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In the Islamic Middle East and European Christendom in the Middle Ages,
exchange and symbiosis rather than war and aggression were more characteristic of
relations among peoples of different faiths. However, war and aggression were present to
some extent. To first address there being more exchange than war, we can look at the
example of the Jews and their role in trade. While the Jews were not fully accepted in
either Muslim or Christian society, they were tolerated and not considered full aliens.
Therefore, they were in a good position to participate in trade, which made them
appreciated by their local towns. This is an example of how exchange was present
between people of different faiths. However, although this was the general trend, history
is not black and white, and it is true that war did break out occasionally. The success of
Jews increased their unpopularity, resulting in occasional times where angry mobs would
Symbiosis was dominant over aggression, even though this was occasionally
present. We can indirectly see symbiosis among peoples of different faiths by looking at
art and architecture from the Middle Ages and how different cultures contributed to it.
One of the best examples of this is the synagogues of the Iberian Peninsula, which were a
key point of convergence. One such Synagogue, that of Tomar in Portugal, was built by a
Christianoriented workshop, but has a plan typical of mosques in Islam. This is evidence
for how Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures all converged. The fact that each of these
cultures respected the other cultures enough to allow the cultures to converge with their
own illustrates the symbiosis that existed among them. These faiths existed together for
so long, that the peoples of each culture considered aspects of other cultures to be part of
their own. Again this trend was not always the case. An example of aggression would be
when the Almoravids and Almohads came from North Africa and invaded alAndalus.
Rather than following the traditional policy of tolerance for minorities, they were largely
intolerant, especially to the Jews whom they persecuted. Therefore, we can see that
exchange and symbiosis was generally the trend in the Middle Ages, even though war and
aggression occasionally broke out.