A Look Back to Religious Tolerance

Oh Holy Sh*t.!This was a Twitter post by Anglican priest, RevDaniel which made me laugh and shake my head in disbelief. Where do people like this come from? Hey, I fume about the news reports of Muslim women who are harassed or assaulted on buses, or the grim reality that Jewish synagogues are defaced and require security for worship services. I get worked up when I hear about claims that Britain and Canada and the United States are Christian countries and the bullies who say "go back where you came from" to individuals who are just attempting to live their lives in peace. 

Perhaps as an antidote I watched a PBS program about the centuries of religious tolerance and even pluralism in Spain and which were unprecedented in Europe. This era was far from perfect and religious freedom for Jews and Christians came with a price under Muslim rule. Just the same I was encouraged by this story from another time. 

As the Christmas season approaches shall we remind ourselves that our scriptures tell of the birth of Yeshua, a Jewish child? And that mysterious strangers from a distance land, likely Zoroastrian Magi, came to give him homage? 

Here is a description of the program I watched:

"The Ornament of the World" tells a story from the past that’s especially timely today: the story of a remarkable time in history when Muslims, Christians and Jews forged a common cultural identity that frequently transcended their religious differences. Retrace a nearly 800-year period in medieval Spain, from the early 8th through late 15th centuries, during which the three groups managed for the most part to sustain relationships that enabled them to coexist, collaborate and flourish.

As Yale Professor Maria Rosa Menocal writes in her book, "The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain," "This was the chapter of Europe’s culture when Jews, Christians and Muslims lived side by side and, despite their intractable differences and enduring hostilities, nourished a complex culture of tolerance." This culture of coexistence has come to be known as La Convivencia. Though the story begins over a thousand years ago, its lessons about faith, tolerance, fear and exclusion resonate strongly today.

The story is told through a series of portraits of the figures and moments that defined medieval Spain. It highlights stunning architectural wonders such as the Great Mosque of Cordoba, medieval synagogues in Toledo, the Alcazar in Seville, and the Alhambra in Granada. The historical areas of these cities have changed little over the centuries; their cobbled streets, ancient mosques and tiny synagogues bear powerful witness to the culture and people that constructed them.