A Sultan in Palermo: A Novel (The Islam Quintet)
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The first four books were truly superb, hence the five-star rating.
They were magnificent evocations of Islamic life at different times and places in history, complete with all its richness and thoughtfulness. For those alone, I'd highly recommend the series. The fifth book, however, was a huge disappointment: You can skip it, and you won't have missed anything. Not bad Except for the last book, the other four books were not a bad read.
In A Sultan in Palermo, the fourth novel in Tariq Ali's Islam quintet, the 12th- century geographer al-Idrisi thinks back on his first encounter with. The fourth novel in Tariq Ali's 'Islam Quintet' charts the life and loves of the medieval cartographer Muhammed al-Idrisi. Torn between his close friendship with.
The last book, I could not finish and gave up about half way. Of all these, the fourth one, Sultan of Palermo, I liked best - it closely follows the accepted history. These are historical fiction featuring real people who can be found in history books, during the last couple of centuries of Islamic Empire. They are thoroughly romantic, and Islam positive novels that will appeal to the Islamic disapora, starved of positive imagery of their faith and history.
That said the novels offer a curiously colonial in viewpoint. Ali appears to believe the conquered peoples of Europe thought the Caliphate just a bunch of wonderful guys and had no grievance - that indeed t These are historical fiction featuring real people who can be found in history books, during the last couple of centuries of Islamic Empire.
Ali appears to believe the conquered peoples of Europe thought the Caliphate just a bunch of wonderful guys and had no grievance - that indeed the grievance is for the soon to be evicted conquered Faithful. This is a rather curious point of view given the Arabic and Middle Eastern determination to free themselves from Western domination currently. And it does rather elide over the sundry injuries and atrocities committed when conquering Spain for example, or expanding into France. That Christianity was capable of beastliness is unquestioned.
But whether or not the courtly, sensitive educated knights stopped by Charles Martell were offering "civilization" to the conquered is certainly debatable. That the peoples of France and Spain could manage uprising and war against the Umayyad Dynasty seems to indicate all was not sweetness and light within Al Andalus. Dec 02, Mary Ann rated it really liked it.
A Sultan in Palermo (Islam Quintet, #4) by Tariq Ali
These are five discrete novels unlike Paul Scott's Raj Quartet, Galsworthy's Forsyte Chronicles, or Trollope's Barchester Chronicles and, as such, can certainly be read as stand-alones. The reader will surely prefer some stories more than others.
The Stone Woman was the least satisfying for me. The author is better known as a journalist, non-fiction writer, and documentary filmmaker, and the reader will not find the beautiful literary prose of a Paul Scott with his elegant phrasing and subtle cha These are five discrete novels unlike Paul Scott's Raj Quartet, Galsworthy's Forsyte Chronicles, or Trollope's Barchester Chronicles and, as such, can certainly be read as stand-alones.
The author is better known as a journalist, non-fiction writer, and documentary filmmaker, and the reader will not find the beautiful literary prose of a Paul Scott with his elegant phrasing and subtle changes in tone.
Defending the faith
However, I enjoyed these stories as portrayals of Islam in different locations and historical periods. These five novels aren't perfect, but they're an excellent voyage through historical Islam it's not all terrorists and mujahideen, people. My only criticism would be that, concerned as we know left wing political writer Ali is, he could have had more characters from the "common people. Apr 19, Nuri Septilianti added it. Joanne rated it it was amazing Mar 17, While the narratives of the books aren't interconnected thematically, they work together to form a picture of the history of Islam and the contributions it has made to the growth and evolution of culture throughout Europe and Asia.
However, we also see how in so many instances throughout history, the infighting that still plagues the religion to this day has been its own worst enemy. From the time of Saladin, Ali makes it clear how the ambitions of rulers, both secular and religious, have conspired to undermine attempts at nation-building and run contrary to the wishes of the people.
Each book deals with a very specific epoch in the course of Islam detailing the glories and beauty of the culture and the heart-rending losses it has endured.
A Sultan in Palermo
Unfortunately, the majority of the latter came at the hands of Christians — whether Knights Templar slaughtering men, women and children during their sacking of Jerusalem or Spanish soldiers carrying out the orders of Queen Isabella to rid the country of all non-believers. However, as we learn in "Night of the Golden Butterfly", the slaughter of Muslims wasn't limited to the West. In nineteenth-century China, the Emperor ordered his troops to destroy the Muslim province of Yunnan and wipe out the Sultanate of Suleiman.
In this case, while religion was part of the motivation, the reasons were more political and had much to do with a fear of a minority gaining too much autonomy and international respect.
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It's not just the history lesson these books provide that makes them so fascinating to read, Ali's abilities as a story-teller bring both the eras described and the people living through them alive. Using historical figures in fictional books can be a precarious business, but Ali has done a remarkable job of giving them life without either unduly idealising or demonising them. We see Saladin through the eyes of the Jewish scribe commissioned to record the Sultan's life and his plans to recapture Jerusalem as a complete human being.
Beset by doubts and insecurities like anyone else, what distinguishes him is how he is able to rise above them to achieve his goals.
His position in the court of Sultan Rujari Arabic name for the Norman, Roger gives him a unique perspective on the delicate balancing act his Sultan undertakes to keep his Christian barons and bishops happy while preserving the rights of his Muslim populace. In each of the five books, the fictional and non-fictional characters are created with equal care and respect.
It is through each of these observer's eyes that Ali shows us history unfolding. Some of it is exhilarating, some of it sickening, but it never fails to be enthralling. Ali is also a master at bringing a place and time to life. As he takes us on his tour through the ages, we can't help but marvel at the beautiful minarets of Damascus, the history and beauty of Jerusalem and the fading wonders of Muslim Spain just before the expulsions.
Even modern Lahore, London and Paris are presented in such a way that we can visualise the neighbourhoods described and almost taste the smells of the streets. Individually, each of the books tells an entrancing story. Collectively, the five books make up a tapestry that gives readers a glimpse of the true depth and glory of Islamic history and culture. What's even more amazing is how Ali manages to do this without ever once sounding like he's preaching or lecturing to readers.
He even manages to keep his anger in check against those who would either tar all Muslims with the same brush and those who have perverted the religion to their own ends until "Night of the Golden Butterfly".
Prompted to start it by hearing a comment during the Gulf war that Muslims have no culture, he has gone back through different periods of Islamic history to show times when learning and culture were synonymous with Islam - and appreciated as such by the most enlightened Christians. He is the eponymous Sultan in Palermo, and at the start of the novel, in , seems likely to be one of its heroes. Rujeri is al-Idrisi's patron and friend; together they discuss such matters as the wonder of al-Homa, Rujeri's disdain for the Crusades, the weakness of Arab statecraft, and the misfortune of Rujeri's Norman cousins who conquered England - "a land of perpetual winter in the Ocean of Darkness".
But Rujeri is also a man at the end of his life, concerned about securing his throne for future generations - which cannot be done, he feels, without the backing of the barons and bishops who want proof of his loyalty to the cross rather than the crescent. The "sacrifice" Rujeri makes to preserve his throne creates a rift between him and al-Idrisi - though earlier their friendship managed to survive Rujeri's decision to take Mayya, the woman al-Idrisi loves, as a concubine.
The tale of Rujeri and al-Idrisi is only one strand in this marvellously paced and boisterously told novel of intrigue, love, insurrection and manipulation. There is also the tale of "the Trusted One", the broken-hearted ascetic who must find a way to transform the rhetoric of rebellion into action; the tale of al-Idrisi's children with their differing fortunes and three different mothers ; the tale of al-Idrisi on an enchanted isle, which may well be the island of the lotus-eaters which Odysseus visited with his crew; and, most compellingly, the tale of al-Idrisi and the two sisters he loves.
It is this final tale alone which made me wish the novel wasn't quite so fast-paced: Although events move quickly, there is plenty of space for reflection and asides.