During the 9th century, Arab armies from North Africa conquered Sicily, leading to four centuries of Muslim history on the island, which is now part of Italy. Sicily during that period has often been portrayed as an interfaith utopia where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived side by side, giving rise to a cultural synthesis, but as CMES Director William Granara explains, the reality was more complex. In "
Muslim Sicily and Its Legacies," episode 452 of the Ottoman History Podcast, Granara, author of
Narrating Muslim Sicily, and host Chris Gratien explore the history of Muslim societies in Sicily, grappling with questions of representation and reality as well as conflict and coexistence. They also discuss what this history means today centuries after the departure of Sicily's last Muslims, as a new wave of Muslim migration arrives on the island.
