God, being both omnipresent and omnipotent, is called upon by Christians and Muslims for protection in matters of war, and does not directly aid anyone. As an example, in the Chronicle of Alfonso when the Christians pray they state that “God listened to their petitions and pitied his people. He sent Michael the Archangel to guard the city of Toledo and to strengthen its walls” which suggests that God simply gave someone the knowledge to strengthen Toledo’s walls, rather than defeating their enemies outright or using omnipotent abilities to protect “his people” (Attacks on Toledo by Ali and Texufin). In contrast to Toledo, other cities are taken despite the Lord’s favor: “They went out and, captured cities and castles in the Trans-Sierra region.
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For example, when the Christians attack the Almoravides in the following: “They would go to the territory of the Almoravides and Spanish Moslems and massacre them and, take a great many prisoners. Large amounts of booty would be carried off, and the land would be left in flames. They also killed several Moorish leaders and destroyed many of their castles and towns. The end result was that the Christian forces did greater damage to the infidels than the infidels had ever done to them,” it’s demonstrated that the Christian militias are using the religious pretenses to raid neighboring Islamic towns (The Reasons why Alfonso VII Neglected the Frontier). This shows that God did not influence these men to fight wars against one another, but rather observed as his followers killed each other for prisoners, booty, and glory against the infidels. In comparison, the Muslims “Rushing blindly through mountain passes and into places of concealment, surrendering fortresses and towns, So that no church or monastery belonging to any Christian monk remained in any of the provincial districts / But that he made it go up in smoke like a fire that has come into contact with [dry] stubble,” display a similar attitude of raiding Christian areas and destroying their lands (The Year 920-921, 98). They are deliberately taking territory, religious buildings, and burning provincial districts like the Christians that siege them afterwards. Clearly, personal goals of the Caliph’s campaigns are behind these attacks rather than the justification that God told him it was a good idea, as the Islamic Caliph does not speak with God’s voice and therefore God has no involvement in the matter. Furthermore, when El Cid is in good graces with the King, he states “Travel freely through Castile and return to the Cid without
For example, when the Christians attack the Almoravides in the following: “They would go to the territory of the Almoravides and Spanish Moslems and massacre them and, take a great many prisoners. Large amounts of booty would be carried off, and the land would be left in flames. They also killed several Moorish leaders and destroyed many of their castles and towns. The end result was that the Christian forces did greater damage to the infidels than the infidels had ever done to them,” it’s demonstrated that the Christian militias are using the religious pretenses to raid neighboring Islamic towns (The Reasons why Alfonso VII Neglected the Frontier). This shows that God did not influence these men to fight wars against one another, but rather observed as his followers killed each other for prisoners, booty, and glory against the infidels. In comparison, the Muslims “Rushing blindly through mountain passes and into places of concealment, surrendering fortresses and towns, So that no church or monastery belonging to any Christian monk remained in any of the provincial districts / But that he made it go up in smoke like a fire that has come into contact with [dry] stubble,” display a similar attitude of raiding Christian areas and destroying their lands (The Year 920-921, 98). They are deliberately taking territory, religious buildings, and burning provincial districts like the Christians that siege them afterwards. Clearly, personal goals of the Caliph’s campaigns are behind these attacks rather than the justification that God told him it was a good idea, as the Islamic Caliph does not speak with God’s voice and therefore God has no involvement in the matter. Furthermore, when El Cid is in good graces with the King, he states “Travel freely through Castile and return to the Cid without