Posted by
Mike on Thursday, September 01, 2011 1:12:51 PM
http://www.westernperspective.blogspot.com/
My Jewish roots go back to a small town near present day Amman, Jordan in the 7th century. According to Islamic records similar to Hadith, the father of Musa ibn Nusair, the military leader who led the Islamic conquest of Hispania, was a Jewish rabbi who converted to Islam. Musa is the Arabic form of Moises or Moses. Musa was a
balawi among the nomadic tribes of north Africa, many from pre-Arabic Christian communities, who had settled in Syria and other areas of the Middle East prior to that time. Islamic tradition places Musa's birth at Abu-Nusair in Jordan, the town in which his body was buried after his death.
The Arab invasion of Hispania may have been motivated by jealousy against the Berbers whose military campaigns in the Peninsula had been successful prior to that time. The Arab leaders before Musa could not subdue the Berbers or force them to accept Islam. Musa successfully united with the Berbers conquering the Peninsula, even appointing some Berbers to high military command posts. He respected Berber culture, language and customs.