The launch event, which included a presentation, book reading, Q&A session, and book signing, was a unique opportunity for attendees to learn first-hand about the author and his book series while getting a fascinating glimpse into a period of time when much of modern-day Spain was under Muslim control.
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Dr. Cressler, who received his Ph.D. from Columbia University, is the Schlumberger Chair Professor of Electronics at Georgia Tech and a Ken Byers Teaching Fellow in Science and Religion at Georgia Tech, teaching its first course on “Science, Engineering, and Religion: an Interfaith Dialogue.” He began his writing career penning non-fiction books in an academic setting, but his personal passion for both history and literary fiction led him to pursue his lifelong dream of writing a fiction novel.
“I have fallen in love with fiction, and I’m a great lover of history,” Cressler explained to the audience at the event. “I’ve combined my fiction writing and my creative writing with the things I’ve discovered about history — your history — and it has been a remarkable journey for me.”
After months of researching a suitable period of history to write about, Dr. Cressler stumbled across 10th-century medieval Muslim Spain — also known as al-Andalus — which was a deeply influential time in world history. The Andalusian capital of Córdoba was the largest European city at the time with public hospitals, public baths, indoor toilets, and sewers. It was a city flourishing with knowledge and books. Ancient Greek advances in literature, medicine, science, and philosophy were unearthed and translated, which laid the groundwork for future progress in years to follow across Europe and America.
The more Dr. Cressler learned about the near-800 year history of medieval Muslim Spain, from 711 to 1492 CE, the more riveted and excited he became. It formed the basis of his "Anthems of al-Andalus" series.
“781 years of Islamic Spain is a remarkable fact — a remarkable thing,” said Dr. Cressler sharing his fascination with the audience. “The 'Anthems' celebrate and resurrect that history for a modern audience in a compelling way. They tell how that civilization and all its glory unfolded and also what led it to fall apart.”
Emeralds of the Alhambra is a story about the love shared between Layla al-Khatib, a Muslim princess, and William Chandon, a Christian knight in Granada, Spain. This interfaith love story runs parallel to the Castillian Civil War in which the Muslims and Christians fought side by side. The peaceful coexistence of the two faiths is prevalent in love, war, and the civil society of the time. The story calls upon its readers to imagine a future where this is revived.
Shadows in the Shining City, the second book in the series, is about the forbidden love between Rayhana Abi Amir, a Muslim princess, and Zafir Saffar, a freed slave. Set in 10th-century medieval Spain, the story evokes utopia as its readers experience the harmonious and peaceful coexistence of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims — a phenomenon known as la convivencia.
Fortune’s Lament, the last book in the series, is the love story of Danah, a young Muslim woman, and Yusef, a rival clan prince. Their love blossoms during a time period of progress in the arenas of science, medicine, and philosophy. Danah aspires to be the first female physician in the city where Muslim Umayyads’ progressive societal outlook is depicted. La convivencia thrives between the three Abrahamic faiths as they continue to prosper together.
For Jessica Sanchez, who attended the event with a former co-worker and friend, Nareen Punjani, the book launch event provided a chance to explore her own cultural roots in Christian history while also learning about the Muslim civilization in Spain. “In getting to know Nareen over the years, I’ve learned a lot about the faith. I’ve taken an interest in learning more and always wanted to visit the Ismaili Jamatkhana. She told me about the author talk, and the subject matter, Spain, intrigued me. I’m of Spanish descent,” Jessica explained.
Sanchez went on to say, “There is so much beauty in this world, in the sense that people are very connected. I wanted to come here today to get to know about this time in Spain, get to know the history, what the Muslim culture was like, understand how people lived harmoniously back then, and how it could be the same today. Today opened up my curiosity—I learned a lot from this and now I want to learn more. And I feel blessed to have met Nareen, because she is opening up my eyes to different experiences.”
For Karishma Merchant, the book launch provided an opportunity to add historical context to her recent visit to Alhambra Palace in Spain during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Lisbon, Portugal.
“Having visited the cities and structures built in Spain by Muslims, I could really relate to the discussion,” Karishma said. “I thoroughly enjoyed the references made by the author in regards to Muslim history and what aspects of civilization were important to Muslims such as the acquisition of knowledge.”
Cressler’s evocative stories take readers on a literary journey to medieval Spain. Equipped with just their imagination, readers time travel through nearly 800 years of historic Muslim Spain in real time. The stories give readers immersive experiences, fictional interfaith love stories to swoon over, nonfictional la convivencia, the unique peaceful coexistence of Muslims, Jews, and Christians, to aspire towards, and innovations in medicine and philosophy to build upon. What sounds like a utopian fallacy in the 21st century reads arguably like a way of life in 10th-century Spain.
