Muslims and Jews in Contemporary Spain: Returns, Legacies, Belongings

This chapter discusses some aspects of the distinct but interrelated experiences of Muslim and Jewish communities in contemporary Spain. Specifically, it looks at the assumptions about Muslims and Jews underpinning Law 12/2015, the new nationality law for descendants of Sephardi Jews, and the unsuccessful attempts to bring to fruition a similar recognition for descendants of Spanish Muslims. These assumptions are overdetermined by long, interrelated historical processes and genealogies of myths and prejudices about both groups. Through this example, the chapter examines the interconnected character of the paradoxes of inclusion and exclusion that designate the places afforded to Muslims and Jews in the contemporary Spanish imaginary.