Book Review: We Are All Moors: Ending Centuries of Crusades... by Anouar Majid - Page 2

At times, Majid might reach a bit too far. A chapter called "Muslim Jews" seeks to show how persecution of Jews is interconnected with anti-Muslim sentiment in the Christian world. He notes not only that Muslims and Jews were often cohabitants of particular geographic areas but also, for example, Jews were seen during the Crusades to be allied with Muslims, if not in league with them. The latter, though, seems somewhat problematic. First, it tends to undercut his reliance on the unification of Spain helping make Moors a prototype because the Crusades preceded that. Second, persecution of Jews isn't necessarily correlated with persecution of Muslims. For example, Great Britain expelled Jews nearly 200 years before Spain did and Great Britain had little, if any, Moorish influence. Additionally, some experts trace religious-based Antisemitism to ancient Greece and Rome. A stronger argument exists for Jews also falling within the same spectrum that today's Western prism throws on Muslims.

We Are All Moors is perhaps strongest in its analysis of anti-immigrant feelings in Europe and America. Majid cogently argues that excluding people because of xenophobic fear of threats to "native" culture or economies simply is not a viable option in the modern world and a global economy. Nationalist or nativist concepts based on expulsion or exclusion of undesirables "simply are not rational long-term solutions for an already besieged planet," he writes. In saying we are all Moors, Majid is saying that in today's world, we are all minorities in some fashion or another, minorities who can only survive by overcoming racial, religious, and cultural differences.

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Article Author: Tim Gebhart

Tim Gebhart lives in Sioux Falls, SD, where he practices law in order to provide shelter for his family, his dogs, and his books. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and his blog de guerre is A Progressive on the Prairie.

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