Matters of Humanities

History of Islam in Europe - Episode 5: Better to be a Muslim than a Catholic

Universiteit Leiden Faculteit Geesteswetenschappen Season 1 Episode 5

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries one could hardly speak of Christian or European unity against a Muslim enemy. We have seen that this was because of the political divisions in Europe. In this episode we will discuss another reason for the lack of European unity, and that is religious divisions.

Matters of Humanities: History of Islam in Europe
People are often surprised that the history of the Islam in Europe is so much more than a history of wars. It's also a story of diplomacy and trade, knowledge and arts, from Muslims living together with Christians and Europeans for centuries. Muslims and the Islam are not things that just 'happened' to Europe, they are part of Europe. In this podcast series, professor Maurits Berger talks about the history of the Islam in Europe: going back to the first Muslim who set foot in Europe, and seeing what kind of interactions have taken place between Muslims and Europeans since then.

Music
•Johannes Sebastian Bach: 'Erhalt uns, Herr' (Germany) • Lamekan Ensemble: 'Nikriz Peşrev' (Ottoman) • Gustav Duben: 'Veni sancta Spiritus' (Sweden) • Jan Dismas Zelenka: 'Miserere in C minor' (Czech) • Heinrich Biber: 'Harmonia Artificioso' (Germany) • Ensemble Renaissance: 'Cry no More' (Croatia)