Beyond the written law. Mandatory conversions to Islam, Religious (in)tolerance, and jewish dilemmas in the Maimonides epistles. 12th century (1160-1165)
Intolerance; Mandatory Conversions; Maimonides; Jewish-Muslim Relations; Identity and Memory
Our intend in this thesis to question about issues of (in)tolerance in the Iberian Middle Ages, from the new government that was established in Muslim Spain, specific in the Almohad government. We examined and analyzed the moment in which the relations between the Muslims and the dhimmis worsened to the extent of establishing a choice between mandatory conversion or martyrdom, we take as historical source Maimonides epistles (1160-1165). This documentation provided us with insight into the inauguration of new ways of relating to the "Jewish faith" during and after the mandatory conversion processes. Maimonides' speech on conversions will be our object of analysis. After all, more than a religious group, a "Jewish" designation represents a social belonging, a way in which assigned members mean the world in which they live. Thus, when coerced into a new religion - the Islam - jews experience an individual and social dilemma in the form of their conception of existence.