Siqilliya Mia

Historians often gloss over the final chapters of the Sicilian Muslims of the 13th century. To fill these missing pages, I will attempt to tell the story of a nearly-forgotten leader, Muhammad ibn ‘Abbad, who deserves a special place in the pantheon of Sicilian history and our popular imagination…

Most Sicily enthusiasts and even historians of Islamic history would not be at fault for having to re-read the title of this article. The “Palermo Qur’an has been called “the single most important artifact so far known to survive from Muslim Sicily…

Near the top of the far left column at the entrance of the Cathedral of Palermo sits an ornate Arabic inscription…