Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain
August 15, 2007
This looks interesting:
Synopsis:
Over a thousand years ago, the sun-washed lands of Southern Spain were home to Muslims, Christians and Jews living together and flourishing. Their culture and beliefs intertwined, and the knowledge of the ancients was gathered and reborn. Here were the very seeds of the Renaissance. But this world too quickly vanished. Greed, fear and intolerance swept it away. Puritanical judgments and absolutism snuffed out the light of learning. Within a few centuries the fragile union of these people dissipated like smoke and the time of tolerance was lost forever. Brought to life by powerful feature-film style re-creations Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain explores the causes that destroyed the one civilization of pluralism and interfaith cooperation that for a few centuries lit the Dark Ages in Medieval Europe.
Source: Islamica
Wednesday, August 22, 2007 @ 9 p.m. on PBS.
Click here to watch a clip
For more information click here.
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1.
Deidra | August 21, 2007 at 9:46 pm
I saw clips of this documentary online. It is a very “whitewashed” version. Islamic Spain was “Moorish” spain. How is that the Moors look European when so many came from Africa? Even those who were Arab had more of a 50/50 chance of also looking African or at least of mixed African/Asian/European blood. Of all the clips, there is a section of Ziryab, an African, and he is white in the re-enactment. His name means “black bird”!! This is really sad and pathetic. Shame on PBS!! This is a painting by Edward Charlemont: http://www.illusionsgallery.com/Moorish%20Chief.html . Even Roderic (the Visigoth who was conquered) described the Moors as black skinned. Alfonso X’s Cantigas of Santa Maria describes them as black. Think of all the Moors fictional and real Othello, St. Maurice, Estebanico…. All Africans. Pathetic, simply pathetic.
2.
radf | August 22, 2007 at 12:11 am
I haven’t seen that many clips but it juss looked interesting to me.
I decided to actually watch it before I jumped to any conclusions.
3.
Deidra | August 22, 2007 at 12:59 am
you can see the clips on http://www.brightcove.com
4.
Karanja | August 23, 2007 at 3:57 pm
I agree Deidra. Began to watch the program about 5 to 10 minutes after it started and wondered if I missed the reference to the Moors. I found the history most interesting but, how in the hell do you discuss Islamic Spain without black moors being core to any illustrations included in the story? “Whitewashed” - yeap, City of Lights is this the illustrative definition of it.
5.
Karanja | August 23, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Correction: Cities of Light
6.
sandmadd | August 23, 2007 at 5:23 pm
I absolutely agree with you, Diedre. This documentary looks like something made in the ’50s. The primary sources that describe the berbers/moors/saracens of Spain as black were available to the producers. This “white-out” look like deliberate bias.
7.
Barbara | August 23, 2007 at 11:54 pm
It is too bad the film did not portray the Moors properly as I found the subject matter very interesting. I need knew there was this story where Muslim, Christian and Jew lived in harmony. Maybe there is hope for acceptance again. It would be nice if we saw each other without seeing “color”.