Britain and Barbary, 1589-1689
by Nabil Matar
Nabil Matar is a brilliant author. He’s cornered the market in revisionist history, looking at how Britain related to Barbary. He goes back to English sources in the 17th century that described “The Turk”, that sort of catch-all term for Muslims at the time. These sources are like a Daily Mail editorial, just as filled with bigotry and prejudice as our own responses to Islam today. And Matar holds a mirror up to western culture and shows how prejudiced we are about an entire civilisation.
