The Christian Culture of Islamic Spain: Origins, Survival and Recovery

Why did Christianity, which was entrenched in the Iberian Peninsula as the religion of the majority of the population at the time of the Arab conquest of 711, fail to survive under Islamic rule, while other Christian communities of similar antiquity still exist today in most parts of the Near East? It has been argued that the hold of Christianity was weaker than claimed, not only in Spain but also in North Africa, where its history follows a similar path, leading to complete disappearance i...