AUTHOR: Mimoun AZIZA
A “PERIPHERAL” ORIENTALISM: THE SPANISH ORIENTALISM FACING THE ARABIAN-MUSLIM PAST OF SPAIN
Danubius, XXXV, Galaţi, 2017, pp. 301-312.
Abstract
The article deals with the peripheral and secondary position occupied by the Spanish Orientalism compared to other European orientalist currents, especially the French and the English ones. The relationship of the Spaniards with the Orient is ambiguous, because their interest here is closely linked to the debate on the Spanish national identity, which means that the Spanish Orientalism was essentially centered on al-Andalus and then on Morocco; thus, it rarely looked at to a distant Orient.
The eight centuries of the Muslim presence in Spain (VII-XV centuries) largely marked this Orientalism. Islam thus occupies a central position in the Hispanic world. The writings of Juan Goytisolo and Americo Castro on this subject have led Edward Said to emphasize the complex relationship between Islam and Spain.