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Concluding our mini series within the season on Islam and the Maghrib this episode looks at the history of Islam and Europe’s relationship. Arguing that while Islam and Europe imagine one another as oppositional civilization identities, the history reveals a much more entangled and intertwined reality. We talk about the diplalomatic alliances between Christian Kings and Muslim governors, the embassies between the Carolingian dynasty and the Abbasid Caliphate. We talk about the famed Abul Abbas the elephant and the impact of Muslim scholarship on Europe. We trace trade routes and intellectual routes from the influence of Timbuktu on geography and map-making in Europe to the Ibn Rushd as the forefather of the Renaissance and Enlightenment. Finally we end with the story of the famous Mansa Musa of Mali.
