Medieval Castilian law grounded Muslim subordination in religious inferiority

Evidence

The Siete partidas defines and restricts the Muslims’ place in Castilian society, a place founded on their religious inferiority. Titulo 25 of the Partidas, “de los moros,” defines Moors (in the passage quoted at the beginning of this chapter) as those who believe that Muhammad is God’s prophet and messenger. Since Muhammad did not live a holy life worthy of a prophet, his law is an “insult to God” (denuesto de Dios) and “silliness” (nescedat); here the Partidas invokes the standard argument that Muhammad’s failure to show the “signs of prophecy” is proof of the illegitimacy of his law. The Moors, for their “foolish belief,” are explicitly given the same social and legal status as the Jews for their “obstinacy”: they may live “observing their own law and not insulting ours.” — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 977