Volume 90, Number 1 - California Historical Society

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But for other Muslim scholars, the search for
solitude justified the use of violence to purge
corruption. 33 While cleansing their own spirits,
the scholars and their followers believed they
could restore the integrity of Islam by attacking
infidels or unrepentant Muslims. As a consequence,
little distinguished the pilgrim from the
murabit who used force. The temporal, human
exigencies that regulated behavior lapsed, and
any deed the believer performed, no matter how
violent, became holy and blessed. Once the pilgrim
and the murabit completed their task, the
narrow, mortal principles that defined existence
re-emerged, and the mystical state that graced the
believer came to an end.
The prospect of equating war with piety attracted
many adherents. In 1120, for instance, Abu Ali
al-Sadafi, a distinguished religious scholar and
jurist, joined an army of thousands to fight
Christians in northern Spain. 34 He perished in
the effort. Two decades later, Abu Ahmad ibn
al-Husayn ibn al-Qasi from Silves, a Portuguese
city in the south that sits close to the Spanish
border, formed a “fighting brotherhood,” a Sufi
order dedicated to making war. A mystic and religious
scholar, al-Qasi believed that ignorance and
selfishness blinded humans to the truth that they
were one with God. To address the moral blight,
al-Qasi called on the more extreme dictates of
ribat. He prescribed religious exercises to his followers
so they could clear their minds and commune
with divinity. Once they had purged their
souls, or at least claimed to, they stood ready to
battle sin in other quarters.
By punishing Muslims they deemed corrupt,
as well as recalcitrant Christians, al-Qasi and
his followers would sweep away the encumbrances
that distracted the mind and spirit. What
remained after the purging of falsehood, al-Qasi
said, would be “no God, but God.” Al-Qasi no
doubt possessed the serenity of any person who
California History • volume 90 number 1 2012
believes he performs God’s bidding. He likened
himself to the Mahdi, a messianic figure popular
with Muslim mystics, and raised an army to
attack Almoravid governors who lacked sufficient
faith and rigor. In time, al-Qasi fell victim to the
devotion he inspired. When he tried to make alliances
with Christians in 1151, his followers killed
him. 35
The thought of Muslims on ribat, some with
weapons at the ready, encompassed the reach
and depth of the Christians’ world. The Spanish
philologist Américo Castro says ribat formed the
root of some Iberian words that commemorated
or conveyed the experience of suffering an attack.
Some Spanish and Portuguese towns carry the
name Rábida or Rápita. The Spanish term rebato
means “sudden attack.” Arrebatar is to “snatch
away,” while arrobda speaks of an “advance
guard.” 36 The historian Thomas Glick adds that
war against Muslims convinced Christians they
suffered a perilous existence. Confined to the
northern reaches of Spain, especially in the years
prior to the tenth century, they viewed the Muslims
across a desolate frontier that held untold
dangers. The boundaries marking Christian
territory, even if fixed by castles and other defensive
sites, could easily be penetrated by Muslim
attackers ensconced in a fortress. 37 In sum,
the murabit who saw war as a form of worship
embodied nearly every aspect of the Christians’
existence. The men on ribat threatened violence,
but in the same instant they granted Christians,
and their heirs in the New World, the means to
challenge and defeat any foe.
tranSMiSSion
When Christians in Spain employed their enemies’
tactics and religious beliefs, they neglected
to describe the process of incorporation. They left
no written accounts discussing how they adopted
the Muslim approach to sacred violence. None-