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<''A book I''ve been longing for someone to write and Hussain is the man to write it'' William Dalrymple
''Uncovers a world of which few are fully aware'' Colin Thubron
This revelatory history explores the ancient roots of Muslim Europe, tracing their journey through the Mediterranean.
Our odyssey begins in the little-known Sufi lodges in Cyprus, where Muslims arrived in 647AD. From there, we travel through the continent - visiting places such as Sicily, Malta, Portugal and Spain - encountering red-haired European Sultans and Arabic-speaking Christian Kings. We meet forgotten Muslim pioneers, such as Abbas Ibn Firnas who gave us flight and Ibn Sina who gave us modern medicine. We see the Islam-inspired
To remedy Europe''s Islamic amnesia, this ambitious history reveals that Islam is no side show to Western culture - but rather has been integral to its development over 1,400 years.<>
About the author
Tharik Hussain is an award-winning author and journalist specialising in global Muslim heritage and culture. He has written for newspapers such as
The Times, Guardian and
Telegraph, magazines such as
National Geographic Traveler, and broadcast media such as Al Jazeera and the BBC. For the latter, he produced award-winning radio program
America's Mosques. Tharik has written or contributed to travel books on areas including the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe, and his book on Islam in the Western Balkans,
Minarets in the Mountains, was longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize, shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year, and won the Adele Evans Award.
