Expulsion of Andalusi Christians in 1126

“If the situation of Andalusian Muslims was dire at the time, that of the Andalusian Christians was even worse.

The African Morabits showed them no leniency. The tolerance previously shown to Christians now seemed criminal and impious. To them, churches were the disgrace of the Peninsula, and they insisted to the monarch on the need to destroy them. Nearly as intolerant as they were, the monarch easily gave in. What did they do? It’s impossible to say; Muslim writers remain silent, and Andalusian Christians had no chroniclers. But we can assume the faqihs did not stop halfway; their hatred for Christians was too strong not to have incited them and persecuted them in every way.

For many years, the Christians suffered in silence. Finally, around 1125, at their limit, they pleaded with King Alfonso the Battler of Aragon—then the talk of Spain for his fame—to come liberate them from the unbearable yoke upon them. Alfonso answered their call and marched to Andalusia.”^[4]

After Alfonso the Battler's expedition in 1125, the Moors of Al-Andalus were enraged with the Christians. Muslim authorities believed the Mozarabs, having supported the Aragonese invasion, had violated their vassal pact with the Muslim rulers, thus forfeiting their rights under the Islamic state.

The Qadi (governor and jurist) of Córdoba, Abū l-Walīd Muḥammad Ibn Rushd, traveled to Marrakesh (Al-Andalus was under Moroccan control at the time) to report to the Almoravid emir. He recommended drastic action.

Then, Ali ibn Yusuf—already considering jihad against Iberian Christians a priority^[5]—ordered the expulsion of Mozarabic Christians from his domains during Ramadan of 1126.^[6][7][8]

The order was executed by Ibn Rushd (grandfather of the famous philosopher Averroes), through a legal ruling (fatwa) that demanded the Christians be deported to North Africa. He justified this on the basis that the entire community had incited and supported the Aragonese expedition.

These Mozarabs, mostly from Granada, Córdoba, and Seville, left with their political and religious leaders and settled around Meknes and Salé. They lost many of their former rights and were mistreated during the journey, often forced into hard labor.^[6][8]

Meanwhile, Ali ibn Yusuf hoped to transfer Mozarabic soldiers from Andalusia to help defend Morocco. He granted them the same protection (dhimma) they had lost in Spain—but only applied in Africa. He even authorized Catholic priests to build a church in Marrakesh, where they continued their religious duties. However, in exchange, the entire community was required to enroll in the military register (diwan), serving as the emir's personal guard and defending the Almoravids from the Almohads.^[6]

Although further deportations took place in 1138 and 1170, the 1126 expulsion effectively wiped out the Mozarabic community in Granada, Córdoba, and Seville for the rest of the century. Public Christian worship ceased among those who remained in Al-Andalus. Many tried to avoid deportation by converting to Islam or fleeing to the northern Christian kingdoms, though Muslim forces tried to capture them.

Those who remained were dispossessed, publicly humiliated, chained, or even martyred for their faith.^[8] Still, as of 1138, important Mozarabic communities survived in rural areas and smaller cities.

With the arrival of the Almohads and the expulsion of Jews from Al-Andalus in 1146, massacres and enslavements of remaining Mozarabs also took place. A chronicler wrote:

“The people that the common folk call muzmotos [referring to the Almohads] came from Africa… and killed the Christians known as Mozarabs and the Jews who had lived there since ancient times. They took their women, houses, and wealth.”^[10]

By 1162, they were nearly extinct, facing increased repression during Muslim dynastic struggles. The remaining former Mozarabs (now crypto-Christians) earned the hostility of the authorities.

Furthermore, Christian properties were confiscated by Muslims (unless a Mozarab from Africa could prove ownership and was allowed to sell them), and churches were converted into mosques.^[11]

“The answer [is as follows]: The waqf (endowments) of the dhimmis have no sanctity (hurma). If the donor is alive and wishes to recover or sell them, he may do so freely. If the waqf is old and in dhimmi territory, nothing will prevent such action. If the Muslim authority sees fit, after the dhimmis have been expelled from their church, to convert it into a mosque, this is the best course. Muslims who replace the dhimmis need a mosque, and the imam should build one for them—preferably converting the church. That and its endowments become public property after the Christians lose ownership. They cannot claim it anymore, unless the original donor is alive to reclaim or sell it. If not, they may only use it while residing there. If they abandon it, it becomes Muslim property by default. The conversion of a church into a mosque, along with its associated goods and services, is justified by the offense it causes the infidels: their house of impiety and idolatry becomes a place where God is worshipped and Islamic law is upheld.”^[12]

Among those who stayed in North Africa, cultural activities thrived within the Christian community. Arabic translations of the Gospels were made, and a community of Christian soldiers in service of the Moroccan Muslims grew stronger. These soldiers continued serving under the Almohad Empire and later the Marinid Sultanate.

Thousands of exiled Mozarabs returned to Spain two decades later, settling in Christian Toledo. According to Francisco Javier Simonet:

“Around the year 1150, many thousands of these Christians—Mozarabs and freed captives—who had served the Almoravids in Africa, seeing their crumbling empire could no longer be sustained, returned to Spain with their families, priests, and bishops. Tired of fighting for the Moors, they went to Toledo, where Emperor Alfonso VII is presumed to have welcomed them favorably. The Latin Chronicle of this monarch praises these Christians who, amid infidels and continuous war, led wholly military lives yet faithfully preserved their faith, worship, and Church. Still, many Christians, mostly Spaniards, remained in Africa…”^[13]

Mozarab militias remained active in North Africa until around 1380, when King Juan I of Castile retrieved them and offered them land in his kingdom. They returned to Seville with the authorization of the then-Emir of Morocco.^[14]

• Bosch, Jacinto; Molina, Emilio (1990). Los almorávides. Universidad de Granada. ISBN 978-84-338-1069-4.
• de los Ríos, José Amador (1875). Historia de los judíos de España y Portugal (in Spanish). Madrid: Fortanet.
• Serrano, Delfina (1991). "Dos fetuas sobre la expulsión de mozárabes al Magreb en 1126" (PDF). Anaquel de Estudios Árabes. 2. Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. ISSN 1988-2645. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2010.
• Simonet, Francisco Javier (1897–1903). Historia de los mozárabes de España. Madrid.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)