Perhaps the reason for this is that this environment did not experience the experiment of multiplicity of doctrines and sects, as has been explained. Thus, a mental structure characterized by flexibility, which would enable it to tolerate conflicting opinions and to hear what might contain seeds of negation of religious truths from philosophical propositions, did not arise. Consequently, these propositions were rejected, and animosity was directed towards those who studied and engaged with them.

Added to this is that the dominant school of thought embraced by the people of the Maghreb and Andalusia, which was the Maliki school, was one of the most hostile to philosophical sciences. This deepened their rejection and aversion to it. Perhaps one of the reasons for this was the influence of the Ismaili sect, which incorporated Eastern philosophical elements. The people of the Maghreb associated these with what they perceived as the transgressions of this sect.

However, despite this prevailing condition among the people of the Maghreb, there were individuals who learned various branches of philosophy in the East and returned with them to their homelands, presenting its issues and attempting to spread them. But often, when it was said that so-and-so was engaged in philosophy, the common people in the Maghreb and Andalusia would label him a heretic. If he stumbled into doubt, they would stone him or burn him. This led to a contraction in the influence of philosophical thought, and its survival remained limited to a small number of individuals.

Among the most prominent individuals who had some impact in this field was Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Musarrah (d. 319 AH/931 CE), who brought with him from the East a mixture of Ismaili Shi'ism, Greek philosophy, and a Sufi inclination. He managed to attract followers who remained devoted until after his death in Cordoba. His influence then faded into extinction.

Among these was Abu al-Hakam Amr ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Kirmani (d. 458 AH/1065 CE), who was the first to introduce to Andalusia the epistles of the Ikhwan al-Safa.

(See: The Encyclopaedia of Islam: entry on Ibn Musarrah. Al-Maqqari, Nafh al-Tib: 157. Amr ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Kirmani, Abu al-Hakam, a physician and engineer from Cordoba. He traveled to the East and his fame spread. He returned and settled in Saragossa until his death. He was the first to bring the epistles of the Ikhwan al-Safa to Andalusia. See: Al-Maqqari, Nafh al-Tib; Al-Qifti, Akhbar al-Hukama: 376; Al-Andalusi, Tabaqat al-Umam: 158, 159.)