The unknown history of Islam in Gaul according to Didier Ali Hamoneau

The unknown history of Islam in Gaul according to Didier Ali Hamoneau:

This period is therefore almost completely hidden in school textbooks. It goes completely unnoticed that the South of Gaul (from the Pyrenees to the Alps) was governed by Muslims for more than two centuries. Pepin the Brief certainly took Narbonne from the Muslims in 759 but did not succeed in destroying Islam in Gaul: until the end of the 10th century, part of the Mediterranean coast remained Muslim, with the stronghold of La Garde Freinet near the current Saint-Tropez. And the last Muslim stronghold was the Massif des Maures. Muslim southern Gaul was politically attached to the Emirate of Cordoba. Its fall was the prelude to the Catholic Reconquista in Spain and the Crusades in the East and Africa.

The author highlights the history of Islam in Gaul with different themes:

• A duty of memory.
• From Gibraltar to the Rhone Valley.
• Islam in Septimania (714-718) and the Narbonne period (719-759).
• The contribution of Islam to France and to European civilisation.
• Testimonies on the influence of Islam in France, in Europe and in the world.
• Conclusion.
• Outlook.