, 1983) 48/80.
Kaynakça
Baktır, Mustafa. “İçki”. Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi. Erişim 6 Haziran 2022. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/icki#3-islamda
Dr. John Andrew Morrow. “About”. Erişim 9 Haziran 2022. https://johnandrewmorrow.com/about/
İbnü’l-Esîr, İzzeddîn. Üsdü’l-ğâbe. 3. Cilt. Beyrut: Dâru’l-Kütübi’l-İlmiyye, 2. Basım, 1994.
İsfahânî, Ebû Nuaym el-. Hilyetü’l-evliyâ. 10. Cilt. Mısır: es-Saâde, 1. Basım, 1996.
Meclisî, Muhmmed Bâkır el-. Bihâru’l-envâr. 48. Cilt. Beyrut: Dâru İhyâi’t-Türâsi’lArabî, 3. Basım 1983.
Öz, Mustafa. “el-Becelî, Ali b. Hüseyin”. Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi. Erişim 26 Mayıs 2022. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/beceli-ali-b-huseyin
Özdemir, Mehmet. “Müvelledûn”. Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi. Erişim 30 Mayıs 2022. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/muvelledun–endulus Shafaqna. “Interviews”. Erişim 9 Haziran 2022. https://en.shafaqna.com/62876/an-interview-with-dr-john-andrew-morrow/
Sülemî, Muhammed b. Hüseyin es-. Tabakâtü’s-sûfiyye. 1. Cilt. Beyrut: Dâru’lKütübi’l-İlmiyye, 2. Basım, 2002.
WHO, World Health Organization. “Levels of Consumption”. Erişim 4 Haziran 2022. https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicatordetails/GHO/total-(recorded-unrecorded)-alcohol-per-capita-(15-)- consumption
Zehebî, Şemsüddîn ez-. Siyeru a’lâmi’n-nübelâ. 3. Cilt. Beyrut: Müessesetü’r-Risâle, 1. Basım, 1982.
Dr. John Andrew Morrow 