The Ornament of the World

​The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain
By Maria Rosa Menocal
Published in April 2003
315 Pages
Thibault’s Score: 3/5


The point of this book is to argue that Islam was very tolerant and highly learned in the Middle Ages in Spain. This book was written with a clear agenda to make Muslims look good, and that is immediately disclosed in the book’s opening pages.


The history of the era is fascinating. I enjoyed learning about how Jews re-created Hebrew, and how Muslims preserved and translated Roman Classics. However that enjoyment was muted by what felt  like a constant propagandistic tone that permeates the book.


For example, Maria Rosa Menocal tries very hard to downplay the martyrdom of Christians who protested against the Islamic government. She argues that the Christian martyrs deserved to be killed because they were troublemakers and provocateurs. This position struck me as very morally dubious.


My favorite chapter was the one describing how Maimonides developed Jewish doctrine. He essentially invented Hebrew, using old oral traditions and Spanish Arabic.


Overall, I don’t recommend reading this book alone. It is very biased in favor of the Muslim invaders. I read this book alongside The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise and found it really strange that Maria Rosa Menocal doesn’t address any of the horrors and extremely brutal aspects of the Islamic domination.


I do recommend reading this book along The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise for the sheer polemic value.