Those readers enjoying a history of the interaction between the Portuguese colonizers and their Muslim opponents both in Europe and Goa will probably enjoy this Oxford University doc on the Short History Of The Moors.
https://youtu.be/RnKVdN2NNYc Roland. Toronto. > On Feb 12, 2021, at 9:47 AM, Gilbert Lawrence <[email protected]> wrote: > > Goa Muslims: a peep into the little paradise’s past > > "Chapter III covers prominent Muslims of Goa who in the past brought glory > and prosperity to the place. This includes saints like Hazrath Maqdoom Ismail > Syed Ismail, Qazi Muhammad Kabeer. Ibn Batuta during his visit to India met > Jamaluddin, the then governor of Vijaynagar. Among other prominent travellers > are Bazrug bin Shreyaz, Masoodi and Marco Polo and Abdul Razzack (1433), who > found Goa a beautiful place. Muhammad Tajjika (1080-1125) contributed > substantially to make Goa a shipping hub. Hanjaman made Goa a great > replenishing centre. Sadam Taiji, son of the rich Arab merchant Mahmood > Taiji, built the first mosque of Goa at Old Goa which was compared by Ibn > Batuta with the Baghdad mosque. Muhammad Gawan, the wise and learned prime > minister of Bahamani state during Mahmood Shah II, rewarded Yusuf with Goa > for his exemplary valour in defending it against Vijaynagar’s onslaught. > Muslim rule in Goa, though very short, was peaceful. > > Chapter IV recounts the atrocities that the Portuguese perpetrated on > innocent Muslims of Goa. What an irony that though they learnt the art of > navigation from Muslims and after their successful arrival unleashed > barbarity on Muslims. Their main aim was to root out Muslim trade and make it > a Portuguese monopoly. They hunted Muslims like wild animals killing hundreds > of them." > > ------------ > GL responds: > > Thanks Frederick for posting the above from a book giving us the Muslim > perspective of pre-Portuguese Goa. > > This is interesting reading. Many (even educated) Goans do not believe that > the Old Conquistas had much of a Muslim population. Muslim rulers were > well-known (like other conquerors) to distribute newly acquired / conquered > land to their decommissioned soldiers. Old Conquistas being prime land were > most likely populated by Muslim settlers, and included the Shahi palaces in > Panjim and Old Goa. The Baghdad-size mosque in Old Goa before the Portuguese > arrival reflects the size of the Muslim population of the area. > Like many Indian historians and authors of the past, this author overlooks or > ignores the full extent of Portuguese-Muslim interactions. Those > interactions did not start in 1498 when Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut; or > in 1510 when Albuquerque landed in Goa. > > Portuguese-Muslim interactions started in 711 when Iberia was conquered by > Arab Moors who colonized the country. After a prolonged and bitter struggle, > Moorish colonization of Iberia ended in 1492, making the Iberian colonization > (781 years) the longest period of colonization in world history. Thus for > Portugal's knights, and the ordinary people, the bitter rivalries with > Muslims in India was real-time and a continuation of their conflicts in > Europe. Furthermore, it was the (Arab) Muslims in India who did not desire; > and wanted to end Portugal’s entry into the Asian Spice trade which disrupted > their existing Arab-Venetian monopoly of spice trade. The > Portuguese-Arab-Indian Muslim conflict was epitomized by the epic naval > Battle of Diu in 1509, making that naval encounter one of the 10 most > significant battles in naval history. > Extracted from “Insights into Colonial Goa” by Philomena Lawrence and Gilbert > Lawrence. Published in e-book and paperback by Kindle / Amazon. The book is > available as an e-book in India and can be purchased in rupees. > > > > > > > > >
