Moros y Cristianos. A Motif of the Confrontation Between Islam and Christianity in Spanish Culture

Abstract

The article is dedicated to traditional festivities called Moros y Cristianos, or in a literal translation: Moors and Christians, which are widespread in a number of autonomous communities in Spain, including Valencia, Andalusia, Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha and many others. The name literally means Moors and Christians and is used with reference to festivities commemorating real or legendary battles between two civilizations during the Spanish Reconquista (or: reconquest) with Christians finally taking over the Iberian Peninsula. For a few centuries it has been serving as a modus operandi for depicting an eternal conflict between Christianity and Islam in the street culture, hence: reconstructing images of civilizational oddity of Muslims.