Converted Muslim elites kept dual Christian and Arab identities in public life

Evidence

In the light of what was to come, we may surmise that it was this latter issue that aroused most ire. El Fisteli, like most of these convert leaders, seems to have preferred to be known by the new name he had assumed at baptism, but he characteristically continued to use his Arabic nisba alongside, sometimes in preference to, his new name of Fernando de Morales. That he was a hardheaded man of business is clear from the documents, but his was a voice able to speak out on behalf of his people. He had an independent mind. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 227

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies what a ‘nisba’ is in this context — the Arabic surname element indicating origin — and how converted elites wielded dual naming.