Mozarabians

Mozarabians (MUZABABIANS, MOSTARABIANS, or MUSTARABIANS), which properly designates a people living among the Arabs, but not of' the same blood, and by the latter therefore looked upon with distrust, and even with contempt, was applied as a sort of nickname to those Christians of Spain who, under Mohammedan rule, remained faithful to their holy religion. The word is derived from Arabic Estarab, i.e., to Arabize, and as a participle (Mostarab) signifies one who has adopted the Arab mode of life. The Christians of Africa and Spain, as well as the Jews, deserved to be called Mozarabians, for they all, from fear of persecution, adopted the ways and customs of their conquerors, and in outward appearances gave themselves the air of conformity with Mohammedan life and practice. They abstained from meat, and submitted to the rite of circumcision. The modern form has lost the t (Mostarab), but has substituted z for s, thus preserving the sound, notwithstanding the change of orthography (see Ticknor, Span. Lit. 3:393).