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Iberian Cultures: The Mediterranean and Transatlantic Blueprint

Powell Library Exterior (IIIF)

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Moorish Influences in Art, Architecture and Language in the Modern World Muslim culture in Spain was not limited to Arab influences, on the contrary, from the point of their establishment in Spain, Muslims sought to differentiate their culture from that of Arab and African Muslims. From there, Spain became the birthplace for many elements of Muslim culture that would continue to persist in Spain and even spread throughout other parts of the world. The Spanish Muslims became known as los moros and their unique cultural elements were seen through art, architecture, language, music, as well as the sciences and math, the first three of which will be the focus of this page.

Architecture
Perhaps the most prominent element of Moorish culture that has persisted throughout Spain and even inspired new construction in the modern world has been the architectural style, also known as the Mudéjar style of architecture. Several elements of Mudéjar architecture that are commonly recognized include horseshoe arches, striped arches, scalloped arches, pointed arches, carved wooden ceilings, prayer niches, repeating patterns and minarets or towers.

Though many of the original buildings still exist, the style itself has inspired the construction of many other buildings in other parts of the world, such as here locally in Los Angeles, California at Powell Library. Powell Library at the University of California, Los Angeles has been constructed through the inspiration of Spanish architecture, much of which contains Moorish roots by origin. The wooden carved ceiling is a characteristic feature of the Mudéjar style that is prominent in Southern Spain (Andalusia).

In the image of Powell Library's exterior, one can note the different elements that have been no doubt inspired by these aspects of Mudejar style architecture. At the top of the building, just below the octagonal roof, the sequences of 3 arches going around are notably similar in style to the striped arches seen in the Moorish Arcade from Spain (header image for this page). The striped arch style is a motif seen throughout different parts of Powell's exterior. In addition, the three small towers toward the top of the building resemble the minarets that characterized the Mudéjar style especially for their utility to signal the 5 times a day dedicated to prayer. Other distinctly Mudéjar inspired elements include the repeating geometric patterns and the radially symmetric motifs. One might even argue that the small grouped arches at the top of the center of the front face of the building could be inspired by scalloped arches.

In the image to the right is another example of a building in Los Angeles that uses elements of Mudéjar architecture, specifically the three pointed arches visible across the front of the building. The pointed arch is distinguishable by the point made at the top of the arch, not commonly seen in a typical representation of an arch as being a semi-circular architectural shape and instead coming to a soft point at the center. The building in question is the Shrine Auditorium built in 1925 by G. Albert Lansburg with the "Moorish Revival" (i.e., Mudéjar) architectural style in mind. It has been the site for many prominent events, including several awards ceremonies like the Academy Awards, the Grammy Awards, and more.

Art
The Moors in Spain built their architecture and created their art centered around their religious beliefs. For many Islamic cultures, including that of the Moors, iconographic depictions in art were heavily frowned upon, which is why much of the art centers around patterns and non-iconographic depictions. Moorish art seldom depicts representations of people because of the belief that devotion should be committed to Allah alone and no other figures. Therefore, the repeating patterns become the characterizing feature of Moorish Art, displayed, for example, in their tile. The art of Moorish tile, also known as Azulejo, is a form of art that persists today even without people knowing directly where it originates. Azulejo is often referred to as Spanish tile, often leading people to think only of the Christian Spain that they know and not the Moorish Spain that actually gave birth to these tiles.

Azulejo is characterized by the repeating patterns, often incorporating at least 4 different colors. Traditionally, the Azulejo tiles were created using green, blue, white, orange/red, black and brown which represented the four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. Azulejo has become synonymous with the Spanish Colonial Revival style of architecture which has become especially popular throughout Southern California. It is important to acknowledge that even though it is characteristic of that style, its origins come from Mudéjar art which is not widely acknowledged or talked about in this respect.

Language
For many Spanish speakers, depending on which country your family is from, it is common to learn different words in Spanish that mean the same thing. Many of these words are known to be haughtily contested by different Spanish speakers as being the "correct" word for the item or idea. These contested words occur simply from regional variations, especially throughout different countries. Variations of language are naturally occurring in every language, but we usually take for granted the uncontested words that come so naturally to many people. In general, people tend to associate the origins of Spanish with a racially white and Christian Spain, however, the evolution of the language has much more depth to it considering its Phoenician, Germanic, Latin and even Arabic influences. Many of these words that we take for granted include aceituna (olive) and aceite (oil), alacrán (scorpion), alcancía (piggy bank), zanahoria (carrot), and ajonjoli (sesame). Some of these words also have a Latin derived counterpart, but they are usually less commonly used by people. Other words can easily be identified as having old Arabic derivations based on the prefixes, most commonly al- and aj-. For example,

albahaca (basil)
albañil (construction worker)
alcalde (mayor)
alcohol (alcohol)
alfombra (mattress)
álgebra (algebra)
algodón (cotton)
almendra (almond)
almohada (pillow)
ajedrez (chess, also invented by the Arabs)
arroz (rice)
asesino (assassin)
atacar (to attack)
azúcar (sugar)

There are hundreds of words that Spanish speakers use colloquially that have Arabic derivations, but they often go unrecognized as such.

The last word worth mentioning is an extremely common expression used in Mexico which is "Ojalá!" The term ojalá is used when a person wants to say "hopefully...", but the actual meaning is "if god willing... (si Dios quiera...)", which is consistent with its Arabic origins. In its Arabic origin, ojala derives from inshallah (oj--alá --> in--shallah) which translates to "if Allah wills it..." which is the exact same meaning of the word we use today. The most interesting part is that this one word, which once had significant religious meaning in one religion (Islam) now has evolved to have the same meaning for many people of another religion (Catholicism). Beyond the religious aspect, this one word is used by many people regardless of the religious meaning.

After the "Reconquista" in Spain, despite the maurophobia (hatred of moorish culture) eras that took root to try and “cleanse” Spain of any moorish influence, much of it had already been so deeply engrained in Spanish culture that it could not be purged. Fortunately, these moorish elements persisted and blended seamlessly with the ideal of “Spanish” culture coming to influence even the western world.