Heroísmo o principios ético-socialesla muerte en defensa de la comunidad. Personajes musulmanes fallecidos en la batalla de al-‛Iqāb o las Navas de Tolosa (1212)

Abstract

This article is a polemological (‘war as a social phenomenon’) analysis of the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa based on the participation and death of volunteers among the Muslim forces. This contingent of volunteers was characterized by their sheernumber, social heterogeneity, lack of military experience and training, and personal commitment and engagement in safeguarding their way of life. Most of them died in the battle, but extant biographies show that they were not visionary fanatics eager for heroic deeds, martyrdom or sacrifice. Quite the contrary, they were well educated persons engaged in intellectual and scientific activities or performing important functions in their communities: teachers, Qadis (judges), Faqihs (jurists), Imams, Khatibs (preachers), historians, Quran reciters, poets, literati, Sufis and ascetics. It is clear that, at least as far as this group of intellectuals and scholars is concerned, we are dealing with socially well-situated individuals who led a wealthy life worth preserving, but who were responsibly aware of the dangerous juncture they were in. This ethical commitment and sense of solidarity impelled them to defend their community and society against a serious outside threat. Our analysis is supplemented by the case of a military man killed in the battle who was both a warrior and a cultured man.