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Norman Kings of Sicily and the Rise of the Anti-Islamic Critique

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Abstract

Birk explains the emergence of popular anti-Muslim massacres in and after 1161 and explores how these attacks illustrate a shift in the way the Christian population envisioned Sicilian Muslims. This chapter shows that by the mid-twelfth century, the fate of Sicilian Muslims was linked to the strength of Sicilian monarchs, who used Muslims as a resource and a symbol of royal power. Because of this, Birk argues, Latin Christians expressed their discontent with royalty through violence against Sicilian Muslims. Despite this, monarchs promoted Muslims within their administration and reaffirmed the monarchy’s role as protector of Sicilian Muslims. Birk contends that this deepened the conflation of anti-Muslim and anti-royal sentiments, ultimately making Sicilian Muslims vulnerable to violence when royalty weakened later in the twelfth century.

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  1. Smith College, Northampton, USA

    Joshua C. Birk

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Birk, J.C. (2016). Community as Collateral. In: Norman Kings of Sicily and the Rise of the Anti-Islamic Critique. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47042-9_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47042-9_6

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47041-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47042-9

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