Popular in Arts and Humanities

Arts and Humanities

Titus Quinctius Flamininus’ “Italian triumph”

McGill University Michael Fronda

Arts and Humanities

Lincoln and the Jews

Brandeis University Jonathan Sarna

Arts and Humanities

Amputations and Convalescence

University of Western Australia Emily Brink

Art

Drawing on the past: Palladio, his precursors and knowledge of ancient architecture

University of Birmingham David Hemsoll

Art

Language, Sound, and Image in Wallace Berman’s Aleph, 1956–1966

University of San Diego Chelsea Behle Fralick

Arts and Humanities

Early Modern Natural Law Theories

University of Copenhagen Knud Haakonssen

With the God of Battles I can Destroy All Such Villains

View more insights in Arts and Humanities - History - History of North America and the United States

View more figures from University of San Diego

View the page of Michael Gonzalez

Read the Study

Michael Gonzalez discusses war and the influence of Islam on provincial Spanish and Mexican California between 1769 and 1846.

Image courtesy of interviewee. August 19, 2024

Generating Workspace

Export as PDF

In a discussion led by Professor Gonzalez, the context and aims of his study are explored, highlighting his interest in the historical and cultural exchanges between Islam and Christianity, particularly through the lens of the Franciscan priests who were influential in California during the 18th and 19th centuries. He reflects on his personal discovery of genetic ties to the Muslim world, leading him to investigate the deeper cultural connections between Muslims and Christians, especially in Spain.

The professor examines the paradox of the Franciscan priests, who often resorted to violence in their missionary work despite Christianity's teachings on peace and love. He notes that the majority of the priests came from southern Spain, where Islamic influence had been significant due to nearly 800 years of Muslim control over the region. Gonzalez argues that principles like jihad and rabat, which were militarized during the Islamic expansion into Spain, were absorbed and adapted by the Christians.

Moreover, he addresses the religious justifications for military actions taken by Spanish Christians, emphasizing their belief that fighting for God allowed them to atone for sins. The cross-cultural exchanges between Islamic and Spanish ideologies created a context where violence was sometimes rationalized as divine will.

In conclusion, Gonzalez suggests future research should focus on the broader cultural connections between the Islamic world and Latin America, using his findings as a cautionary tale about the dangers of conflating divine sanction with moral righteousness in the context of violence. He advocates for a deeper understanding of how such historical attitudes can inform contemporary issues of faith and conflict.

Language:

Export as PDF

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

00:00.245 --> 00:02.885
I wanted to expand and,

00:03.585 --> 00:05.925
and, enhance the vision

00:06.665 --> 00:09.285
and the discussion about the, the, the,

00:09.345 --> 00:11.685
the Franciscan priest who came to California

00:12.545 --> 00:14.765
in the 18th and 19th century.

00:15.385 --> 00:18.645
Um, the second point was I wanted to also

00:19.545 --> 00:23.725
expand upon the in cultural exchanges between Islam

00:23.945 --> 00:26.685
and Christianity, especially through Spain.

00:27.345 --> 00:30.485
Uh, and in a, on a very personal note, one

00:30.485 --> 00:33.845
of the ways I became interested in this topic, I went

00:33.845 --> 00:35.285
through 23 and me,

00:35.545 --> 00:40.485
and I discovered that in my genome, at least 5% of my genome

00:41.215 --> 00:44.125
comes from what, basically the, the Muslim world,

00:44.365 --> 00:47.205
Northern Africa and base and, and Syria

00:48.105 --> 00:50.685
and other people who share my heritage,

00:50.855 --> 00:52.045
being Mexican in origin.

00:52.745 --> 00:57.285
Um, they have, they have proportions as high as 10%, 15%.

00:58.025 --> 01:01.245
And I was really intrigued, by this,

01:01.315 --> 01:02.645
this genetic connection.

01:03.025 --> 01:05.805
And I, as I began to explore this topic, even some more,

01:05.805 --> 01:07.605
there are obviously some very deep,

01:07.995 --> 01:11.285
rich cultural connections as well, from philosophy,

01:11.965 --> 01:16.565
language, architecture, expressions of religiosity.

01:17.105 --> 01:21.885
Um, and, and I thought this is a really rich topic.

01:22.345 --> 01:24.805
So this brings me back to the Franciscan priests.

01:24.945 --> 01:28.125
And one of the topics that has always interested me is

01:28.125 --> 01:30.285
that the Franciscan priests were,

01:30.635 --> 01:33.365
were not shy about using force, about

01:33.965 --> 01:35.765
bringing Indians into the missions.

01:36.505 --> 01:38.725
And I began to really think about this topic.

01:38.815 --> 01:40.885
Where, where did this impulse come from?

01:41.015 --> 01:42.285
Since Christ Christians,

01:42.505 --> 01:46.085
and I say this as a, as a practicing Roman Catholic,

01:46.405 --> 01:49.485
supposedly, supposedly Christianity is supposed

01:49.505 --> 01:52.445
to follow Jesus' teachings about turning the other cheek,

01:52.505 --> 01:57.325
loving your enemy, not to use, violence or force,

01:57.425 --> 01:58.925
or bring people into the faith.

01:59.265 --> 02:01.645
And then began to think, where does this impulse come from,

02:02.105 --> 02:04.805
where the Franciscan priests committed sometimes

02:05.085 --> 02:07.245
horrific acts of violence to increase the

02:07.295 --> 02:08.525
ranks of the faithful.

02:09.265 --> 02:12.445
And as I began to do more research, I discovered

02:12.445 --> 02:17.165
that outta the 145 Spanish priests who came to California

02:17.165 --> 02:18.885
between 1769

02:19.265 --> 02:20.525
and 1834

02:20.905 --> 02:25.365
to establish 21 missions along the California coast,

02:25.965 --> 02:29.485
140 of them, a hundred, 140 of them came from Spain.

02:30.305 --> 02:31.645
And a good majority

02:31.645 --> 02:34.285
of these priests came from southern Spain,

02:34.575 --> 02:37.645
where the Muslim influence is, was very strong.

02:38.405 --> 02:42.925
'cause, as, as you know, Muslims controlled Spain

02:42.925 --> 02:44.245
for nearly, 800 years,

02:44.905 --> 02:47.005
and especially in the southern portions of Spain.

02:47.465 --> 02:50.045
Uh, that presence, was nearly fr.

02:50.405 --> 02:52.845
I mean, that was where the deepest impression was made.

02:53.545 --> 02:56.845
And I began to think, okay, there must be some connection

02:57.075 --> 02:58.365
between the priests,

02:58.985 --> 03:01.645
Uh, the cultural interchange between Christians

03:01.645 --> 03:02.805
and Muslims in Spain.

03:03.465 --> 03:05.005
And they began to dig deeper.

03:05.065 --> 03:07.925
And that's where I discovered these, these principles

03:08.315 --> 03:09.485
that Muslims use.

03:09.625 --> 03:13.165
And according to the Christian calendar, in the eighth

03:13.165 --> 03:16.885
and ninth century, to expand the, the, the frontiers

03:16.885 --> 03:18.525
of Islam into Spain

03:18.825 --> 03:22.845
and battling their Christian, their Christian rivals,

03:23.355 --> 03:28.335
some Muslims invoked, some principles found in the Quran

03:28.515 --> 03:32.175
and the Haddi, as well as other, other writings in order

03:32.195 --> 03:36.335
to justify, expanding the frontiers of Islam.

03:36.715 --> 03:39.415
And then as Islam expanded deeper into Spain,

03:39.555 --> 03:44.135
the Christians, absorbed these principles, adopted them,

03:44.695 --> 03:49.255
tailored them to their, to their, to their liking.

03:49.835 --> 03:52.495
And then this became part of, of Christian culture.

03:53.235 --> 03:56.135
Um, so this crus, this crusading ethos,

03:56.545 --> 03:59.615
which we see obviously in, in,

03:59.615 --> 04:02.215
what we now call the Holy Land, the Middle East,

04:02.605 --> 04:06.375
this crusading ethos also emerged in, in Spain.

04:06.955 --> 04:10.735
And it was basically, the product of an interchange

04:10.735 --> 04:11.815
between Christian

04:11.875 --> 04:16.655
and Islam cult Islamic culture concerning, using force

04:17.275 --> 04:20.535
and sanctifying force by, with, with these appeals to,

04:20.555 --> 04:22.255
to religion, to God.

04:22.675 --> 04:26.535
Um, and these impulses became part

04:26.555 --> 04:29.495
of the Franciscan attitude and demeanor,

04:29.715 --> 04:32.015
and they brought these attitudes to California.

04:32.195 --> 04:37.095
The central part of the argument is that as the, when, when,

04:37.285 --> 04:41.495
when the, the Muslims pushed deeper into Spain,

04:41.955 --> 04:43.655
in the eighth and ninth century, according

04:43.655 --> 04:46.215
to the Christian calendar, they invoke these,

04:46.225 --> 04:48.255
these precepts called rabat and,

04:48.255 --> 04:50.895
and jihad, which jihad just means struggle.

04:51.145 --> 04:53.615
Where bot means comes from the Arabic we we

04:53.715 --> 04:54.735
to bind together.

04:55.235 --> 04:56.695
Uh, but the, these principles,

04:56.695 --> 04:57.815
however,

04:57.845 --> 05:00.895
when you're facing an enemy like you see in Christian Spain,

05:00.915 --> 05:03.335
or, well, these, you have mus, the Muslim south,

05:03.555 --> 05:06.895
the Christian North, these principles became militarized.

05:07.655 --> 05:10.135
'cause as the Muslims confronted the Christian rivals,

05:10.615 --> 05:13.735
Reba means to not, you bind to, you bind together

05:13.875 --> 05:15.095
to defend the faith.

05:15.595 --> 05:17.855
And when you defend the faith,

05:18.275 --> 05:20.455
you can also atone for your sins.

05:21.295 --> 05:24.655
Jihad goes from struggle, which means struggle,

05:24.655 --> 05:25.815
obviously with the spirit,

05:26.195 --> 05:28.655
but struggle now means struggle against your enemies.

05:29.075 --> 05:31.375
So the central argument I wanted to make was

05:31.375 --> 05:33.455
that these principles of jihad

05:33.455 --> 05:38.095
and ramat, become transferred over to the,

05:38.275 --> 05:39.495
the Spanish Christians.

05:39.995 --> 05:43.015
And then these, these principles become part

05:43.015 --> 05:44.055
of Spanish culture.

05:44.555 --> 05:48.775
And when the Spaniards, come to California,

05:49.005 --> 05:51.695
they invoke these principles that you can atone

05:51.715 --> 05:54.415
for your sins, by banning together

05:54.475 --> 05:56.175
to defend the faith,

05:56.755 --> 05:59.045
You, this becomes an act of warship.

05:59.545 --> 06:02.005
And so this, these two ideas, jihad

06:02.005 --> 06:05.325
and ramat become, become very, militarized,

06:05.665 --> 06:07.685
and they become basically the foundation

06:07.985 --> 06:10.685
of the Spanish expansion in into California.

06:11.305 --> 06:13.685
Um, and to establish the missions.

06:13.985 --> 06:18.765
Now, I i I, I would want to emphasize here that, one

06:18.765 --> 06:22.645
of my, one of my reviewers for this article accused me

06:22.645 --> 06:23.885
of being an orientalist.

06:24.545 --> 06:27.845
And by taking this particular line of reasoning,

06:28.105 --> 06:31.325
and I counter it by saying that Edward Saeed argues

06:31.635 --> 06:35.405
that Orientalism basically is the idea is when Westerners

06:35.905 --> 06:39.325
use some, some aspect of Muslim,

06:39.865 --> 06:41.605
or, Muslim culture

06:42.065 --> 06:43.525
or Middle Eastern culture

06:43.745 --> 06:46.805
to justify imperialism Western expansion.

06:47.195 --> 06:50.165
What I, what I wanted to counter by, by saying is that

06:50.775 --> 06:52.605
Islam enriched,

06:53.775 --> 06:56.835
and really improved upon Christian and Western culture.

06:57.615 --> 07:00.315
And this is only one aspect among many,

07:00.625 --> 07:02.595
many contributions to Western culture.

07:03.015 --> 07:04.595
You have this military spirit,

07:05.055 --> 07:08.915
but also, by focusing on the military aspect,

07:09.015 --> 07:10.435
as my article makes clear,

07:10.935 --> 07:13.635
and not only am I talking about the military aspect of,

07:13.775 --> 07:17.235
of Muslim, of Islam's contributions to Christianity,

07:17.755 --> 07:19.715
I also wanted to bring up,

07:19.735 --> 07:21.515
and I'll do this in subsequent writings,

07:21.735 --> 07:24.555
how philosophically, religiously, architecturally,

07:24.565 --> 07:26.955
Islam also really contributed to

07:26.975 --> 07:29.035
and even enriched Christian culture.

07:29.255 --> 07:31.475
We would not have the west, this idea

07:31.475 --> 07:33.555
of the West without the contributions

07:33.775 --> 07:36.475
of Muslim thinkers in Northern Africa,

07:36.475 --> 07:38.795
especially in places like the Middle East.

07:39.195 --> 07:42.715
I mean, Islam's Islam saved Western civilization.

07:43.255 --> 07:44.315
Uh, I mean, that's a whole

07:44.355 --> 07:45.435
nother discussion for another day.

07:45.935 --> 07:49.355
So focusing on the military is only one aspect

07:49.355 --> 07:51.275
of a larger discussion.

07:51.295 --> 07:54.155
So I wanna make that quite clear when you read the,

07:54.295 --> 07:55.595
at least, okay, this is me,

07:55.655 --> 07:58.155
and I recognize that when I published my article,

07:58.585 --> 08:01.755
someone accused me of being anti-Catholic,

08:02.335 --> 08:05.595
anti-Christian for, for making the argument that I did.

08:05.775 --> 08:08.515
So that's life, that's academia.

08:08.935 --> 08:12.555
Um, but the justifications, if you read the evidence

08:13.175 --> 08:17.235
and you see these constant invocations to, to God, I mean,

08:17.235 --> 08:21.715
just know, I mean, all throughout history, military,

08:21.715 --> 08:24.515
leaders, warriors

08:24.515 --> 08:27.075
of all sorts always invoke some higher power

08:27.175 --> 08:28.195
to justify their acts.

08:28.195 --> 08:29.355
That's no great insight.

08:29.625 --> 08:32.835
However, the language that the

08:34.365 --> 08:35.965
Catholics, the Spanish

08:36.145 --> 08:39.725
and Mexican Catholics in California, the priests

08:40.105 --> 08:43.365
and the, and the,

08:44.845 --> 08:47.545
and their members of their congregations,

08:48.085 --> 08:52.145
the way they speak, they ask God to bless them.

08:52.495 --> 08:54.785
They ask God to, to,

08:55.105 --> 08:57.925
Uh, help, purge them of their sins.

08:58.385 --> 09:02.325
And you, this brings us back to what happened in, in Spain,

09:02.815 --> 09:06.845
where when these followers would band together and pray

09:07.025 --> 09:11.085
or even fight their Christian rivals, they hoped to,

09:11.815 --> 09:13.725
purge themselves of sin, the aone

09:13.725 --> 09:15.645
for their sins and lessen at least.

09:15.745 --> 09:18.405
And I, I know that Islam does not have the

09:18.405 --> 09:19.445
idea of purgatory.

09:19.985 --> 09:23.245
Um, but I, from reading the Quran, I think there is the idea

09:23.835 --> 09:26.485
that you could be, you could lessen your time,

09:26.545 --> 09:29.605
be released from hell by, atoning for your sins.

09:29.765 --> 09:31.965
Christianity does not necessarily have that.

09:32.305 --> 09:34.405
Um, Christianity has purgatory,

09:34.865 --> 09:36.805
and there's this another world between

09:37.445 --> 09:38.805
paradise and, and hell.

09:39.265 --> 09:42.565
And the way that Christians took this idea by fighting

09:42.745 --> 09:46.085
for God and fighting for, of course,

09:46.145 --> 09:47.685
God does not want any of this to happen.

09:48.045 --> 09:51.325
'cause war is a sin, and both Islam and Christianity.

09:51.705 --> 09:53.765
But that's another discussion for another day.

09:54.185 --> 09:56.925
But the point remains that the language that used,

09:57.205 --> 10:01.285
I could purge myself of sin if I fight against my enemy,

10:01.425 --> 10:04.685
or I can purge myself of sin if I am trying

10:04.685 --> 10:08.325
to bring Indians into, into a, a, a Christian mission.

10:09.145 --> 10:12.405
Um, and by purging myself of sin becomes an act

10:12.405 --> 10:15.525
of perfection and also becomes an act of pilgrimage.

10:16.125 --> 10:18.765
'cause one of the big urges of Christianity,

10:18.985 --> 10:21.005
in the Middle Ages and up through, up

10:21.005 --> 10:22.765
through I say the 19th century,

10:22.765 --> 10:25.165
especially in the Spanish speaking world,

10:25.165 --> 10:28.285
this is one more point, another discussion for another day.

10:28.665 --> 10:30.965
Uh, there are many scholars who say that the Middle Ages,

10:30.965 --> 10:33.925
the Christian Middle Ages made their last stand in Mexico.

10:34.865 --> 10:39.125
And these medieval attitudes about traveling to Jerusalem.

10:39.625 --> 10:42.045
And as you walked to Jerusalem, if you're a pilgrim,

10:42.045 --> 10:43.885
whether they be Spain or France

10:43.885 --> 10:47.365
or Germany, as you walked through Jerusalem,

10:47.465 --> 10:48.925
you could atone for your sins.

10:49.085 --> 10:51.285
'cause this journey, this spiritual journey, as well

10:51.285 --> 10:53.805
as this physical journey was a, was one way

10:53.805 --> 10:55.245
of drawing closer to God.

10:55.465 --> 10:57.845
But as you drew closer to God, by going to the holy city

10:57.845 --> 11:01.405
of Jerusalem, you're able to, purge yourself of sin.

11:01.675 --> 11:04.685
This idea of, of, of,

11:05.625 --> 11:09.555
purgation this idea of, of cleansing, an idea

11:09.555 --> 11:12.875
of fighting and, serving as a,

11:12.895 --> 11:16.035
as a pilgrim sort of converge in California.

11:16.315 --> 11:18.875
'cause you get this sense that as I fight, as I traveled

11:18.935 --> 11:22.315
to fight my enemy, I am a toning for my sins.

11:22.335 --> 11:26.635
And this is an idea that's very medieval about how fighting,

11:27.225 --> 11:28.715
traveling to the sacred city

11:28.715 --> 11:32.435
of Jerusalem becomes transposed onto California.

11:32.895 --> 11:35.995
I'm fighting and traveling deeper into the California

11:36.275 --> 11:39.675
interior to bring Indians into, into the mission.

11:40.055 --> 11:42.195
And that's both, both, both for the priests

11:42.575 --> 11:46.115
and for, their, their, their members

11:46.115 --> 11:48.675
of the congregation, usually, Mexican

11:49.375 --> 11:52.835
and in some respects, Spanish soldiers. I think

11:52.835 --> 11:55.005
Right now, the the West is very polarized.

11:55.515 --> 11:57.965
They're, I think that some parts of Western culture

11:58.545 --> 11:59.885
are becoming more insular.

12:00.195 --> 12:01.885
There's fear about difference.

12:02.145 --> 12:04.725
And even though my, my article,

12:04.725 --> 12:07.045
in this article at least talks about the violence

12:07.185 --> 12:11.245
and force, on a deeper level, I'm talking about a,

12:11.765 --> 12:12.805
a, well, two things.

12:13.425 --> 12:16.365
One, I'm talking about the, the connections between Islam

12:16.585 --> 12:19.085
and the West, especially western Christianity.

12:20.025 --> 12:24.005
And the ways, as I said earlier, the ways of making war.

12:24.635 --> 12:26.605
Only one of many, many connections.

12:27.225 --> 12:30.285
Um, and I think that

12:30.705 --> 12:34.805
as historians could do more to talk about the architecture,

12:35.065 --> 12:37.605
I dunno if you've ever been to California,

12:37.905 --> 12:41.125
but you've got what they call Spanish style architecture.

12:41.465 --> 12:44.765
To my eyes, it's sure it's Spanish,

12:44.945 --> 12:47.925
but it could be the architecture that you might,

12:47.925 --> 12:49.125
I've never been to the Middle East.

12:49.195 --> 12:50.405
I've never been to Northern Africa.

12:50.475 --> 12:53.005
I've never been to, the Holy Land.

12:53.305 --> 12:54.765
But I would imagine there's a particular

12:54.765 --> 12:56.005
style of architecture.

12:56.505 --> 12:59.085
Um, and this particular style

12:59.085 --> 13:01.565
of architecture is Islamic and origin.

13:02.105 --> 13:04.725
And that informs Spain's approach architecture.

13:04.905 --> 13:08.245
And that becomes transported over to California.

13:08.905 --> 13:13.085
Um, and in terms of religiosity, I think again,

13:13.385 --> 13:16.685
war is only one way of expressing, expressing faith.

13:17.105 --> 13:19.965
Uh, but I think that the way the Spaniards,

13:21.285 --> 13:24.065
the way the Spaniards worship the divine,

13:24.065 --> 13:28.065
you can see some parallels as, as Muslims a is a good Muslim

13:28.645 --> 13:31.145
was supposed to make at least once in his, when once in his

13:31.145 --> 13:32.985
or her life, go to, to Mecca.

13:33.445 --> 13:35.625
Uh, the Spanish Christians compensated by,

13:35.745 --> 13:37.225
I don't know if you're familiar with Compostela.

13:37.555 --> 13:41.345
Compostela is a pilgrim of site in northern Spain, to,

13:41.495 --> 13:43.585
it's a, it's arine to St.

13:43.745 --> 13:46.465
James. Um, so as a as,

13:46.525 --> 13:47.985
and during the mid Spanish middle,

13:48.045 --> 13:50.385
during the Middle Ages in Spain,

13:50.645 --> 13:52.505
the Spanish Christians thought, Hey, wait, look at this.

13:52.705 --> 13:56.665
I mean, you got, mu, a good Muslim goes to Mecca.

13:57.005 --> 14:00.265
Uh, and according to us, some scholars, Kapost becomes the

14:00.855 --> 14:04.625
Spanish Christian, Spanish Christian version of,

14:04.765 --> 14:06.145
of Mecca.

14:06.325 --> 14:09.665
So instead of a, instead of going to Mecca,

14:09.705 --> 14:11.305
a Christian now goes to Compostela.

14:11.405 --> 14:15.185
The pay homage to St. James, St. James is a warrior saint.

14:15.605 --> 14:18.865
Um, and so supposedly, according to Islam,

14:19.285 --> 14:23.025
angels fought on the side of, of, of the Muslim warriors.

14:23.205 --> 14:25.865
As, as they, I guess the Quran speaks about,

14:26.245 --> 14:29.785
the heaven will, will aid a warrior in the sacred cause

14:29.815 --> 14:30.905
against enemies.

14:31.405 --> 14:33.305
And for the Spanish Christians,

14:33.395 --> 14:35.625
Saint James becomes this warrior saint.

14:36.125 --> 14:39.625
Um, as Muslims had this, this, this divide as assistance.

14:40.285 --> 14:42.225
Now, the Spanish Christian said, well, we've got,

14:42.315 --> 14:43.745
we've got, we've got St.

14:43.745 --> 14:45.745
James, he's gonna help us.

14:46.245 --> 14:48.385
Um, so you have, in this sense,

14:48.385 --> 14:50.625
you've got this interchange. So I think

14:50.805 --> 14:55.525
In one sense, you've got this, the, what I want

14:55.545 --> 14:57.605
to explore more, and I hope my colleagues will,

14:57.605 --> 15:00.925
will do the same, is continue exploring the cultural

15:00.955 --> 15:03.245
connections between the Islamic world

15:03.745 --> 15:05.445
and Iber American world.

15:05.675 --> 15:08.765
I've already talked about the genetic inheritance than many

15:08.765 --> 15:09.925
people of Mexican

15:10.105 --> 15:13.405
and Latin American origin share, with, with the,

15:14.325 --> 15:15.375
with the Muslim world.

15:15.675 --> 15:18.935
But I think also use this, my study, as

15:20.115 --> 15:22.935
my article in Conserv as a case study, that shows

15:23.045 --> 15:25.095
what happens if you become so convinced

15:25.095 --> 15:26.655
that God is on your side.

15:27.435 --> 15:30.215
Um, you're going commit all sorts of atrocities.

15:30.835 --> 15:32.455
And you can certainly, well,

15:32.675 --> 15:33.815
I'm gonna get too political here,

15:33.815 --> 15:36.055
but you can see what's going on right now in, in Gaza.

15:36.055 --> 15:38.295
You've got Israelis who believe that God,

15:39.035 --> 15:40.815
God is on their side, they're on the right,

15:40.875 --> 15:42.775
and if they're on the right, they can do anything they want.

15:43.475 --> 15:46.975
And my article points about the folly of this thinking,

15:47.285 --> 15:49.455
because this leads to the certain arrogance.

15:49.455 --> 15:51.535
So you, you're beyond, if you believe you're fighting

15:51.635 --> 15:53.455
for the right and you're fighting,

15:53.475 --> 15:54.695
for the sake of righteousness.

15:54.715 --> 15:56.775
If you believe you're fighting for the sake of God,

15:57.075 --> 15:58.775
you cannot make any mistakes.

15:58.835 --> 16:00.735
You cannot commit any sins.

16:01.115 --> 16:05.255
Uh, that is, and my article shows that,

16:05.355 --> 16:07.775
at least in the context of Mexico, California,

16:08.115 --> 16:10.015
and then believe this can be applied to other parts

16:10.015 --> 16:14.135
of the world, this leads to really disastrous consequences.

16:14.715 --> 16:16.895
Um, you think you're beyond reproach.

16:17.355 --> 16:19.215
Um, you're, you're above criticism.

16:19.635 --> 16:24.415
And that has tragic, tragic, and horrible consequences

16:24.765 --> 16:27.255
because the Spanish priests believed if,

16:27.555 --> 16:30.655
if I burn a village, I kill some Indians.

16:31.515 --> 16:34.895
Hey, I'm doing it for God and he's gonna forgive me if it's

16:34.895 --> 16:36.215
because, for a greater cause.

16:36.835 --> 16:40.335
Um, and that, that is a, that was a big mistake.

16:40.795 --> 16:42.415
Um, a mistake is an understatement.

16:42.415 --> 16:43.615
That's a, it's a tragedy.

16:44.155 --> 16:46.335
And now, ironically enough to speak in religious terms,

16:46.515 --> 16:47.655
that's also a sin.

16:47.895 --> 16:52.455
I don't think that the, abramic God, that both Islam,

16:52.565 --> 16:54.095
that that Christianity, Islam

16:54.095 --> 16:56.695
and Judaism worship would, would necessarily tolerate,

16:57.275 --> 16:59.655
or that God, this God would tolerate,

16:59.915 --> 17:03.775
or accept, understand, much less welcome these acts

17:03.775 --> 17:05.255
of violence committed,

17:05.515 --> 17:08.255
in this di divin Divine Figure's name.

17:08.835 --> 17:12.495
Um, so that I think that, so two cases continue exploring,

17:12.955 --> 17:15.015
the interchange between Islam

17:15.115 --> 17:16.415
and the Spanish Christian world.

17:16.635 --> 17:20.215
And another level. My study can serve as a cautionary tale.

17:20.235 --> 17:22.415
But what happens if you are so convinced

17:22.645 --> 17:24.455
that you're fighting on behalf of God?

17:24.725 --> 17:27.855
That this leads to all sorts of, of tragic consequences.

00:00 - I wanted to expand and, and, enhance the vision and the discussion about the, the, the, the Franciscan priest who came to California in the 18th and 19th century. the second point was I wanted to also

00:19 - expand upon the in cultural exchanges between Islam and Christianity, especially through Spain. and in a, on a very personal note, one of the ways I became interested in this topic, I went through 23 and me, and I discovered that in my genome, at least 5% of my genome comes from what, basically the, the Muslim world, Northern Africa and base and, and Syria and other people who share my heritage, being Mexican in origin.

00:52 - they have, they have proportions as high as 10%, 15%. And I was really intrigued, by this, this genetic connection. And I, as I began to explore this topic, even some more, there are obviously some very deep, rich cultural connections as well, from philosophy, language, architecture, expressions of religiosity. and, and I thought this is a really rich topic. So this brings me back to the Franciscan priests. And one of the topics that has always interested me is

01:28 - that the Franciscan priests were, were not shy about using force, about bringing Indians into the missions. And I began to really think about this topic. Where, where did this impulse come from? Since Christ Christians, and I say this as a, as a practicing Roman Catholic, supposedly, supposedly Christianity is supposed to follow Jesus' teachings about turning the other cheek, loving your enemy, not to use, violence or force,

01:57 - or bring people into the faith. And then began to think, where does this impulse come from, where the Franciscan priests committed sometimes horrific acts of violence to increase the ranks of the faithful. And as I began to do more research, I discovered that outta the 145 Spanish priests who came to California between 1769 and 1834 to establish 21 missions along the California coast,

02:25 - 140 of them, a hundred, 140 of them came from Spain. And a good majority of these priests came from southern Spain, where the Muslim influence is, was very strong. 'cause, as, as you know, Muslims controlled Spain for nearly, 800 years, and especially in the southern portions of Spain. that presence, was nearly fr. I mean, that was where the deepest impression was made. And I began to think, okay, there must be some connection

02:57 - between the priests, the cultural interchange between Christians and Muslims in Spain. And they began to dig deeper. And that's where I discovered these, these principles that Muslims use. And according to the Christian calendar, in the eighth and ninth century, to expand the, the, the frontiers of Islam into Spain and battling their Christian, their Christian rivals,

03:23 - some Muslims invoked, some principles found in the Quran and the Haddi, as well as other, other writings in order to justify, expanding the frontiers of Islam. And then as Islam expanded deeper into Spain, the Christians, absorbed these principles, adopted them, tailored them to their, to their, to their liking. And then this became part of, of Christian culture. so this crus, this crusading ethos, which we see obviously in, in, what we now call the Holy Land, the Middle East,

04:02 - this crusading ethos also emerged in, in Spain. And it was basically, the product of an interchange between Christian and Islam cult Islamic culture concerning, using force and sanctifying force by, with, with these appeals to, to religion, to God. and these impulses became part of the Franciscan attitude and demeanor, and they brought these attitudes to California. The central part of the argument is that as the, when, when,

04:37 - when the, the Muslims pushed deeper into Spain, in the eighth and ninth century, according to the Christian calendar, they invoke these, these precepts called rabat and, and jihad, which jihad just means struggle. Where bot means comes from the Arabic we we to bind together. but the, these principles, however, when you're facing an enemy like you see in Christian Spain,

05:00 - or, well, these, you have mus, the Muslim south, the Christian North, these principles became militarized. 'cause as the Muslims confronted the Christian rivals, Reba means to not, you bind to, you bind together to defend the faith. And when you defend the faith, you can also atone for your sins. Jihad goes from struggle, which means struggle, obviously with the spirit, but struggle now means struggle against your enemies.

05:29 - So the central argument I wanted to make was that these principles of jihad and ramat, become transferred over to the, the Spanish Christians. And then these, these principles become part of Spanish culture. And when the Spaniards, come to California, they invoke these principles that you can atone for your sins, by banning together to defend the faith,

05:56 - You, this becomes an act of warship. And so this, these two ideas, jihad and ramat become, become very, militarized, and they become basically the foundation of the Spanish expansion in into California. and to establish the missions. Now, I i I, I would want to emphasize here that, one of my, one of my reviewers for this article accused me of being an orientalist. And by taking this particular line of reasoning,

06:28 - and I counter it by saying that Edward Saeed argues that Orientalism basically is the idea is when Westerners use some, some aspect of Muslim, or, Muslim culture or Middle Eastern culture to justify imperialism Western expansion. What I, what I wanted to counter by, by saying is that Islam enriched, and really improved upon Christian and Western culture. And this is only one aspect among many,

07:00 - many contributions to Western culture. You have this military spirit, but also, by focusing on the military aspect, as my article makes clear, and not only am I talking about the military aspect of, of Muslim, of Islam's contributions to Christianity, I also wanted to bring up, and I'll do this in subsequent writings, how philosophically, religiously, architecturally, Islam also really contributed to

07:26 - and even enriched Christian culture. We would not have the west, this idea of the West without the contributions of Muslim thinkers in Northern Africa, especially in places like the Middle East. I mean, Islam's Islam saved Western civilization. I mean, that's a whole nother discussion for another day. So focusing on the military is only one aspect of a larger discussion.

07:51 - So I wanna make that quite clear when you read the, at least, okay, this is me, and I recognize that when I published my article, someone accused me of being anti-Catholic, anti-Christian for, for making the argument that I did. So that's life, that's academia. but the justifications, if you read the evidence and you see these constant invocations to, to God, I mean, just know, I mean, all throughout history, military, leaders, warriors

08:24 - of all sorts always invoke some higher power to justify their acts. That's no great insight. However, the language that the Catholics, the Spanish and Mexican Catholics in California, the priests and the, and the, and their members of their congregations, the way they speak, they ask God to bless them. They ask God to, to,

08:55 - help, purge them of their sins. And you, this brings us back to what happened in, in Spain, where when these followers would band together and pray or even fight their Christian rivals, they hoped to, purge themselves of sin, the aone for their sins and lessen at least. And I, I know that Islam does not have the idea of purgatory. but I, from reading the Quran, I think there is the idea that you could be, you could lessen your time,

09:26 - be released from hell by, atoning for your sins. Christianity does not necessarily have that. Christianity has purgatory, and there's this another world between paradise and, and hell. And the way that Christians took this idea by fighting for God and fighting for, of course, God does not want any of this to happen. 'cause war is a sin, and both Islam and Christianity. But that's another discussion for another day.

09:54 - But the point remains that the language that used, I could purge myself of sin if I fight against my enemy, or I can purge myself of sin if I am trying to bring Indians into, into a, a, a Christian mission. and by purging myself of sin becomes an act of perfection and also becomes an act of pilgrimage. 'cause one of the big urges of Christianity, in the Middle Ages and up through, up through I say the 19th century, especially in the Spanish speaking world,

10:25 - this is one more point, another discussion for another day. there are many scholars who say that the Middle Ages, the Christian Middle Ages made their last stand in Mexico. And these medieval attitudes about traveling to Jerusalem. And as you walked to Jerusalem, if you're a pilgrim, whether they be Spain or France or Germany, as you walked through Jerusalem, you could atone for your sins. 'cause this journey, this spiritual journey, as well as this physical journey was a, was one way

10:53 - of drawing closer to God. But as you drew closer to God, by going to the holy city of Jerusalem, you're able to, purge yourself of sin. This idea of, of, of, purgation this idea of, of cleansing, an idea of fighting and, serving as a, as a pilgrim sort of converge in California. 'cause you get this sense that as I fight, as I traveled to fight my enemy, I am a toning for my sins. And this is an idea that's very medieval about how fighting,

11:27 - traveling to the sacred city of Jerusalem becomes transposed onto California. I'm fighting and traveling deeper into the California interior to bring Indians into, into the mission. And that's both, both, both for the priests and for, their, their, their members of the congregation, usually, Mexican and in some respects, Spanish soldiers. I think Right now, the the West is very polarized. They're, I think that some parts of Western culture

11:58 - are becoming more insular. There's fear about difference. And even though my, my article, in this article at least talks about the violence and force, on a deeper level, I'm talking about a, a, well, two things. One, I'm talking about the, the connections between Islam and the West, especially western Christianity. And the ways, as I said earlier, the ways of making war. Only one of many, many connections.

12:27 - and I think that as historians could do more to talk about the architecture, I dunno if you've ever been to California, but you've got what they call Spanish style architecture. To my eyes, it's sure it's Spanish, but it could be the architecture that you might, I've never been to the Middle East. I've never been to Northern Africa. I've never been to, the Holy Land. But I would imagine there's a particular

12:54 - style of architecture. and this particular style of architecture is Islamic and origin. And that informs Spain's approach architecture. And that becomes transported over to California. and in terms of religiosity, I think again, war is only one way of expressing, expressing faith. but I think that the way the Spaniards, the way the Spaniards worship the divine, you can see some parallels as, as Muslims a is a good Muslim

13:28 - was supposed to make at least once in his, when once in his or her life, go to, to Mecca. the Spanish Christians compensated by, I don't know if you're familiar with Compostela. Compostela is a pilgrim of site in northern Spain, to, it's a, it's arine to St. James. so as a as, and during the mid Spanish middle, during the Middle Ages in Spain, the Spanish Christians thought, Hey, wait, look at this.

13:52 - I mean, you got, mu, a good Muslim goes to Mecca. and according to us, some scholars, Kapost becomes the Spanish Christian, Spanish Christian version of, of Mecca. So instead of a, instead of going to Mecca, a Christian now goes to Compostela. The pay homage to St. James, St. James is a warrior saint. and so supposedly, according to Islam, angels fought on the side of, of, of the Muslim warriors. As, as they, I guess the Quran speaks about,

14:26 - the heaven will, will aid a warrior in the sacred cause against enemies. And for the Spanish Christians, Saint James becomes this warrior saint. as Muslims had this, this, this divide as assistance. Now, the Spanish Christian said, well, we've got, we've got, we've got St. James, he's gonna help us. so you have, in this sense, you've got this interchange. So I think

14:50 - In one sense, you've got this, the, what I want to explore more, and I hope my colleagues will, will do the same, is continue exploring the cultural connections between the Islamic world and Iber American world. I've already talked about the genetic inheritance than many people of Mexican and Latin American origin share, with, with the, with the Muslim world. But I think also use this, my study, as

15:20 - my article in Conserv as a case study, that shows what happens if you become so convinced that God is on your side. you're going commit all sorts of atrocities. And you can certainly, well, I'm gonna get too political here, but you can see what's going on right now in, in Gaza. You've got Israelis who believe that God, God is on their side, they're on the right, and if they're on the right, they can do anything they want.

15:43 - And my article points about the folly of this thinking, because this leads to the certain arrogance. So you, you're beyond, if you believe you're fighting for the right and you're fighting, for the sake of righteousness. If you believe you're fighting for the sake of God, you cannot make any mistakes. You cannot commit any sins. that is, and my article shows that, at least in the context of Mexico, California,

16:08 - and then believe this can be applied to other parts of the world, this leads to really disastrous consequences. you think you're beyond reproach. you're, you're above criticism. And that has tragic, tragic, and horrible consequences because the Spanish priests believed if, if I burn a village, I kill some Indians. Hey, I'm doing it for God and he's gonna forgive me if it's because, for a greater cause. and that, that is a, that was a big mistake.

16:40 - a mistake is an understatement. That's a, it's a tragedy. And now, ironically enough to speak in religious terms, that's also a sin. I don't think that the, abramic God, that both Islam, that that Christianity, Islam and Judaism worship would, would necessarily tolerate, or that God, this God would tolerate, or accept, understand, much less welcome these acts of violence committed,

17:05 - in this di divin Divine Figure's name. so that I think that, so two cases continue exploring, the interchange between Islam and the Spanish Christian world. And another level. My study can serve as a cautionary tale. But what happens if you are so convinced that you're fighting on behalf of God? That this leads to all sorts of, of tragic consequences.

Faculti AI can make mistakes