Ibn Gharsiya

Abu Amir Ahmad Ibn Gharsiya al-Bashqunsi ( _ar. إبو عامر أحمد بن غرسية البشكنس) (died 1084) was an 11th century Muwallad poet and "katib" (writer) in the taifa court of Denia. He is usually referred to as Ibn Gharsiya by modern historians and scholars. The poet, Ibn Gharsiya, should not be confused with a Cordoban faqih of the same name.

Personal background

Ibn Gharsiya was born into a Christian Basque family, but was taken prisoner in his childhood and raised in the Islamic faith. He grew up proficient and eloquent in the Andalusi Arabic language. Ibn Gharsiya was proud of his Basque origin and remained a life long fervent Muslim throughout his lifetime. His surname "al-Bashqunsi" is the Arabic word for Basque, and therefore, signified his Basque heritage.

He served under the Emir of Denia, Mujahid al-Amiri, and his son, Ali ibn Mujahid. Like Ibn Gharsiya, the ruling family of Denia were also Muladi and had broken free from the Caliphate of Cordoba after the turbulent year of 1009. Like other taifas, his kingdom had sought to distance itself from the Umayyad period. Ibn Gharsiya subsequently spent most of his life as a katib at the court of Denia.

Ideology

Ibn Gharsiya was a leading proponent and advocate of the "Shu'ubiyya" thought in Al-Andalus. The Shu'ubiyyah movement demanded equality of power, wealth and status of the Non-Arab Berbers and Muwalladun by Arabs. The Shu'ubiyyah Movement of Al-Andalus were active like the Arabs in promoting the Arab-Islamic culture and language and claimed their integration with the Arab ethnic groups.

The Epistle of Ibn Gharsiya

Ibn Gharsiya wrote a violent, insulting and bitter epistle against the Arabs of Al-Andalus sometime between 1051 and 1056, glorifying Slavs, Visigoths, Romans, Berbers and all non-Arabs, and simultaneously, attacking Arab muslims as inferior in rank and lineage to non-Arab muslims. In the epistle, Ibn Gharsiya tried to show that Non-Arab rule in Denia was much better than those of the other taifas. 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 mainly Persian and Byzantine. This gave him an opportunity to debate with the Arab Islamic scholar, Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn al-Jazzar, who had been present at the court of Ibn Sumadih, Emir of Almeria. However, according to the Escorial manuscript, the letter was addressed to a certain, Abu Abd'allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Haddad al-Quaisi. However, despite this difference, it is clear that the addressee was linked to the court of Ibn Sumadih and to the taifa state 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 relationshp between the Arabs and Berbers of the Islamic faith with the Muwalladun, who were the descendants of the indigenous Iberian converts to Islam. Ibn Gharsiya stressed that a sound interpretaion of Islam should also be of value to the non-Arab Muslims. This epistle represents the adoption of the "Eastern Shu'ubi" ideology 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's epistle was written in Arabic courtly prose; thus it did not represent a rejection of Arabic literary culture, but only of Arab lineage. According to the "Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature", this epistle was of minor importance, and its few exponents tended to repeat clichés adopted from the earlier Islamic East. The epistle elicited 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.

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. During the course of praising Ibn Gharsiya, Ibn Said says :

See also

*Arabic literature
*Bashar ibn Burd - famous Shu'ubi poet.
*Banu Qasi - Basque muslim dynasty.
*Count Cassius - progenitor of the Banu Qasi dynasty.
*Umar ibn Hafsun - Anti-Umayyad rebel leder.

References

* Göran Larsson, "Ibn García's Shu'ūbiyya Letter", BRILL (2003), ISBN 9004127402.
* James T. Monroe, "Hispano Arabic Poetry: An Anthology", Gorgias Press LLC (2004), ISBN 1593331150.