In Granada, Arabic inscriptions still decorate the walls of the Alhambra. Across Andalusia, old fortresses overlook villages, irrigation channels retain Arabic-derived names, and the landscape carries reminders of centuries of Muslim rule. But this is not merely a story about monuments. It is also about Muslims building lives here today.
For some, southern Spain offers a connection to an Islamic past often overlooked in accounts of European history. For others, it offers something more immediate: a place to worship, raise families and belong.
A Farmhouse With a Bigger Purpose
In the mountains near Álora, Henrietta Szovati and her husband, imam and therapist Ajmal Masroor, are developing the House of Andalus, a retreat and educational project on a 14-hectare property dotted with hundreds of olive trees.
They bought the farmhouse in 2024 after years of searching. Their ambition extends beyond hospitality: they want visitors to encounter the region’s Islamic heritage through its landscape, architecture, food and history. Plans include a Qur’anic garden, educational programmes and a library.
The idea grew from a question their young son asked while travelling through Andalusia: why did they keep finding reminders of Islam everywhere they went?
“Circumstances change, but community, connections and faith don’t.” Henrietta Szovati, as quoted in the original reporting
Henrietta describes feeling more at ease practising her faith in this part of Spain than she did in Britain. Her experience is personal, however, and does not mean the region is free from prejudice or political tensions.
The Mosque That Marked a New Chapter
In Granada, the Great Mosque of Granada opened in 2003 after nearly two decades of fundraising, planning disputes and community effort. Overlooking the Alhambra from the Albaicín neighbourhood, it became a visible expression of the city’s modern Muslim presence.
Munira Mendonca, an American convert who arrived in Spain in the late 1970s, remembers the small community’s early years. Worshippers initially gathered in borrowed or rented spaces. Over time, converts and Muslim families from abroad worked towards a permanent mosque.
Its opening was not the restoration of medieval Muslim rule. It was something distinct and contemporary: a community establishing a place to pray in a city profoundly shaped by Islamic history.
What Happened After Granada Fell?
The surrender of Granada in 1492 ended the last Muslim-ruled kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula. Although Muslims were initially promised religious protections, those guarantees were later broken. Forced conversions, restrictions, persecution and ultimately the expulsion of the Moriscos between 1609 and 1614 devastated Muslim communities.
Yet the influence of Al-Andalus did not vanish. It remained visible in architecture, agricultural practices, language, craftsmanship and local traditions, even as the people who had sustained much of that heritage were driven out or compelled to abandon their faith publicly.
Belonging Is More Than Remembering
In Órgiva, south of Granada, writer Medina Tenour Whiteman sees the attraction of Andalusia’s Islamic past. Born in Granada to Muslim converts, she later returned to the region and built a life there. But she also stresses the importance of ordinary relationships, learning Spanish and participating in the wider community.
Her account complicates the romantic image of Al-Andalus. Modern Andalusia has its own economic pressures, cultural differences and inequalities. A beautiful historical setting cannot, by itself, create belonging.
That may be the most important lesson in these stories. Islamic heritage can offer a sense of rootedness, but a thriving Muslim community depends on what people do in the present: building institutions, caring for neighbours and passing faith and knowledge to the next generation.
The legacy of Al-Andalus is not only what survives in stone. It is also what communities choose to build today.
The Alhambra still stands above Granada, bearing witness to a civilisation that helped shape Europe. Below it, Muslims once again gather for prayer. The past has not returned, but it has not been forgotten either.
Editorial note: This is a condensed, independently rewritten adaptation of the original reported feature. First-hand interviews and quotations are attributed to that reporting; Sunna Files did not conduct those interviews.
Original reporting: Add original publisher, author and source link.
