The Experience of Spain
The Arab Muslims entered Spain in the 8th century AD. Here they established their government in a part of Spain, which is called Al-Andulus. This government saw its ups and downs but remained in power for a period of 800 years. In the last phase, there was a revolt against the Arab Muslims, and, after a bloody war, the Arab Muslims were totally expelled from Spain.
The Arabs were recorded as invaders in the ancient history of Spain. But now a new history of Spain has been written which regards the period of Arab rule as a part of their own history. One example of this new age is that, on the coast of Spain, the statue of an Arab ruler, Abdul Rehman ad-Dakhil holding a sword in his hand and standing as a conqueror has been set up. This is the inscription: Abdul Rehman I landed at Almunecar in Al-Andalus to the east of Malaga, in September 755. This statue was created in 1984.
What is the cause of this revolution in Spain? The truth is that the 8th century AD was the age of political rule. In those times there was no positive concept related to political rule. But in the 20th century, the situation has changed entirely. Now under present day circumstances, a new industry has come into existence in the world: the tourism industry. Today this industry is a major source of income for many countries. In Spain, there were a great number of historical monuments pertaining to the Muslim period. Tourists started coming from all over the world to visit these sites. When the government of Spain learnt that there was a big source of economic uplift in its country because of the historical monuments of the Muslim period, it undertook renovations of these places on a big scale. As a result, Spain became the number two country on the map of the tourist industry. Its economic activities so increased that a backward country became a wealthy country.
This was the miracle of re-planning. The leaders of Spain understood the change in the times and re-planned accordingly. In this matter, owing to economic interest, the biased policy of Spain came to an end. Now the situation is that, once again Muslims are settling in Spain. They are building mosques and Islamic centers. As a result of these changes, the message of Islam is being communicated to the inhabitants of Spain. Today, the Muslims are being welcomed in Spain whereas earlier, they had become unwanted in the same country.
The Muslim world has a great lesson to learn from this re-planning of Spain. Similarly, there are opportunities for re-planning in Egypt, Pakistan, Palestine, Kashmir and other Muslim lands on a big scale. If the Muslims could develop this phenomenon in the modern world, today’s world would become for them a favourable world which they have so far regarded as unfavourable.
The Muslims of present times only know of such monuments as Al Hamra of Cordoba in Spain. But Spain has a bigger and more revolutionary message for the Muslims. The Muslims ought to realize the realities of the time and re-plan their actions accordingly. They will subsequently see that all of a sudden, a new age has set in in the whole world—an age of hope and opportunities.
The door to avail of new opportunities in Spain opened only when they abandoned their negative thinking. The Muslims whom they had regarded as their enemies, were ultimately discovered to be their friends. Similarly, what the Muslims have to do is change their thinking. If they manage to do so, they will find that the world of today is their own world. In today’s world they can script the new history of Islam.
