An article that appeared in The Age (Australia) and London’s Daily Telegraph addresses radical Islam’s ‘claim’ to Spain:
Thursday’s bombings have raised an uncomfortable question for Spaniards. Is Osama bin Laden dreaming of exacting revenge for the loss of Al-Andalus, the ancient Moorish kingdom in Iberia?
A group said to be close to bin Laden’s al-Qaeda, the Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri, sent a message to a London-based Arabic newspaper saying: “This is part of settling old accounts with Spain, the crusader and America’s ally in its war against Islam.”
While the authenticity of the message is open to doubt, there is no question that it reflects the thinking of Islamists who hold that any land that has once been part of the Muslim community should forever remain under Muslim rule.
At the beginning of the 11th century, three-quarters of Spain’s population was Muslim. But as soon as the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella reconquered the country for Christianity, the Muslims were ordered out.
The humiliation has never been forgotten in the Arab world.
Journalist and commentator Tom Gross adds: “Not stated in this article (perhaps because the Daily Telegraph in Spain is unaware) is that many radical Islamists regularly refer to Spain as occupied territory in their sermons and websites.”
