Minarets in the Mountains: A Journey Into Muslim Europe (Bradt Travel Guides (Travel Literature))

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It’s heartfelt to read stories of individuals who wanted to challenge Islam, learned about it and fell in love with it. The same chat also includes two stories of the imam’s experience with radicalised locals, one of whom declared that all Muslims should unite to kill all the non-Muslims. It’s not a part of Europe I’m familiar with, and the author’s perspective as a Muslim adds depth to his descriptions of the places he visited. The book explores the historic roots of Islamophobia in Europe, as the author grapples with his multi-faceted identity, and considers where he and his mixed race Muslim family (Tharik’s wife, Tamara, is English), fit into modern Europe.

Alongside all the history you are reminded he travels with his family as there are accounts of ice creams eaten, lots of food descriptions and his young daughters setting their own agenda. The introductory notes highlight that words such as “Qur’an, Makkah and Madinah are spelt contrary to more common English literary convention” because the anglicised versions have been mispronounced. There have been aggressive attempts in replacing Muslim cultures, and deliberation of destroying them to the extent of writing up new and alternative narratives which is saddening.Ottomans left an important and enduring legacy in the region but present day Bosnia and Sandjak have nothing to do with modern day Turkey. As a Muslim myself, I certainly stress the opinion of the importance of “adab” or “manners” in educating the Muslims, let alone the non-Muslims. There are Ottoman-built mosques and architecture, some attributed to the Chief Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, who lived in the 16th century. I get it, it's a controversial issue, but to paint those men as rash young people who don't know any better doesn't seem correct to me.

This made his experience of meeting people throughout his journey beautiful, and he certainly met with a lot of cheerful, kind and helpful Muslims. But then nearly all of his contextualization is based on the Ottoman Empire, which spanned multiple continents with its own distinct identity.I also enjoyed Tharik’s trip up into the mountains with his friend Idar; having worked in a secondary school myself, I loved the contrast between the caretaker’s persona in the UK and his greeting Tharik in Albania “like a Sicilian don in a smart striped shirt and white cotton trousers”. He also talks about ‘komšiluk’ as the name for a concept of good neighbourliness that permeates the region. The contributions of Muslim culture are huge, and we clamp our hands over our ears and yell "la la la la" at the top of our lungs to deny knowledge. Normal assumptions of Muslims identity - long beard and hijab, but what made the Muslims of the Balkan so important is because they are as European as they are Muslims, as they were not resulted from immigration or converts.

But the reality is that, while honour killings are not an Islamic phenomenon per se, they are far more likely to arise in Muslim communities, not helped by often misogynistic views in Islam (the burqa, which Hussain observes without comment, being the most visible example). Equally, the quiet conversation with Aldin towards the book’s close provided a valuable lesson about the importance of dialogue between communities; for me, it served to sum up the themes of the book concisely. He is the creator of Britain’s first Muslim heritage trails and has produced award-winning radio for the BBC on America’s earliest mosques and Muslim communities.The final anecdote that stood out for me was the ‘accidental’ tour guide Haris, who more than compensated for the initial disappointment of his having been a last-minute replacement; proof that everyone has a story to tell, and there are always hidden depths to be discovered. He marvels at the history of Islam in Europe, through a unique modern lens coated with centuries of Islamic history.