Historical context from the 15th and 16th century
The references within the conclusions drawn by Virginia Easley DeMarce back in 1992 and 1993 can be appropriately evaluated only through historical enlightenment such as reflected in the articles below.
Dean Keels
an excerpt from http://www.africawithin.com/kwaku/beethoven.htmhttp://www.africawithin.com/kwaku/beethoven.htm
In the 15th and 16th century, written history underwent a massive campaign of misinformation and deception. With the European slave trade in full swing, Afrikans were transported to various parts of the world and were stripped of every aspect of their humanity, and in most of western civilization, were no longer considered human. This triggered a wholesale interpretation of history that methodically excluded Afrikans from any respectful mention, other than a legacy of slavery. This can result in being taught, or socialized, from one perspective. In this instance, historical information tends to flow strictly from a European perspective. No judgment of right or wrong is being made here, only that the breadth was very narrow in scope.
In an age where history is seriously being rewritten, new information is coming forth that is shocking intellectual sensitivities. What was once considered written in stone is now melting away with the discovery of facts that heretofore have been hidden or omitted; things so different that they are generally classified as controversial or unusual.
What specifically is being referenced, is the true identity of Ludwig van Beethoven, considered Europe’s greatest classical music composer. Directly, Beethoven was a black man. Specifically, his mother was a Moor, that group of Muslim Africans who conquered parts of Europe--making Spain their capital--for some 800 years.
an excerpt from http://medievalnews.blogspot.com/2007/08/cities-of-http://medievalnews.blogspot.com/2007/08/cities-of-
light-rise-and-fall-of.html
Sunday, August 12, 2007
"Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain" - PBS
documentary
A common history of cultures; On Aug. 22, PBS will air tale of
interlaced enlightenment
CYNTHIA A. KANE
11 August 2007
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together and flourished in Western
Europe during a significant time of history, all but unknown to many.
A rich and complex culture, this tolerant society sowed the seeds of
the Renaissance more than a thousand years ago in Iberia, known today
as Spain and Portugal.
PBS will air "Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain" at
9 p.m. Aug. 22. The two-hour documentary illuminates a vital real-
life experience -- one of importance, which lasted centuries.
The journey glimpses into significant cross-cultural understanding,
strife and revival. This lost civilization, Islamic Spain, preserved
ancient texts -- the great classical works of science, brought from
the Byzantine Empire.
And that knowledge was not only gathered but fostered.
"We have the great literature, we have the fabulous architecture, we
have the philosophy, the poetry, even the music of this centuries-
long experiment in pluralism that Jews, Muslims and Christians staged
together in the heart of Western Europe," said film co- executive
producer Michael Wolfe.
Told by world class historians, with images that include Spain's
beautiful landscapes, great Islamic architecture and feature-film
style reenactments, the tale brings "understanding to the very
difficult terrain being negotiated globally right now," in Wolfe's
words.
Islamic Spain, known as Al-Andalus, was home to immigrants from three
Abrahamic faiths, whose cultures interlaced.
It's a period in history that demonstrates how religious diversity,
when accommodated in a social and political system that does not
foremost promulgate fear, can be successfully managed amid inevitably
erupting problems and tensions.
They, along with Visigoths, the Western Goths, occupied most of the
peninsula, with all four cultures sharing the stuff of everyday life.
Under consolidated Islamic rule, Jews and Christians
received "protected people" status, since they shared the same
prophets and ancient texts of Muslims. And they were allowed to
follow their own religions, though they had to submit to the
authority and pay tax under Islamic law, in exchange for the
protection.
During the 8th through 10th centuries, Cordoba, the heart of this new
Islamic kingdom in Europe, became a center of higher learning under
ruler Abd al-Rachman's dynasty, including construction of an
extensive library and a hub of funded scholars. The Medieval Arab
culture had preserved Greco-Roman classical knowledge during the Dark
Ages, with classical works of science and philosophy preserved in
Arabic.
Not all of Al-Andalus enjoyed such peace, however, and conflict
erupted. A series of civil wars dragged out through the 800s The
Islamic society translated and absorbed the knowledge of the greatest
civilizations and added and contributed to it.
Poetry blossomed, with choral compositions reflecting cultural
sharing. With the explosion of scientific knowledge, agriculture
bloomed. So is born the Green Revolution of Cordoba.
Advanced technologies like the water wheel, sophisticated irrigation
and the design and grooming of lush gardens are developed.
This civilization lasted longer than the Roman Empire.
But in 976 "The spirit of tolerance ultimately was staggered by war,
bad leadership and religious extremism," Wolfe said."Ironically, it's
the undercurrents of political and religious tensions from within the
Islamic community that will plague Al-Andalus," states the film's
narrator.
Yet, through diaspora and adherence to the Andalusian traditions,
even if in secret, the riches of Islamic Spain were preserved -- to
re-emerge as the roots of the European Renaissance.
The lemon tree, algebra, Aristotle's lost philosophy, seeds of modern
medicine and the water wheel all arrived in Europe through Islamic
Spain.
This documented tale is a complex one, but quite worth
digesting. "Cities of Light" explores cultural understanding. And at
a pivotal time.
"We lack," said co-producer Wolfe, "a dramatic understanding of what
produced this blaze of civilization in a Dark Age and why it broke
down in bloodshed, condemnation and exile."