Online trolls, far-right parties, and violent Islamist groups are all weaponising the same eight-century-old historical myth—the idea of a lost Muslim empire in Spain—to fuel modern online radicalism. DigitalAlAndalus investigates how these radically different groups use digital media to distort the history of Al-Andalus (711–1492) for their own purposes, from trolling armies to state-sponsored narratives of peaceful coexistence. This matters because no previous research has systematically examined how this specific historical legacy is being rewritten, misappropriated, and fought over in the digital sphere. The project fills a gap in understanding how nostalgic narratives of *Reconquista*—the Christian "reconquest" of Iberia—are being used by radical groups to justify violence and promote ideologies of restoring lost empires. If successful, the research could change how policymakers and digital platforms understand and respond to online cultural confrontation. It may inform strategies for countering radicalisation that are grounded in historical awareness, rather than treating online extremism as a purely technological problem. The findings could also reshape how state-sponsored heritage narratives are managed in the digital age, with implications for digital citizenship and cross-cultural communication.
View original technical description
DigitalAlAndalus examines the digital mediatisation of Al-Andalus, and the connection of the eight-century Muslim rule (711-1492) over the Iberian Peninsula with contemporary radical reactionary groups. In Spain and North Africa, state-led initiatives have promoted idealised depictions of Al-Andalus as a site of peaceful coexistence (convivencia). However, Reconquista -the narrative by which Spanish crusaders had 'reconquered' their legitimate land lost to Muslims- has served different radical groups to embody narratives of making lost empires great again. DigitalAlAndalus brings together scholarship on radicalism, digital media, and Al-Andalus, to examine for the first time the ways in which this difficult-to-define conglomerate including trolling armies, Far-right political parties, and violent Islamists weaponises historic myths of cultural divide. The aim is to use Al-Andalus and its associated narratives of convivencia and Reconquista to provide new insights into historical legacies that speak about online cultural confrontation and digital citizenship. Three main questions drive this project: What are the online legacies of Al-Andalus and how are they being shaped by digital media? How are different radical online groups using a nostalgic narrative of Reconquista to rewrite historical events in fulfilling their own purposes and how are these groups being shaped by it? What is the role of state-sponsored narratives of convivencia in the digital sphere and how do these narratives coexist with digital warfare? Through digital research methods that serve to analyse together online groups, debates, and digital artefacts such as memes, online games, and propaganda videos, DigitalAlAndalus shows how history is being rewritten, fought over, debated, misappropriated, and distorted by different groups to defend violent actions and radical ideologies in the digital age and through digital media with a scope and accessibility that are unprecedented.
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know