Episode 03: Tharik Hussain
Travel writer Tharik Hussien joins us to discuss his journey, following in the footsteps of Evliya Celebi, an Ottoman traveller who wrote about his journey through the Balkans in the seventeenth century.
Tharik's book, Minarets in the Mountains, challenges perceptions about European views of the Balkans, its relationship to and connection with Islam, and general Western exoticism and ‘othering’. He shows how Islam has been largely written out of the historical European story. He also brings an often overlooked destination to life and introduces his family and the perspectives of his daughters, in particular, to the journey.
Tharik Hussain is an author, travel writer and journalist specialising in Muslim heritage and culture. His debut narrative book, Minarets in the Mountains; A Journey into Muslim Europe, was longlisted for the UK’s biggest award in non-fiction, Baillie Gifford Prize in nonfiction, shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year and won the British Guild of Travel Writers' Adele Evans Award.
Tharik has also written Lonely Planet guides to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Thailand, London and Britain; developed Britain’s first Muslim heritage trails; produced award-winning radio for the BBC World Service on Islam in America, and been published by the likes of the BBC, National Geographic Traveller and The Guardian.
He is a fellow at the Centre for Religion and Heritage at the University of Groningen, Netherlands and an advisor to heritage and cultural institutes across the globe.
Tharik has three titles due for release in 2025, a non-fiction title on the beginnings of Muslim Europe, a travelogue called Muslim Venice; Wanderings through the Gateway to the Orient and a pioneering new guidebook called, Muslim Britain & Ireland; a Travel Guide to Sites of Islamic Heritage and Culture.