Moriscos and Arabic studies in Europe

Abstract

The essay studies the contribution of Moriscos to Arabic studies. It concludes that the contributions of Moriscos in the Iberian peninsula remained modest. Some contributed actively to the knowledge of Arabic through their Arabic-Islamic learning. I show that the Mudejar convert known as Juan Andrés, who wrote one of the most influential treatises against Islam, was indeed a canon of the cathedral of Granada. I briefly discuss the contribution of Moriscos to the translations and interpretations of the Lead Books and studied their post-expulssion contribution to Arabic and Islamic studies. The last part focuses on the Dutch Republic, where, as a result of historical circumstances and contingent factors such as personal relations, Moriscos played an important role. Here, in addition to the study of the Arabic language itself, the physical sciences played a noteworthy role. This, I suggest, can be connected to the broad scope of the emergence of Arabic studies in Europe, which incorporated both the physical sciences and religion and philosophy, and an interest in North Africa itself because of developments in the physical sciences, including their application in daily life.