Muladí

Muladí refers to Christians in the Iberian Peninsula who converted to Islam during the period of Muslim rule in al-Andalus, beginning in the early 8th century after the conquest. The term appears in medieval Islamic and Christian sources to denote converts who joined the Muslim community, often for social or economic reasons, and who became part of the Muslim population across cities and countryside.

Conversions occurred for a variety of reasons, including social mobility, tax considerations, and the opportunities of urban life under Islamic administration. Muladí could be found in a wide range of occupations, from farmers and artisans to officials and military members, and they inhabited both urban centers and rural areas. Their presence contributed to the demographic and cultural blending characteristic of al-Andalus, though they sometimes faced skepticism or limitations from Arab and Berber elites.

In scholarship, Muladí is sometimes used interchangeably with mawālī or Muwallad, though exact meanings vary by source. Some writers distinguish Muladí specifically as Christians who converted to Islam, while mawālī generally referred to non-Arab Muslims connected with Arab tribes; in practice, overlap among these terms reflects shifting social and political contexts rather than fixed identities.

With the Christian Reconquista and the transformation of political structures, the terms and classifications relating to converts and their descendants evolved, and Muladí gradually fell out of common use. Today, the concept is primarily of historical interest for understanding the complex ethnoreligious dynamics of early and medieval Iberia.