Muslim Sicily...

A traveler stepping foot on Sicily today, the most populous island in the Mediterranean and one of Italy's 20 regions, will encounter predominantly Christian historical details and plenty of tourist attractions. However, when they focus on the details, they will discover a completely different identity of Sicily. The signs of this identity are not hidden; for instance, Arabic inscriptions greet travelers on a column at the door of the enormous cathedral in the capital, Palermo. Inside the chapel right next to the Zisa Palace, one can see elegant muqarnas, similar to those found in Cairo, Baghdad, or Jerusalem. Arabic Kufic script can still be read in the roof decorations of La Cuba Palace. Encountering Quranic verses in the Santa Maria Church is not a surprise.

Taking advantage of the long holiday break, one of the books I focused on was William Granara's "Narrating Muslim Sicily" (Ketebe Publications, Istanbul, 2024), translated by Bekir Çelikcan. The book offers a successful panorama of all the details concerning Islam in Sicily that are still observed today. Thus, the codes of Sicily's historical identity, which was ruled by Muslim dynasties of Maghreb and North Africa origin from 827 to 1090, are revealed before our eyes. The book not only focuses on the history of Muslim Sicily but also examines the results of the amalgamation of modern Italian culture with its Islamic past by placing the remnants of the past into their contexts in present-day Sicily.

Another factor that adds depth to the written work is William Granara's expertise in both medieval and Arab Mediterranean literature. Granara, who has published numerous articles on the poetry of Ibn Hamdis, the most famous Arab poet of Sicily, continues his research while traveling intensively in the Middle East and North Africa.

While reading "Narrating Muslim Sicily," my mind wandered through all the towns that once belonged to Muslims but now only bear faint memories of Islam: Andalusia, Crete, Rhodes, Thessaloniki, Belgrade, Buda... If we had the opportunity to step into these towns during the periods when Islam manifested itself politically and socially in all its dimensions, what atmosphere would we encounter? What would we hear if we listened to both the rulers and the ruled? What would be the interpretations and visions of different segments of society about the future? Indeed, we do have some materials on this subject:

For example, all the works narrating the Andalusia of the 900s through contemporary sources show that while Muslims were full of justified self-confidence, Christians were in a state of great psychological collapse. Muslims were confident that Andalusia would remain in their hands "until the end of time," while Christians were convinced that Muslims were "completely permanent" in Europe. So much so that young Christians from all over Europe flocked to the magnificent capital of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba, enchanted by various aspects of Arab culture and wishing to live there permanently. They flocked to Cordoba with its libraries housing hundreds of thousands of volumes, its brightly lit streets, its baths distributing cleanliness and health at every street corner, and its poetry evenings, all of which had earned it a well-deserved reputation throughout Europe.

But alas... Not even a century passed before cracks began to appear in Andalusia. Collapse and dissolution followed at lightning speed.

When narrating the history of Andalusia and the Muslim dominance in the West, I always bring the conversation to this point: "History owes nothing to anyone. Every Muslim town is at risk of slipping away at some point. If the necessary measures are not taken, if Islam is not protected and embraced, and if no investment is made in human resources, the decline that begins as sociological upheavals can turn into political and military defeats. Thus, the enemy prevails, and Islam becomes a mere footnote in the history of those towns."

This principle applies to Türkiye as well. If its people abandon Islam or fail to take on the responsibilities entrusted to them by Islam, for example, Istanbul may one day cease to be an Islamic town. We must read history in this way and prepare for such possibilities by working diligently. Day-to-day sterile debates should not divert us from our goal.

With the longing for days when we will celebrate holidays in every region of the Islamic world with the true spirit of celebration, I extend my sincerest wishes to our valuable readers for a joyous Ramadan holiday.