How to sew all Islamic prints
of Europe in a common legacy

The IS-LE Islamic Legacy project, coordinated by UNED, claims the Islamic heritage as an essential part of the European identity, dismantling stereotypes and promoting an inclusive vision of the continent’s common past.

Islamic culture and its formidable artistic heritage in Europe has often been perceived as an alien reality, disconnected from the overall history of the continent. Until now, their study has been approached as individual pieces of a puzzle. Andalusian Spain, on the one hand, and the Islamic footprint of the Balkans or Ottoman Greece, on the other, in a fragmented and unintelligible vision of the common European legacy.

This is precisely what the IS-LE Islamic Legacy project, coordinated from UNED, has sought to correct through a macro initiative that has involved 200 researchers from 80 institutions and 40 countries, under the direction of professors Antonio Urquízar, Borja Franco and Elena Paulino Montero. The work was carried out between 2019 and 2023 and included academic and training meetings for young researchers, the publication of scientific publications and documentaries, as well as the organization of exhibitions and numerous outreach activities.

The award was made public on June 12 and reinforces the lines of research that seek to reconstruct the European Islamic footprint in order to consolidate it as another component of the complex and plural identity of the Old Continent. “We wanted to see how each historiographic tradition and each territory had dealt with that legacy in the medieval and modern world, and how it is projected in today’s world,” argues Borja Franco in a telephone conversation.

The project is based on three fundamental axes. The first refers to the imaginary construction of the other. “That is to say,” explains the UNED researcher, “what stereotypes are being generated” about the contribution of minority cultures to the identity of the whole. The second pillar focuses on the mobility of people, objects and knowledge, and the third pillar analyzes the concept of the frontier, which has generally been permeable to the flow of individuals, knowledge and ideas.

All the work had an overall budget of 600,000 euros. They included three summer congresses in Spain, Tunisia and Sweden, as well as the production of ten small-format documentaries and audiovisuals and all kinds of scientific publications. “We finished in 2023, but we are still finishing several publications that have not yet seen the light of day,” says Borja Franco. In the opinion of the UNED expert, what the court has valued is “this new look at the past”, which does not seek only the “points of conflict” but those of “connection” of the Islamic legacy.

And he gives as an example a very significant fact unknown to most Europeans. A mosque was located inside the Greek Parthenon from the end of the 15th century after the conquest of the Ottoman Empire, and the remains of the minaret’s foundation still remain. “Many people don’t know that. And just as there was a mosque in the main icon of the West, Islam is very present in the European identity,” he explains graphically.

Until just twenty years ago, the image of the Muslim was constructed with the stereotype of dark skin, turban and enemy by nature. “And it was not taken into account that Muslims have been allies as well. Muley Hasan, for example, was a collaborator of Charles V in the conquest of Tunisia in the 16th century. And Muslims have been allies of Christian kingdoms at times,” he adds. “Historiography until now has focused on defining Islam as an opponent and not as something constitutive of the Spanish or European identity itself,” the art historian argues. The stereotype also clashes with reality. The Spanish Moriscos, as the case may be, were not distinguished in ethnic terms from the Old Christians.

The direct consequence of all these prejudices is that Europeans, in general, do not consider Islam and Muslims as structural elements of their own identity. “Not at all,” emphasizes Borja Franco. “People are surprised when you explain to them that a large part of European traditions or heritage is of Andalusian origin or has a link with Islam. Or when you show them that the Castilian nobles built their palaces following the patterns of Andalusian decoration”. And that antagonistic view of Islam is still dominant today.

The perception is even worsening in recent years due to the irruption of Islamophobic discourse. “Unfortunately, everything is becoming radicalized. And we see a Europe of opposites: ultra-right versus ultra-left.” The UNED professor cites as an example the recent recent controversy The professor, from UNED, gives the example of the recent controversy surrounding the research led by the Spaniard Mercedes García-Arenal, which examines the history of the Quran in Europe. “It’s very sad,” he laments. “I don’t know what fear was behind this furious attack on the researchers. They didn’t even bother to read what the project was about. And Garcia-Arenal was also in our project.” Borja Franco certifies the upsurge of Islamophobia in the West. “We live in a time of extremism. And that is where radicalism against Islam comes in. If you defend a position of dialogue and integration, you are woke. And, if you don’t, you’re a fascist”.

The project has promoted the investigation of numerous Unesco World Heritage sites, including the Alhambra in Granada, the Mosque of Cordoba and the Old Bridge of Mostar in Bosnia. The aim was to facilitate a nuanced understanding of Europe’s Islamic heritage and the promotion of intercultural dialogue. This was expressly stated by the jury: “It contributes to a better understanding of Islamic heritage as part of European history and to contemporary debates on shared values”.

IS-LE Islamic Legacy is also eligible for the Audience Award, which is awarded by online voting among the thirty winners. Voting closes on September 12th and the website to participate in the vote is https://vote.europanostra.org. The awards ceremony will take place in Brussels on October 13 during the European Summit on Cultural Heritage 2025.