When the Moors (Muslims) Ruled Europe: Documentary
当摩尔人（穆斯林人）在欧洲的土地上统治时的那个年代（记录片）
When the Moors (Muslims) Ruled Europe: Documentary (full)
当摩尔人（穆斯林人）在欧洲的土地上统治时的那个年代：（记录片，全片。片长102分钟）
An insightful documentary into the prosperity Islam engendered in Europe during its glorious reign there.
一部很有内涵、很有见地的纪录片，揭示了伊斯兰辉煌王朝在它的兴盛时期所构造的欧洲。
在此片中，Bettany Hughes女士（讲解者）身怀探索历史的激情，又不失客观和理性。而诸多被采访者们的回答，颇具个性，精彩，耐人寻味，发人深思。尤其是Bettany在片尾朗读出来的那大段大段的结语，遣词造句，睿智大气，用心良苦，堪称文学造诣的典范。
实在很难用中文传译出它的神彩，所以，在这里，随手摘了几处，听写出来，以飨你我：
0:00:12 The year is 1492, Christopher Columbus（克里斯托弗·哥伦布）, ...
0:04:59 ...beloved... It's here: The Alhambra Palace（阿尔罕布拉宫）...
0:16:08 Very unique religion and education... There is no seperation... The angel told him: Read... poetry...But I think the most important section... Come and learn, because with knowledge, you can become what you want to be, in the future...
0:20:37 During the midevil period, knowledge is at the high agenda of Islamic world... This inhabited of learning, ... This is an Arabic translation of philosopher Aristotle（亚里士多德）, with the additional commentary, by Muslim scholar...
0:22:00 529 AD, ... closed down the Athenian school of philosophy ... Dark Ages, ... While Europe wasn't protected and was vulnerable, Islam was consolidating land and power...
0:29:00 The heart of Al Andalus,... Cordoba（科爾多瓦）, ... brought cutting-edge technologies for irrigation（灌溉） to Spain, almost immediately, the landscape was transformed. Palm trees, lemons and oranges, avocados, ... none of which had been seen in Europe, Because of ... sophiscated trade network, this new agriculture（农业） created huge wealth... And these riches were used to built one of the greatest cities in the world. When London still lived in wooden houses, the people in Cordoba had built a cosmopolitan with population of over 100,000, the largest settlement in Europe... 70 libraries, over 300 public bars...
0:32:00 And his great achievement is this. The great Mask(?) of Cordoba. With the floor space, the size of four football...this is the largest Mask in western Islam...the forest of 600 marble columns, dispear in distance, creating a mathematic infinity effect. All the columns and arches balanced on the top one another. Its shell-shape planisher has an extraordinary acoustic（声学效果）, make anywere spoken inside audible to the entire congregation...
0:38:00 ... There is no evidence of force to convert at all... Islam is a culture of innovation, isn't it? ... The Islamization in Spain did more than change the name of God that people worship, people converted, because this is a religion which had something to offer them, it had wealth, it had social structure, it had intellective power...The Arabs brought in one innovation that did more than any others to change the culture makeup in Europe. It's this: PAPER（纸）. The idea, centainly from Chinese, by trade exchange, and it's revolutionary technology...
1:06:40 The conqueror has been conquered by the culture... The Spanish are simply creating history. They turn the history into fable...
1:13:28 That's not the story you hear, is that? No, I think the history is much more interesting than that history you hear... So the Christian come, he didn't force muslim he controled to convert... No, No, we can not see a process of conversion（昄依）, it's a process of trial and error, people gaining land, gaining prestiges... We are painting now that is religion's ideology, but it's not... So the religion is a convenience of excuse, rather than a driving force... Absolutely, the religion is always an excuse...
1:39:00 For a very long time, people have protested and urged that history be truthfuly doubt, they've not felt this nonsense. But this is an inheritance of Inquisition（宗教裁判所）, the Inquisition character is live and well. I can tell you one thing, Spanish people has a tendency to prevent others from speak their mind, a tendency to try and control the way others behave and think. You can be sure that when you are trying speak the truth, you pay for it!（聆听最后这句处变不惊、掷地有声的箴言，怎不令人拍案叫绝？！）
1:40:00 And so, Al-Andalus（安达卢斯） fell. East became East, and West became West, two distinct cultures, politically and religiously devided. And yet, what history the more shows, is that these two cultures are also linked in ways that we might never have imaged. The West has been inspired by Islam. But, more than that, it was in a very active fighting the muslims, that Europe consolidated its identity.
When we started, Christopher Columbus（克里斯托弗·哥伦布）was setting sail for a new world. And when he pointed his boat westward, Spain aligned herself with him, turning away from East, the muslims had been fought and now what been forgotten. As time went by, memory of Islamic past were moded, until they become a more conforting story book version of history, this is a case where the truth really is strange and fiction, the story of Al-Andalus isn't a simple tale of good vs. bad, East vs. West, it's trigering(?) and complicated, it's brilliant and bruteful, it's very human, and it's very messy. And it's precisely for that reason, it needs to be remembered, not written and answered in history book.
