Novel Effort...SIIUC lecturers Md Ridzal Md Yusof (right) and Ustaz Rosli Mokhtar, whose joint effort in producing an interactive comic novel on Andalusia entitled

The Story Of Andalusia Bags IPCC2009 Award


By Mohd Azhar Ibrahim

BANGI, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- An interactive comic novel entitled 'Salvation', has earned handsome rewards for two lecturers from the Selangor International Islamic University College (SIIUC).

Md Ridzal Md Yusof from the faculty of Information Science and Technology and Ustaz Rosli Mokhtar from the Academy of Islamic Studies received one of the top ten awards for the Digital Interactive Comic category in the MSC Malaysia Intellectual Property Creators Challenge 2009 (IPTC 2009), which ended recently.

The annual IPCC series aims to unearth and enhance the capability of local talents in terms of new intellectual property (IP) development and help spur the growth of the creative multimedia industry under the MSC Malaysia Creative Multimedia Content Initiative (M-CMCI).

The competition, which was initiated in 2006, covers four types of creative multimedia content comprising of animation, casual computer games, digital interactive comic and mobile games.

Md Ridzal, who was a graphic artist in the animation industry prior to his current appointment at SIIUC since 2005, chose to focus on the history of Islamic civilisation in Europe for his pitching at the IPTC 2009 because the subject has generated a great deal of interest among members of the academia, especially those in the Middle East.

PAST ISLAMIC CIVILISATION AND ITS CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY

"I was looking for a theme that would highlight the contributions made by Islamic societies of the past. Initially, I wanted to focus on the exploits of the great Kurdish warrior Sultan Salahuddin Ayubi (Saladin), who proved to be more than a match for the Crusaders. But after discovering that an animated TV series called 'Saladin' had already been produced by MDeC and the Jazeera Children's Channel, I shifted my attention on the history of Islamic Spain instead," Ridzal told Bernama in a recent interview.

"I was lucky to enlist the help of my colleague Ustaz Rosli, who having devoted an extensive research on Andalusia, was indispensable as my advisor in term of knowledge and content," he added.

Ustaz Rosli has authored a book titled 'Kerajaan Islam Sepanyol' (Spain's Islamic Kingdom) and is in the process of publishing his second book titled 'Ilmuan Islam Andalusia' (The Muslim Intellectuals of Andalusia).

"The story of Al-Andalus is the fascinating history of how a European country ruled by Muslims was once considered as a major centre of civilisation during its time," Ustaz Rosli said.

"The development, growth and contribution of Muslim Spain were not much different from modern America and its presence and influence on the world scene today," he elaborated.

How Islam was ejected from Spain had been a subject of keen study by historians and Muslim scholars.

THE GLORY OF AL-ANDALUS

In 711, Tariq ibn Ziyad led a small army of Berber Muslims from North Africa across the Strait of Gibraltar into the Iberian Peninsula and went on to defeat King Roderic of Spain.

The Muslims named the land of their conquest Al-Andalus, which means 'Land of the Vandals', in reference to its Germanic Visigoth inhabitants.

Andalusia, as it is also called, was the first cosmopolitan city in history where Muslims, Christians and Jews intermingled and went about their ways harmoniously.

Cordoba attracted scholars, scientists, merchants, and poets of all ethnic and religious backgrounds. Inevitably, it became the cradle of learning and knowledge.

"Intellectual giants like Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar), Al-Khwarizmi (Algorizm) and Al-Razi (Razes) to name a few, were all Muslims educated in Al-Andalus," Ustaz Rosli said.

In the 700 years that they have been in Europe, the Muslims of Al-Andalus produced a great civilisation that was far ahead and more advance than the rest of Europe at that time.

"It was a civilisation that was to form the basis for the 16th Century European Renaissance. Many of their cultural and intellectual influences still live with us today," Ustaz Rosli added.

COLLAPSE OF MUSLIM SPAIN

Unfortunately, like the Greeks and Romans that preceded them, the Muslims of Al-Andalus fell into moral decay and wandered from the spirit and intellect that had made them great.

Wallowing in their prosperity and wealth, they became corrupted and even more materialistic.

Thus the collapse of Islamic rule in Spain was due not only to the strength of the Christian invaders, but also the disharmony among the Muslims themselves.

Internal rifts in the power structure pushed the Muslims to forge mini-alliances and fought amongst themselves. As a result, the Islamic Caliphate was fragmented into a score of small kingdoms called taifas, each independently ruled by an emir.

Arabs, Berbers and Slavs were engaged in deadly conflict over the spoils of the kingdom they were jointly destroying.

Wanton self-preservation even led some to work hand in glove with the Christian Crusaders in the hope of clinging on to their diminishing power.

The Muslims finally lost all power in Spain in 1492.

By 1502 the Catholic rulers issued an order requiring all Muslims to convert to Catholicism, and when this didn't work they imposed brutal restrictions on the remaining Spanish Muslims.

Muslim presence was finally extinguished from Spain in 1609 when the Spanish Crown ordered the expulsion of all Muslims.

ISLAM IN PRESENT DAY SPAIN

Present day Spanish predominantly seems to consider the Muslims of Andalusia only as 'invaders and usurpers'.

Spain's Muslim heritage was belittled for centuries, and only began to be really appreciated after the death of Dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

A year later, five young men became Muslims through the da'wah (proselytising efforts) of Muslim Sufi Master Sheikh Dr. AbdalQadir as-Sufi; that Islam returned to the city of Cordoba. They represented the first Spaniards to embrace Islam since the time of Al-Andalus.

In 1989, Islam was officially accepted as a religion in Spain.

According to Ustaz Rosli, in 1991, the Spanish government celebrated the 1,000th anniversary of the rule of Abdul Rahman III who was called al-Nasir (The Defender of the Faith) and is hailed as the greatest ruler of Spain.

MORE RESEARCH NEEDED

A particular noteworthy point is that during the period of Islam's decline from Spain almost the entire civilised world was ruled by Muslims.

The Ottoman Turks were ruling the entire Balkan Peninsula, Egypt was ruled by the powerful Marmelukes, Persia was at its political pinnacle under the Abbasi rulers, and India was ruled by the Moghuls.

Still, Islam vanished from Spain and none of these great Muslim armies did anything to protect their Muslim brethren in Spain.

"Muslims initially prevailed in Al-Andalus because they considered themselves as Muslims and were not divided by race, creed or nationality.

"But when governing powers and religious movements reject complexity and insist on a single cultural and religiously centred point of view, then society is likely to grieve widespread loss for everyone," Ustaz Rosli expounded.

The history of Islamic Spain demonstrates that when religious diversity is accommodated within a social and political system, society is able to successfully manage problems and tensions that may exist, to the benefit of all.

Ridzal has until next March to complete his interactive comic.

"Ideally, both of us need to go to the ground in Spain to get a feel of the ambience before I commence any studio work," Ridzal said.

His is a big story to tell, which requires more research.

The RM20,000 grant for winning the IPCC 2009 would cover some of the costs involved but he could definitely use more fund.

"Present-day Muslims should take heed of the circumstances and designs surrounding the decline of Al-Andalus lest they suffer the same fate," Ustaz Rosli concluded.

-- BERNAMA