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Children of Al-Andalus in Chefchaouen [April 10th, 2025]
Children of Al-Andalus in Chefchaouen [April 10th, 2025]
Sidi Ali Raisuni Chefchaouen March 11th, 2023 Bismillah, al-Rahman, al-Rahim. In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. And his prayers that reach the Prophet Mohamed, peace be upon him, the last prophet in the chain of prophets. Greetings to all, to our Spanish friends, to our Moroccan friends, to the Arabs, to the French, to the Dutch, to the whole world. Because peace is a greeting that all of God’s creatures in this world should enjoy. I am very honored to have participated in this cultural project in the beautiful city of Vejer del Frontera, which is located in the province of Cádiz, autonomous community of Andalucía, Kingdom of Spain. Where I had the honor of meeting the mayor, friend, faithful, Mr. Antonio Verdú. This participation was not only on my personal behalf, but also on behalf of the Raisuni family, all of them. In the house of the founder of the city of Chefchaouen, where I am, directing these words through these new means from a distance. I am in the house of the founder of the city of Chefchaouen, Moulay Ali Ben Rachid, which was founded in 1471. During the event I had the opportunity to express my opinion on the book of the descendants of Andalusians, which deals with the history of the great Andalusian civilization and talks about the descendants of the Andalusians in Morocco. The Andalusians not only emigrated to Morocco, but also to Tunisia, to North Africa, all over the world. “Children of Al-Andalus” is a very important book, which allows us to understand the history of the Andalusians and their influence on Spanish culture in Morocco. A great influence. I do not want to repeat what is written or read what is written in this book, which is considered an encyclopedia. It is a very important book that allows us to understand the history of Andalusians and their influence on Spanish culture in Morocco. The work also highlights the role of the descendants of the Andalusians in preserving and promoting Andalusian heritage. It doesn’t matter, we call ourselves Andalusians or Andalusíes. In my speech I also make special mention of Mr. Tariq Leeuwestein and his team, the creators of the Children of Al-Andalus project. He is the creator of this idea that has come to light, Alhamdulillah, it has come to light. I want to express my admiration for his initiative in reuniting and preserving the Andalusian heritage. They have done an exceptional job in keeping alive the history and culture of the Andalusians in Morocco and their descendants. Finally, I want to thank Mr. Antonio Verdú for his kind invitation and for his commitment to the culture and history of his city of Vejer de la Frontera. My city is Chefchaouen, as I said before, the Spanish have entered here in the 1920’s, where the new Chefchaouen was created. The old Chefchaouen, existed from 1471 to 1920, before the Spanish entered the African war. They only stayed for four years, they had to leave Chefchaouen and returned in 1926 until the announcement of the contract of Moroccan Independence, which took place with the signature of General Franco on April 17, 1956 in Madrid. I hope that our collaboration continues and we can work together to preserve and promote the Andalusian heritage in Spain and Morocco. Welcome to your city of Chefchaouen, or Xauen with X as it is sometimes written. Thank you very much for listening to this brief intervention of mine at this cultural and scientific event, which is one of the works that will remain in time talking about the Andalusian heritage. Before finishing, I have to mention Lalla Zahra [Catalina Fernández], the mother of Sayyida al-Hurra, who came to this city with her husband Moulay Ali Ben Rachid, the founder of Chefchaouen. Lalla Zahra came from Vejer de la Frontera and is the mother of Sayyida al-Hurra, I have to mention this very important note, we must not forget it because it is a material argument of the flesh and blood that we have, that occurs in our body, both the Andalusians of the south, who are those in Morocco, as well as those of the north of the province of Cádiz and other peoples in Spain and in the world. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, thank you to everyone.
Ali Raisuni
Dr. Mhammad Benaboud Tétouan March 11th, 2023 Good morning. My name is Mhammad Benaboud. I am a historian of Al-Andalus and of the Medina of Tétouan. I am delighted to present the book “Children of Al-Andalus”. The idea was born in Holland thanks to Rick [Tariq] Leeuwestein. It was thanks to him that this idea continued to grow until it was transformed into a project. A book on the children of Al-Andalus, on the legacy of Al-Andalus in Morocco. The book is impressive in many respects. Its size is enormous, the quality is the best, and the photographs are impressive. The book includes people in about twelve or thirteen cities and regions of Morocco, including some of its largest cities with an important population of Andalusian descendants, such as Tétouan, Tangier, Chefchaouen, Fez, Meknès, etc. The book presents a short biography of many of the Andalusian members of these cities. It expresses a great variety. We find intellectuals, we find historians, we find artists, we find painters, we find musicians, and we find ordinary people. It is important that they are representatives of all the shades of society. But they have one factor in common, in spite of the great diversity, they are all conscious and proud of belonging to the Andalusian culture. They are conscious of having transmitted the Andalusian culture across the centuries, which they received from their fathers and grandfathers. And it is important that this Andalusian legacy has left a strong impact on many dimensions of Moroccan society, including the people, the architecture and the urbanism, the arts, and the style of life of these people. The fact that we are speaking about a common consciousness of having belonged to this universal culture, because the Andalusian culture is a universal culture, it spread from the Iberian Peninsula across the Strait of Gibraltar to cover Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and in another direction, Mauritania. We can find the impact of Al-Andalus in almost every dimension of these regions. And we cannot understand the cultural identity of the Moroccan people without considering the Andalusian culture as an important part, as an important component of this culture, of this history, and of its society. The graphic dimension is impressive, because you have images of faces of so many different generations, and of so many shapes and forms. And there is one common denominator, the consciousness of belonging to the Andalusian culture. This is really impressive, and it is also impressive that the idea which Rick formulated, he may not be of Andalusian origin, but he considers the Andalusian culture as his own culture as well, which shows to you that the Andalusian culture has been transmitted over the last five centuries, because of its power. We could examine many dimensions of the Andalusian culture. Andalusian thought, for example, is just fascinating, and I cannot describe it in short intervention, because it has left a universal impact on so many branches of knowledge. The lifestyle was so sophisticated for the time, and the Andalusian thought was more advanced than its neighboring Christian kingdoms in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as across the Straits of Gibraltar in Morocco. I am very proud to have participated in this project, because it is a unique project. The idea is totally original. Never has such a book been published, and that is enough to justify its importance. I would therefore like to express my best regards to all those who participated in this project, our Spanish friends, our Moroccan friends, and our Dutch friends. And this in itself demonstrates the power that the culture of Al-Andalus has to unite people. Thank you very much.
Mhammed Benaboud
Manuscripts from Al-Andalus in the Maghrib Professor Umberto Bongianino talks about the manuscript tradition of the Islamic West. During our conversation, he analyzes rare manuscripts from historical Al-Andalus including Qurans and a unique copy of Al-Muwatta from Granada. Many of these important Andalusian Qurans and manuscripts of Maliki jurisprudence were brought to Morocco, where they are still preserved and protected in Moroccan royal and private libraries and religious institutions. Umberto Bongianino is an associate professor of Islamic art and architecture at the Khalili Research Centre, University of Oxford. His area of research is the architecture and material culture of the Islamic Mediterranean, with a special focus on North Africa and Islamic Iberia (Al-Andalus). His first monograph is entitled The Manuscript Tradition of the Islamic West: Maghribi Round Scripts and the Andalusi Identity (Edinburgh University Press, 2022).
Manuscripts from Al-Andalus in the Maghrib
Via de smalle Straat van Gibraltar zijn Marokko en het Iberisch Schiereiland van oudsher onlosmakelijk met elkaar verbonden. Eeuwenlang reisden mensen constant heen en weer tussen Al-Andalus en Noord-Afrika. In 1492 met de overgave van Granada bereikt de emigratie van Andalusiërs naar de Maghrib een hoogtepunt. Vandaag de dag is Marokko een van de weinige landen die de tradities van Al-Andalus levend houdt. Deze geschiedenis heeft een bijzondere plaats in het historische, culturele en spirituele erfgoed van het land. Marokkaanse tradities geven uiting aan zowel de kracht van Noord-Afrika als de schoonheid en verfijndheid van Al-Andalus. Tariq - Andalusiërs in Marokko (2023) Inleiding: Andalusische emigratie naar Marokko Hoofdstuk 1: Tanger Hoofdstuk 2: Anjra Hoofdstuk 3: Tétouan Hoofdstuk 4: Chefchaouen Hoofdstuk 5: Rif Hoofdstuk 6: Debdou Hoofdstuk 7: Fez Hoofdstuk 8: Meknès Hoofdstuk 9: Rabat Hoofdstuk 10: Salé Hoofdstuk 11: Essaouira Hoofdstuk 12: Marrakech https://tariq-andalus.com
Inleiding: Andalusische emigratie naar Marokko
Tariq - Andalusiërs in Marokko (2023) Inleiding: Andalusische emigratie naar Marokko Hoofdstuk 1: Tanger Hoofdstuk 2: Anjra Hoofdstuk 3: Tétouan Hoofdstuk 4: Chefchaouen Hoofdstuk 5: Rif Hoofdstuk 6: Debdou Hoofdstuk 7: Fez Hoofdstuk 8: Meknès Hoofdstuk 9: Rabat Hoofdstuk 10: Salé Hoofdstuk 11: Essaouira Hoofdstuk 12: Marrakech https://tariq-andalus.com
Introductie: Andalusiërs in Marokko
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