Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree (Vol. 1) (The Islam Quintet) [Paperback]

Tariq Ali (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Islam Quintet | Publication Date: July 1, 1993

"An enthralling story, unraveled with thrift and verve. Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree is quizzical as well as honest, informative as well as enjoyable, real history as well as fiction ... a book to be relished and devoured."—The Independent

Tariq Ali tells us the story of the aftermath of the fall of Granada by narrating a family sage of those who tried to survive after the collapse of their world. Ali is particularly deft at evoking what life must have been like for those doomed inhabitants, besieged on all sides by intolerant Christendom. "This is a novel that have something to say, and says it well."—The Guardian

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Tariq Ali tells us the story of the aftermath of the fall of Granada by narrating a family sage of those who tried to survive after the collapse of their world. Particularly deft at evoking what life must have been like for those doomed inhabitants, besieged on all sides by intolerant Christendom. This is a novel that have something to say, and says it well." -- Guardian "Tariq Ali captures the humanity and splendour of Muslim Spain ... an enthralling story, unravelled with thrift and verve. Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree is quizzical as well as honest, informative as well as enjoyable, real history as well as fiction ... a book to be relished and devoured." -- Independent

About the Author

Tariq Ali is a writer and filmmaker. He has written more than a dozen books on world history and politics—including Pirates of the Caribbean, Bush in Babylon, The Clash of Fundamentalisms and The Obama Syndrome—as well as five novels in his Islam Quintet series and scripts for the stage and screen. He is an editor of the New Left Review and lives in London.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Verso (July 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0860916766
• ISBN-13: 978-0860916765
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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64 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A historic fiction tale of the Moors in Spain, May 15, 2001

By 

M. A. ZAIDI "Ali Zaidi" (Karachi; Pakistan) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree (Vol. 1) (The Islam Quintet) (Paperback)

Ali's "Shadow of the Pomegranate Tree" provides not only a great reading, but an extremely useful corrective to the general western misconception about Muslim society. His work while a fiction, has clearly been thoroughly researched. The openness, tolerance and cosmopolitanism of Islamic society during the Moorish period is clearly presented with accents and touches that ring true. While westerners are inclined to view Islam as a monolithic entity, Ali brings out the division and tension that existed within the societies of each period.

"Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree" is set in Spain after the fall of Granada. The story of the Banu Hudayl, a landed aristocratic family, the book explores the fateful decision that the Muslims of Spain had to make in the aftermath of the Reconquista. Shadows opens with the Muslim community having been recently shaken by the burning of their books on the order of Ximenes de Cisneros, Isabella's confessor. Sent to Granada to debate theology, Cisneros was verbally bested by the Muslim scholars. Defeated, he ordered all Muslim books to be destroyed two million manuscripts burned. "They set our culture on fire...The record of eight centuries was annihilated in one day", Umar the head of the Hudayl, laments. The only books to be saved from this wanton destruction were 300 medical and scientific works, spared by the petitions of Christian scholars who realized their superiority, and those books that the soldiers carrying them to the square discarded, judging the books' importance by their weight.

Cisneros, a man of the church is hell bent on destroying all vestiges of the Muslim society and culture in Granada. He sees force as the only way to win the conversion of the Muslims to Christianity, unlike his predecessor, who had given orders for the priests to learn Arabic and have Christian works translated. Yet his actions also have a personal element, as others whisper about his apparent Jewish features. Cisneros cruelty is interestingly contrasted to the outlook of Don Ignio, the civilian governor of the Granada region, and a life long friend of Umar's. Don's entrouge consisted of Jewish and Moors, and he tells Umar "For me a Granada without them is like a desert without Oasis. But I am on my own" When Umar comments that the current situation would never have arisen had the Moors used the same tactics that the Christian were now employing, Dons's response is: "Instead you attempted to bring civilization to the whole peninsula regardless of faith or creed. It was noble of you now you must pay the price."

The reason I find this an excellent read is because Ali treats western history with the same thoroughness and brutal honesty, he demolishes the myth that the episode was a victory of one sort or the other of western society, simply by incorporating facts into the narrative. The triumphalism and sheer blood thirstiness of the Christian west is underscored most clearly in "Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree".

53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars At times captivating novel about Muslim Spain, November 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree (Vol. 1) (The Islam Quintet) (Paperback)

I am quite surprised to discover the lack of attention which this book seems to have received. A highly respected political analyst and writer, (And a brilliant speaker. I have witnessed him speaking at the Oxford Union and he was as impressive as I had heard), Tariq Ali, in my opinion ventures successfully into the area of novel writing. My wife and I enjoyed the book quite a bit and it provoked many an interesting discussion. I would say that the highpoints are an impressive depiction of the progressive, liberal and still very much Muslim society which existed in Spain and its cultural and literary achievements. This is indeed a golden era of Spanish, Muslim and world history and the South of Spain still contains many a splendid remnant of this golden past. At various levels, Tariq Ali is very successful in showing what the last days of this great civilization must have been like and how brutal and narrow-minded the inquisition was after this period of great political harmony, intellectual and cultural synthesis and progress. Tariq Ali paints his characters with affection and care and most of the time they are highly believable. The sincere pathos he feels about this chapter of history comes through clearly in his depiction of various instances especially the burning of the Islamic libraries by the Christians who successfully went on to more or less erase the Muslim character of and contribution to Spanish history. A recent trip to the Mayan ruins in Mexico

revealed the brutality and wonton destruction of other cultures by the same people in other geographical contexts. Indeed the christian revival which transformed into the inquisition was one of the most repressive regimes in the history of mankind. Tariq Ali shows how a one-time magnificent Muslim culture, gets corrupted and sterile and loses out to a more vicious and narrow-minded zealotry. Anyone who has been to the south of Spain and has seen Moorish cities will empathize with the lament of the writer in this book. There are stylistically awkward instances in the novel but on the whole it is quite well written and evocative and covers an important point in history. I think that Tariq Ali should seriously consider continuing fiction writing. A worthwhile read which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in the history of Islam, Moorish Spain, the Inquisition or even the broad category of good fiction coming from writers of South Asian origin.

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The intolerance of Christianity, December 23, 2000

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree (Vol. 1) (The Islam Quintet) (Paperback)

This small novel covers the late 14th Century and the attitudes of the Church that spawned the Inquisition. Many are aware of the damage to the Jews through the cruelty and torture of the Inqisitors. However, there was another target in Spain- the demolition of Moorish culture, particularly Granada. The most spectacular and infamous event in this history is the massive burning of all the great Muslim writings on mathematics, science and religion. Under the watchful eyes of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, a fanatical Inquisitor, Ximenes de Cisneros, attempts to thoroughly obliterate the Moorish culture. The book burning is merely the first step in the plan; Cisneros understands that if you can destroy history, traditions and freedom to speak the language, people are more easily subjugated. During this shameful period, the Catholic Church was relentless in its efforts to destroy those who refused conversion. Families who had passed their land and wealth from generation to generation were targeted for assimilation as "conversos" or put to death. We follow the lives of one such family as its members decide to either flee for safety, join forces to fight, or are brutally slain. The story moves slowly throughout, but historically, so did the times. I would like to have had more detail about the activities of the Inquisitors and the beliefs of the Muslims in Granada; the primary statement of belief is stated, "There is only one God and His name is Allah, and his prophet is Mohammed." At times it almost felt like reading a fable in the style the author used, an ancient story passed along in oral tradition. Unfortunately, it isn't just a fable. This is an area of great interest as belief systems affect modern as well as ancient attitudes.