Les noms des renégats

• Main Author: Bartolomé Bennassar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centre de Recherches sur les Mondes Américains 2015-09-01
• Series: Nuevo mundo - Mundos Nuevos
• Subjects: Anthroponomy; renegade; Muslim; Islam; captive; Mediterranean Sea
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/nuevomundo/68406

When Christians converted to Islam, whatever the motives, they changed identity and in particular changed their name. It has been possible to establish the new names or first names of almost 700 ‘renegade’ men and some twenty women, who either returned to Christian lands and tell their tales, or reported the names of captives who remained in Muslim lands. It is rare to be in a position to know the circumstances behind the choice of name, which can be that of the new master or the result of a lottery. However this is not the case in most instances. Some names were not given to the converted, whereas others are very frequent amongst them: renegades were not given the name Mansour, victorious, Mostafa (chosen by God on account of his purity) and Mourad (desire of God) on the other hand, were the most commonly attributed names. Names drawn from the family of the Prophet were often used, but this did not exclude the use of biblical names. In outlining numerous examples and individual cases, the article shows how, apart from circumstancial renaming, the captives new names only became an essential part of their identity when they became true Muslims.