Yusuf Biscaino, also Ahmad b. Abd Allah al-Hayti al-Maruni (), was a

Morisco ''Moriscos'' (, ; ; "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Catholic Church and Habsburg Spain commanded to forcibly convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed Islam. Spain had a sizeable Mus ...

in the service of the Moroccan Sultan Mulay Zidan. He was sent as an ambassador to the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

in 1610-11.''European converts to Islam in the Maghreb'' by Mercedes García Arenal p.211
/ref> He met with Prince

Maurice of Nassau Maurice of Orange (; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death on 23 April 1625. Before he became Prince of Orange upo ...

who inquired to him about Islamic opinions on

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. He preferred not to answer on the spot, but later sent a letter to Maurice After returning to

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

, Yusuf Biscaino sent the letter in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

to Maurice in 1611, relying as a source on the work of Muhammad Alguazir.

Notes

Moroccan translators 17th-century Moroccan writers Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 17th-century Moroccan people 16th-century Moroccan people Moroccan diplomats People from Marrakesh Ambassadors of Morocco to the Netherlands 17th-century diplomats {{Africa-translator-stub

See also

Notes