Soccer Dad

Almohad ignorance

The trip to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History was marred by an excessive dedication to political correctness. In particular there was an exhibit called African Voices. The exhibit's purpose was to show how many of our ideas of society and freedom could be traced to African traditions.

What really bothered us was a display about the Almoravids.

The Almoravids’ rigorous Islamic reform movement emphasized equality and led to a period of stability in North and West Africa. In Spain, the Almoravids were succeeded by North African Muslims, the Almohads. Cultural innovators, they became known for the architecture of their glorious mosques.

Funny but not all accounts have such a positive view of the Almoravids. Here's an excerpt from the Columbia Encyclopedia

The Almoravids were rough and puritanical, contemptuous of the luxurious Muslim courts in Spain. Their rule was never entirely stable and in the 12th cent. was attacked by the Almohads, who finally (by 1174) won both Morocco and Muslim Spain.

(And let's not forget the Islamic "equality" often does not extend to adherents of other faiths.)

But even if the exhibit overstated the "stability" that the Almoravids established, I'm outraged by the exhibit's whitewashing of the Almohads. As the Heritage series puts it

Rabbinic authority, codifier, philosopher, and royal physician; the most illustrious figure in Judaism in the post-talmudic era. Maimonides was born in Cordoba, Spain, but left with his family in the wake of the Almohad conquest and subsequent religious persecution.

(The Rambam's/Maimonides's life has been dramatized in DVD and graphic novel form (adapted from the movie/DVD). The story has been adapted by Robert Avrech of Seraphic Secret.)

A central figure of my religion was uprooted as a consequence of the Almohads. Perhaps if it were just him, it wouldn't be worth mentioning. But the Rambam was one of many who was forced to flee. To ignore the flight of those who escaped the persecution is to excuse the persecution.

The Almohads were known for their ruthlessness and persecution of Jews and Christians. Of course, focusing on the Almohads architecture is sort of like focusing the "charitable network" of Hamas and ignoring their organizing of violence against Jews and planned persecution of Christians.

What aggravates this dishonesty is that it's being promoted at a museum - an instution devoted to caring for accurate history - and what makes it especially bad is that the museum is funded by the American government.

It seems that whatever time, whatever place, there's always a reason to overlook Islamic extremism and the damage that it causes. We are definitely not learning from the past.

Technorati tags: Almohad, Natural History, Rambam.