Morisco behavior reflects belief in the imminent end of days

Evidence

The use by the mufti of the word guraba (“stranger,” “outsider”) in this general address evokes a picture of an embattled heroic remnant of Muslims clinging on to their faith in spite of great suffering. These people, the mufti may have been suggesting by his choice of vocabulary, were “outsiders” in the sense that they were physically outside the bounds of dar al-Islam, but they had nevertheless been entrusted with a special honorable role in stressful times leading up to Judgment Day. Much of the behavior of the Moriscos is best understood against the background of beliefs in the imminent coming of the end of all things. The very awfulness of their situation tended to confirm them in their faith. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 337

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the specific historical sense of guraba (‘strangers/outsiders’) as an honorific, not merely an ethnic label.
• XREF: Connects to apocalyptic-imminence communities more broadly, e.g. early Christians awaiting the Parousia, and to subaltern group identity in African-American religious history.