Sulayman Nyang - The History of Islam in Spain

About this lecture

In this lecture, Professor Sulayman Nyang offers a sweeping historical overview of Islam in the Iberian Peninsula, tracing the rise and fall of Muslim power in Al-Andalus from the Umayyad conquest through the Reconquista and the Inquisition of 1492. He examines the cultural, intellectual, and architectural achievements of Córdoba and the broader Andalusian civilization — including its contributions to banking, medicine, philosophy, and science — and explores why Islam endured permanently in North Africa but ultimately receded from Spain. The lecture concludes with a rich Q&A covering topics such as interfaith coexistence, the origins of racism in the concept of blood purity, and parallels between Islamic civilization and modern American civilization.