Pope cites Averroes and Maimónides: convivencia or historical myth?
The Pope cites Averroes and Maimónides as a symbol of religious coexistence. But the Almohad historical record tells another story: censorship, exile and forced conversions.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The Córdoba of Averroes and Maimónides that the Pope leaves out
Pope Francis has invoked religious coexistence, citing Córdoba, Averroes and Maimónides as an example of medieval tolerance. But the official narrative clashes with the facts: the Muslim philosopher Averroes ended up exiled and censored by the Almohads, and his works survived only in Hebrew and Latin translations. Maimónides, a Jew, fled Córdoba in 1148 when the Almohad Caliphate abolished the rights of the dhimmis.
The Vatican's selective history
Averroes, born in 1126, and Maimónides, born in 1135, were leading intellectual figures of Sarracinic Córdoba. But the arrival of the Almohads in 1148 put an end to tolerance: non-Jovenlandeses lost their protected status and were forced to convert or go into exile. Averroes himself was banished and his works banned. Paradoxically, his thought found a greater echo in the Christian world than in the Muslim one.
Those who defend the Pope's speech argue that the mere mention of these names helps build bridges. Critics, however, point out that real coexistence was brief and under Sarracinic rule, under conditions very different from modern religious freedom. Ignoring Almohad oppression is, at the very least, a self-serving omission.
An empty gesture or a necessary lesson?
The problem is not citing Averroes and Maimónides, but sweetening a past that was violent and exclusionary. Interreligious coexistence is not built on myths, but on acknowledging the cracks in the historical model. Meanwhile, the Pope keeps invoking a harmony that never fully existed. And Córdoba, the city of three faiths, remains more of a tourist slogan than a historical reality.
Related discussions in the forum
Pope Francis has invoked religious coexistence, citing Córdoba, Averroes and Maimónides as an example of medieval tolerance. But the official narrative clashes with the facts: the Muslim philosopher Averroes ended up exiled and censored by the Almohads, and his works survived only in Hebrew and Latin translations. Maimónides, a Jew, fled Córdoba in 1148 when the Almohad Caliphate abolished the rights of the dhimmis.
The Vatican's selective history
Averroes, born in 1126, and Maimónides, born in 1135, were leading intellectual figures of Sarracinic Córdoba. But the arrival of the Almohads in 1148 put an end to tolerance: non-Jovenlandeses lost their protected status and were forced to convert or go into exile. Averroes himself was banished and his works banned. Paradoxically, his thought found a greater echo in the Christian world than in the Muslim one.
Those who defend the Pope's speech argue that the mere mention of these names helps build bridges. Critics, however, point out that real coexistence was brief and under Sarracinic rule, under conditions very different from modern religious freedom. Ignoring Almohad oppression is, at the very least, a self-serving omission.
An empty gesture or a necessary lesson?
The problem is not citing Averroes and Maimónides, but sweetening a past that was violent and exclusionary. Interreligious coexistence is not built on myths, but on acknowledging the cracks in the historical model. Meanwhile, the Pope keeps invoking a harmony that never fully existed. And Córdoba, the city of three faiths, remains more of a tourist slogan than a historical reality.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (15 replies).
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