Over a thousand years ago Cordoba was regarded as the most civilised city in Europe. It boasted civic amenities such as running water and clean, well-paved, well-lit streets at a time when other European cities were dirty, dark and infested with disease. London and Paris were relatively small towns as compared to the vast Cordoba which the Saxon nun Hroswitha described as "the ornament of the world". It was an intellectual centre boasting seventy libraries, that of the caliph himself containing some 400,000 volumes when the largest library in the rest of Europe could only claim some 400 manuscripts. Cordoban scholarship covered the full range of sciences from the orthodox Islamic to those cultivated by the Greeks. It was a society where women found roles as doctors, lawyers, librarians and teachers.

In creating this city, the like of which was unseen in the rest of the Medieval world, Christians and Jews played a full part. In fact, Jewish culture was revived under the rule of the caliphs with no less than Maimonides himself being a product of Cordoba. To many, however, the outstanding feature of this European city was not necessarily the fact that it achieved so much but that it achieved it under Muslim rule. At a time when questions are being asked as to whether or not Muslims can integrate into Europe it is of the utmost importance to recall a time when they not only integrated but played an instrumental part in creating such a remarkable society.

It is our heartfelt view that if this could be achieved historically then its lessons should be learned so that it can be achieved again. From a primarily Muslim perspective we wish to embark upon this path of intellectual endeavour and mutual cooperation in the hope that our efforts help contribute to the betterment of our society. We hope to do this in the “Spirit of Cordoba”.