A magical eye-opening account of a journey into a Europe that rarely makes the news and is in
danger of being erased altogether. Another Europe. A Europe few people believe exists and many
wish didn't. Muslim Europe. Londoner Tharik Hussain sets off with his wife and young daughters
around the Western Balkans home to the largest indigenous Muslim population in Europe and
explores the regions of Eastern Europe where Islam has shaped places and people for more than
half a millennium. Encountering blonde-haired blue-eyed Muslims visiting mystical Islamic
lodges clinging to the side of mountains and praying in mosques older than the Sistine Chapel
he paints a picture of a hidden Muslim Europe a vibrant place with a breathtaking history
spellbinding culture and unique identity. Minarets in The Mountains the first non-fiction
account by a Muslim writer on this subject explores the historical roots of the current tide
of Islamophobia. Tharik and his family learn lessons about themselves and their own identity as
Britons Europeans and Muslims. Following in the footsteps of renowned Ottoman traveller Evliya
Celebi they remind us that Europe is as Muslim as it is Christian Jewish or pagan. Like
William Dalrymple's In Xanadu this is a vivid reimagining of a region's cultural heritage
unveiling forgotten Muslim communities empires and their rulers and like Kapka Kassabova's
Border it is a quest that forces us to consider what makes up our own identities and more
importantly who decides?
