HistoryExtra podcast Europe's Muslim history
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Mar 31, 2026 Tariq Hussein, award-winning author and historian of Muslim heritage, guides a continent-spanning tale of Islam in Europe. He recounts visits that reshaped his view, explains why Muslim contributions were hidden, and highlights cultural centers from Cordoba to Cyprus. Short vignettes explore burial sites, naval power and figures who should appear in textbooks.
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Halas Sultan Mosque Revelation
- Tariq Hussein discovered the Halas Sultan Mosque in Larnaka during a long layover and initially dismissed it as unfamiliar ritual practice.
- A booklet later revealed the tomb there was claimed to be of a relative of the Prophet Muhammad, upending his view that Islam had no deep European roots.
Anti Muslim DNA In European Histories
- European histories have an embedded anti-Muslim DNA shaped by crusade narratives, reconquest myths and later nation-building stories.
- Tariq traces this erasure to winners writing history, archaeologists neglecting Islamic sites, and Eurocentric English-language scholarship.
Reframing Centuries As Presence Not Invasion
- Long Muslim presences in Europe (e.g., 800 years in Spain) are often labeled as brief invasions despite centuries of indigenous Muslim communities.
- Tariq argues calling these populations 'invaders' ignores local cooperation, continuity and Jewish communities who sometimes welcomed Muslims.