Ibn Gharsiya

Not to be confused with a Cordobanfaqihwith the same name.

Abū ‘Āmir Ibn Gharsīyah al-Bashkunsī(Arabic:أبو عامر بن غرسية البشكنسي) (died 1084), popularly known asIbn GharsiyaorIbn García,was aMuwalladpoet andkatib(writer) in theTaifa court in Denia.

Ibn Gharsiya is known as a proponent for theshu'ubiyyapolemical thought in Al-Andalus, arguing in hisRisalafor the relative superiority of Byzantine and Persian culture over the culture of Arabs. Some scholars have interpreted the Risālah as a work by a freed slave arguing for the inclusion of hisṣaqālibahfreedmen rulers of Dénia in the dominant Arabic-Muslim culture of al-Andalus.

Personal background

Ibn Gharsiya was born into a ChristianBasquefamily, but was taken prisoner in his childhood and raised in the Islamic faith. He grew up proficient and eloquent in bothClassical Arabicand the colloquialAndalusi Arabicdialect. Ibn Gharsiya was proud of his Basque origin and remained a lifelong fervent Muslim throughout his lifetime. His surnameal-Bashkunsiis the Arabic word for Basque, and therefore, signified his Basque heritage. He served under theSlavicEmirofDenia,Mujāhid al-‘Āmirī,and his son, Ali ibn Mujahid.Like Ibn Gharsiya, the ruling family of Denia were also Muwallad and had broken free from theCaliphate of Cordobaafter the turbulent year of 1009. Like othertaifas,his kingdom had sought to distance itself from theUmayyad period.Ibn Gharsiya subsequently spent most of his life as akatibat the court of Denia.

Ideology

Ibn Gharsiya was a leading proponent and advocate of theShu'ubiyyathought in Al-Andalus.TheShu'ubiyyamovement demanded equality of power, wealth and status of the Non-Arab Berbers and Muwalladun by Arabs.In common with the Arabs, they were very active in promoting the Arab-Islamic culture and language and claimed cultural integration with the Arab ethnic groups—as had been achieved by the non-ArabSemitic peoplesof theMiddle East.

Therisalaof Ibn Gharsiya

Between 1051 and 1056, Ibn Gharsiya wrote arisalaagainst theArabascendancy in al-Andalus, which concurrently praises non-Arab Islam. Opponents of this work have called it violent, insulting, and bitter in its attack on the Arabs and, contrary to prevailing tradition, it criticises Arab Muslims as inferior in rank and lineage. Simultaneously, it glorifies non-Arab Muslims, such as theBerbers,and also those converts from theVisigoths,Slavs,andRomans.

In therisala,Ibn Gharsiya asserts cultural superiority of the Muwalladun over the Arabs by diminishing and belittling Arab culture.While he boasts about the Muladi mastery of natural philosophy, exact logic, astronomy, music, arithmetic, and geometry, he ridicules Arabs as "experts in the description of towering camels."He also tries to show that non-Arab rule in Denia was much better than those of the othertaifas.By doing so, he attempted to formulate and legitimise a non-Arab alternative to Arab rule which involved combining Arab and non-Arab traditions, which were mainlyPersianandByzantine.This gave him an opportunity to debate with the Arab Islamic scholar Abu Jaʻfar Ahmad ibn al-Jazzar, who had been present at the court of Ibn Sumadih,EmirofAlmeria.However, according to the Escorial manuscript, the letter was addressed to a certain Abu ʻAbd Allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Haddad al-Qaisi. However, despite this difference, it is clear that the addressee was linked to the court of Ibn Sumadih and to thetaifastate of Almeria.

Ibn Gharsiya's epistle addresses some of the most fundamental and important questions in the Muslim community of al-Andalus at the time, such as the relationship between the Arabs and Berbers of the Islamic faith with the Muwalladun, who were the descendants of the indigenousIberianconverts toIslam.Ibn Gharsiya stressed that a sound interpretation of Islam should also be of value to the non-Arab Muslims. This epistle represents the adoption of the EasternShuʻubiideology by many indigenous Andalusian Muslims, which argued against Arab exclusivity, as expressed in their treatises comparing the Arabs unfavourably with the Persians and the Byzantines.

Ibn Gharsiya'srisalawas written in Arabic courtly prose; thus it did not represent a rejection of Arabic literary culture, but only of Arab lineage. According to theEncyclopedia of Arabic Literature,thisrisalawas of minor importance, and its few exponents tended to repeat clichés adopted from the earlier Islamic East. Therisalaelicited at least seven refutations, only five of which actually survive.Like the original, the refutations seem to have been written in imitation of eastern models.Only one of the refutations was specifically directed against Ibn Gharsiya.^[a]American scholarJames T. Monroestates that the fact of Ibn Gharsiya'srisalaagainst the Arabs going unpunished, indicates that the cause ofArabismas a meaningful social force had ceased to have any political significance.

Göran Larsson, an associate professor of religious studies at theUniversity of Gothenburg,Sweden,points out that in spite of his extensive use of Persian traditions in hisrisala,Ibn Gharsiya was not promoting a specifically Persian sovereign, merely a non-Arab model of rule.To this, Monroe adds:

"Had Ibn Garciá wished to reject Arabic culture in its entirety he would probably have written hisrisālain a style different from the one that was judged at the time to be of good literary taste, and unlike the practice of Ibn Bassām, he might possibly have inserted postclassical literary forms into his composition. But the fact remains that therisālais written in pure classical Arabic. It is a veritable mosaic of allusions to Arabic literature and history, containing quotations from theKoran,from poetry and proverbial wisdom. All of this is expressed by means of a highly elaborated rhymed prose of the kind that was so much in vogue among the prose writers of the fifth century of Islam, and it is decorated with all the ornaments of Arabic rhetoric. The choice of this stylistic medium of expression which had become the standard of secretarial literature throughout the Islamic world indicates that the author attempts to claim for the non-Arab secretarial class its rightful share in Arabic culture. "

Legacy

Besides the epistle, the only words from Ibn Gharsiya that has been preserved are some lines by the 12th century Andalusian geographer, historian and writer,Ibn Said al-Maghribi.These lines are believed to have been composed in praise of Ibn Gharsiya's lord, Ali ibn Mujahid.In praise of Ibn Gharsiya, Ibn Said states:

"He (Ibn Gharsiya) was one of the wonders of his age and the marvels of his time. Although his origin was of the non-Arabs, his famousrisalabore witness to his firm command of the reins of the Arabic language. He was one of the children of the Christian Basques who was captured while still a child. His lord, Mujahid, the king of theBalearic islandsand of Denia educated him. There was between Ibn Gharsiya and Abu Ja'far ibn al-Jazar, the poet, such a friendship that it caused the former to call the latter to join him and stop serving al-Mu'staim ibn Sumadih, lord of Almeria. Ibn Gharsiya found fault with him for adhering exclusively to the praise of Ibn Sumadih while neglecting the lord of his own country. "

See also

• Arabic literature
• Bashshar ibn Burd– famousShu'ubipoet.
• Banu Qasi– Basque Muslim dynasty.
• Count Cassius– progenitor of the Banu Qasi dynasty.
• Umar ibn Hafsun– Anti-Umayyad rebel leader.

Footnotes

a^{^}Cf.,The Shu'ubiyya in al-Andalus. The risala of Ibn Garcia and five refutations(University of California Press 1970), translated with an introduction and notes byJames T. Monroe.

References

• Alfonso, Esperanza (2008).Islamic Culture Through Jewish Eyes: Al-Andalus from the Tenth to Twelfth Century.Brill.ISBN978-1-134-07480-8.Retrieved2011-11-04.
• Corradini, Richard; Diesenberger, Max; Reimitz, Helmut, eds. (2003).The construction of communities in the early Middle Ages: texts, resources and artefacts.Brill.ISBN978-90-04-11862-1..
• Holt, P. M.; Holt, Peter Malcolm; Lambton, Ann K. S.;Lewis, Bernard(1977). Holt, P. M.; Holt, Peter Malcolm; Lambton, Ann K. S.; et al. (eds.).The Cambridge history of Islam, Volume 2.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-29138-5.Retrieved2011-11-04.
• Larsson, Göran (2003).Ibn García's shuʻūbiyya letter: ethnic and theological tensions in medieval al-Andalus.Brill.ISBN978-90-04-12740-1.Retrieved2011-11-04.
• Monroe, James T.(2004).Hispano-Arabic poetry: a student anthology.Gorgias Press LLC.ISBN978-1-59333-115-3.Retrieved2011-11-04.
• van Donzel, E. J. (1994).Islamic desk reference.Brill.ISBN978-90-04-09738-4.Retrieved2011-11-04.