Rachid El Hour

Rachid El Hour

Facultad de Filología

UNIVERSIDAD DE SALAMANCA

Área de Estudios Árabes e Islámicos

Plaza.Anaya s/n, 37008 SALAMANCA

ESPAÑA

raelhour@usal.es 

 I am a Professor at the University of Salamanca, and I have a PhD in Philosophy and Letters by the University Autónoma of Madrid. My PHD thesis, The Almoravids judicial organization in al-Andalus, defended on 22 April 1996, focused on a comparative study between the taifas and Almorávid periods concerning the Organization of the Andalusian Administration of Justice. My research interests are: Islamic law in Medieval period, the historical relationship between Spain and North African countries during XVI-XVII centuries, and the Societies of the Islamic West in the Hagiographic Sources.

During the Doctoral Thesis period, I carried out several stays in The University Complutense of Madrid, University Autónoma of Madrid, University Mohammed V of Rabat, University Euro-Arab of Granada and in the Center of Humanities of CSIC in Madrid.

After finishing my PHD, I enjoyed several stays in this last Centre between 1996 and 2000, working in several research projects. Since January 2008 I enjoy a stay in the Centre of Social and Human Sciences (CSIC) as a “Doctor Vinculado” and collaborating in two research projects, "Strategies for social participation and prevention of racism at school II" directed by Margarita del Olmo Pintado (CCHS, CSIC) and "Orientalism and historiography" in Spanish Baroque culture, directed by Fernando Rodríguez Mediano (CCHS, CSIC).

Some recent Published Works (in the last Five years)

Books

2010 Las sociedades del Magreb y al-Andalus (siglos XI-XIV). Una mirada desde las fuentes hagiográficas, RABAT: EDITIONS & IMPRESSIONS BOUREGREG. ISBN: 978-89954-19447-9. Published ei july) 2006 La administración judicial almorávide en al-Andalus.

Elites, negociaciones y enfrentamientos, HELSINKI:ACADEMIA SCIENTIARUM FENNICA, SERIE HUMANIORA nº 340, 2006. (Published in june) ISBN: 951-41-0991-0; 978-9511-41-0991-1

Articles:

2009 “Reflexiones acerca de los documentos árabes del Archivo General de Simancas procedentes de Túnez y Argelia”, Studia Orientalia 107, 33-50

2006 “El cadiazgo de Granada bajo de los almorávides: enfrentamiento y negociación”, Al-Qantara, vol. XXXVII, fascículo 1, (2006), pp. 7-24.

2006 “Algeciras, ciudad “magrebí” en al-Andalus”. Una reflexión

acerca de su administración de justicia”, Quaderni Di Studi Arabi, n.s. 1, 69-79.

Book’s chapters:

2010 “Documents arabes manuscrits dans l’Archivo General de Simancas. Les documents de l’Algérie” en M. Ammadi (ed.), Primera del Manuscrito Andalusí, (Actas del Congreso de Primavera del Manuscrito Magrebí y Andalusí, Casablanca 3-5 marzo 2009), Rabat: Editions & impressions Bouregreg, pp. 85-95.

2009 “Reflexiones acerca del desarrollo de la justicia en Alcalá la Real en época almorávide”, en Islam y Cristiandad. Siglos XI-XVI. Los Banû Sa`îd. Actas de Congreso Internacional-Homenaje a María Jesús Viguera Molíns 14-15 noviembre 2008, en F. Toro Ceballos y J. Rodríguez Molina (coords.), Jaén: Diputación Provincial de Jaén, pp. 249-256.

2007 “L’éducation des saints: le temoignage des sources hagiographiques nord-africaines: le cas de al-Tašawwuf ilà rijâl al-tasawwuf d’al-Tâdilî”, en Georgon, F., y Kresier, K., Enfance et jeunesse dans le monde musulman (Childhood and Youth in Muslim World), Paris: Maisonneuve-Larouse, 27-39.

My contribution to this Project will be a historical analysis of a part of the Spanish population of 16th and 17th centuries, the so-called Morisque, and how they were addresses by the religious and politic Spanish authorities during the process that can be called "cultural and religious homogenization" of the Spanish population.

After the conquest of Muslim territories of Spain, the Muslim population knew several stages and levels of "integration and assimilation" in the new peninsular society. Initially, this population, called Mudéjar (an Arabic term that means "a domesticated population") could preserve its cultural and religious identities paying taxes in exchange. Later, the Mudéjar population was forced to loose such identity signs (the use of their language, foodstuff, social habits, among other things), and to convert to Christianity. The new population, called Morisque or New Christian, was given a “racist” treatment -could the term “racist” be used in an early modern context- when they became suspicious of preserving their cultural and religious habits and collaborating with the Otoman Empire.

My purpose is to analyze the characteristics of this process of "homogenization" of the population of the Iberian Peninsula and the treatment to which the Morisque population was subjected from the religious, linguistic, and culinary point of view, among other aspects.