Andalusian Ancestry or Sufi Sheikh? What Are the Reasons Behind King Charles’s Fascination with Islam?

In the mid-19th century, a French inventor discovered a method for photography and printing images on paper. The process was extremely complex, involving coating a cotton fabric with egg white extract, soaking it in a solution of silver nitrate and water, drying it in the absence of light, and then exposing it to ultraviolet rays in a precise manner under the “negative.” After further processing, the images were ready for display.

The method was expensive and intricate, requiring expertise and resources that were not available to the general public. As a result, European kings and emperors commissioned photographers to capture the most important landmarks that carried the deepest meanings and left the greatest impacts.

During this time, Queen Victoria of Britain (1819-1901) tasked British photographer Charles Clifford with capturing images of the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Andalusia, making the photos of the palace doors and walls—bearing the famous inscription “La Ghalib Illa Allah” (There is no victor but God)—among the first images ever printed using this technique. Today, King Charles III holds this collection of photos, which show intricate details of Islamic decorations and inscriptions, impressively preserved considering the photos were taken in the 1850s.

King Charles is one of the most knowledgeable English monarchs about Islam—its civilization, culture, and architecture. He has even designed some of the gardens at his private palaces in the Andalusian style, as seen in the photos of the Alhambra Palace, insisting on planting fruits mentioned in the Quran, such as figs and olives.

Beyond this, his admiration for Islam’s worldview has led him to fund an Islamic studies center at Oxford University. However, Charles did not inherit this interest in Islam from his grandmother, Queen Victoria, but rather possibly from an earlier ancestor—Princess Zaydah of Andalusia.

Before the mid-11th century, the Banu Abbad, who traced their origins to the Sinai Peninsula, particularly the Egyptian town of Al-Arish, became the most prominent of the taifa kings in Andalusia. They outshone the rulers of Cordoba after the fall of the Umayyad dynasty and the fragmentation of Andalusia into small kingdoms. This shift marked a pivotal moment for Seville, the capital of the Banu Abbad, where Al-Mu’tamid, father of Zaydah’s husband, witnessed a cultural and literary flourishing that attracted poets from all over the Islamic world, including Ibn Hamdis Al-Siqilli, and even Al-Mu’tamid himself, who was also a poet.

However, peace did not last long, as political turmoil and military threats loomed over Andalusia. Cities in Andalusia nearly fell into the hands of Alfonso VI, and the intervention of the Almoravids several times was crucial. In the end, Yusuf ibn Tashfin decided to eliminate the taifa kings and unify the Iberian Peninsula, targeting Seville as one of the first cities. This led to the capture of Al-Mu’tamid and his exile to Agmat near Marrakesh in Morocco, where he passed away shortly thereafter, lamenting his losses in his final poems.

During these wars, Al-Ma’mun ibn Al-Mu’tamid was killed in the siege of the Almoravids in 484 AH / 1091 AD. His wife, Zaydah, found herself in a difficult position, especially after managing to escape seeking safety north of Seville. Unfortunately, she fell into the hands of the Castilian forces, who sent her to their lord’s court in Toledo, where she was forced to live under different conditions.

Alfonso VI, Zaydah’s future husband, had been a significant source of trouble for Al-Mu’tamid, particularly when he seized Toledo from its Banu Dhunun rulers in 478 AH / 1085 AD. His conquest of Toledo was a devastating blow to Al-Mu’tamid, the leading king of the taifa.

According to Rodrigo García Velasco, a history professor specializing in the Iberian Peninsula at University College London, the relationship between Zaydah and Alfonso VI was not a symbol of tolerance or coexistence, but rather a reflection of Alfonso’s power. Alfonso dreamed of becoming the sole ruler of the Iberian Peninsula, including its Islamic lands. According to 13th-century Tunisian historian Ibn Al-Kardabus Al-Touzri, the arrogant Castilian ruler began to portray himself as the “Emperor of Two Religions,” both Islam and Christianity.

During this time, instead of sending Princess Zaydah to her exiled relatives in Morocco, Alfonso VI decided to take her as his concubine, and it is believed by Bishop Pelayo of Oviedo that she became his wife.

If having a Muslim princess in a Christian court was already a sensitive subject, the decision of Alfonso VI to make Zaydah his legitimate wife must have surprised many around him! She soon became pregnant and gave birth to Sancho, Alfonso’s only son, and it is said that she converted to Christianity, taking the name “Isabel.” She died a few years later during childbirth while giving birth to her second son by Alfonso.

It is striking that Zaydah’s lineage eventually reached England after her union with Alfonso VI of Castile and León. From her descendants came Isabel Pérez, Princess of Castile, who was sent to England in the 14th century to marry Richard of Cambridge, the Earl of Cambridge.

Their son, Richard, Duke of York, led a rebellion against King Henry VI, a rebellion that later evolved into the “Wars of the Roses,” which lasted for decades. Eventually, Richard’s son, Edward II, ascended to the throne in 1461, bringing Andalusian, Islamic Spain’s legacy into the British royal family. Thus, perhaps King Charles III’s fascination with Islam and its civilization can be traced back to this hidden legacy within his bloodline, centuries removed from Andalusia.

Dr. Hamad Abdulaziz Al-Kawari adds: “From my readings about him, I found that he is proficient in reading Arabic script. One of his quotes that I read was: ‘The Islamic world holds one of the greatest treasures of wisdom and accumulated spiritual knowledge available to humanity.'”

This clear interest in Islam, its civilization, and its heritage, as well as his in-depth study of it, stands out compared to previous British monarchs. This is significant in the context of a nation historically associated with imperialism in the Arab and Islamic world. A few decades ago, King Charles III expressed his rejection of the “clash of civilizations” theory, which claims a fundamental conflict between Islam and the West.

In 1993, Charles took on the role of patron for the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, where he delivered a famous speech that is still widely quoted today, titled “Islam and the West.” This speech was not conventional and was unexpected coming from a royal family member or prominent British politician. In it, he discussed the crucial role that Islamic civilization played in shaping European history, stating that Islam “is an essential part of our past and present and has contributed significantly to the building of modern Europe. It is an integral part of our heritage.” He also called on Westerners to reconsider their distorted perceptions of Islam, emphasizing that Islamic law, at its core, is based on “justice and mercy,” as conveyed in the Quran.

Charles also acknowledged that Islam granted women inheritance and property rights, predating others by 1,400 years. He praised the spirit of tolerance that characterized Islamic civilization during the medieval period and expressed regret for the West’s lack of awareness of the significant contributions Islamic civilization made to European achievements. He regarded Muslim communities in Britain as an essential part of the national fabric, describing them as “a source of strength” that enriches the country’s cultural diversity.

Rather than advocating for Muslims to abandon their identity as a condition for integration, Charles proposed a vision of integration based on mutual understanding, encouraging Muslims to reconcile their cultural and religious identity with active participation in British society while emphasizing the importance of respecting Islamic religious practices and avoiding behaviors that could cause offense.

This speech served as a powerful message from the heir to the throne to Britain’s Muslims, the majority of whom are of immigrant background. It signaled that their presence in the country was not just an imposed fact but a valuable addition to the nation.

Due to his respectful stance towards Islam and its civilization, Charles has faced ridicule from anti-Islam commentators. One such commentator, conservative American Daniel Pipes, wrote an article titled “Has Prince Charles Converted to Islam?” based on what he considered “evidence,” such as the prince’s participation in an Iftar dinner and his criticism of Salman Rushdie for offending Muslim beliefs.

Perhaps this is why the former Mufti of Cyprus, Nazim Al-Haqani, made a controversial statement in 1996 claiming that Charles had secretly converted to Islam.

Al-Haqani said, “Did you know that Prince Charles became a Muslim? Yes, it happened in Turkey. Check how many times he visited Turkey, and you will see that your future king is a Muslim.” However, Buckingham Palace quickly responded with a clear statement denying these claims, according to a report published by Middle East Eye shortly before Charles ascended to the British throne, revealing his prominent positions regarding Islam and its civilization.

According to Hisham Hiller, a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace in Washington, D.C., and a fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London and the Islamic Centre at Cambridge University, Charles’s interest in Islamic civilization and thought stems from the works of the French thinker René Ginhard, who, born Catholic and educated at the Sorbonne in the early 20th century, later converted to Islam and took the name Abdul Wahid Yahya. Ginhard left the West to live in Cairo, where he studied in Al-Azhar University and died in 1951 after leading a life of intellectual advocacy for Islam and its civilization.

Charles’s influence from Ginhard’s thought is evident in his speeches. For example, in a 2006 speech, he said: “If traditionalists defend the past, it is because pre-modern civilizations were based on the sacred.” He considered the modern age as “fragmented and disconnected.”

In his 2000 speech to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Charles warned that contemporary society faced the risk of losing knowledge of spiritual and sacred values. He saw the modern world, especially the West, as “possessive and exploitative,” suggesting that Islam could teach the concept of “guardianship over the spiritual and secret nature of the world.”

Ginhard’s ideas about the East as a source of intellectual inspiration clearly impacted Charles, who spoke of Islamic principles in urban planning and environmental management. He lauded Islamic irrigation systems in Andalusia, more than 1,200 years old, as an example of applying prophetic teachings in resource management, in contrast to the short-term economic priorities that dominate today.

Charles has repeatedly acknowledged the contributions of Muslims in various fields of science, art, and academia. In a 2006 speech at Al-Azhar University, he remarked, “We must remember in the West that we owe our thanks to Islamic scholars, who preserved the treasures of classical knowledge during Europe’s dark ages.”

He added at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education in Leicestershire a few years ago, commenting on Islam’s contribution to the development of mathematics: “Anyone who doubts the contribution of Islam and Muslims to the European Renaissance should try performing simple arithmetic operations using Roman numerals. Thank God for Arabic numbers and the concept of zero that Muslim mathematicians introduced to European thought.”

Perhaps the presence of a king who believes in interfaith dialogue and seeks wisdom in the Quran and Islamic culture outside of traditional European confines represents a beacon of light in a world where right-wing nationalism is on the rise, sometimes even targeting Charles himself. Charles’s influence from Islam reflects a broader, more harmonious vision, which he expressed by saying, “The Islamic world is not ‘Other’ to be compared with the West; it is part of our shared heritage and our shared future.”