Tarik, reviewed by Dr. Ellen McLarney, Duke University

Michael J. Satchell re-envisions the history of Tarik ibn Ziyad, bringing the story of the 8^th century military commander alive for contemporary audiences. Satchell describes how he learned about the history of Tarik ibn Ziyad while searching for alternatives to the white European history primarily inculcated in American schools. Going to Marcus Bookstore in San Francisco at the age of 12, he bought J.A. Rogers The World’s Great Men of Color. In the spirit of that book, Satchell vividly re-enacts Tarik’s conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, interspersing it with vibrant images of an African Moorish past. One of the book’s images shows Marcus Garvey and Noble Drew Ali of the Moorish Science Temple, connecting Satchell’s awakening at the Marcus bookstore with the story of the Moorish general from North Africa and the history of Muslims in America. Satchell eloquently describes a quest “justice, equality, and freedom” in Islam, in the face of “ill-treatment…simply because of the darkness of my skin” (57). In Tarik’s confrontation with Europe and the Christian Visigoths, Satchell shows Tarik emerge victorious. His re-enactment of this seminal moment in world history helps raise consciousness about critical chapters in African and European history, chapters neglected and ignored in American schoolbooks. Moreover, Satchell gives life to this story through his screenplay, making it speak in a different time and place.

--Dr Ellen McLarney, Professor,

Chair, Near Eastern Studies,

Duke University