In Amin Maalouf’s Leo Africanus we follow the travels of one man’s journey over forty years. This journey occurs during the backdrop of the Renaissance and includes a multicultural and religiously diverse tour of the Muslim and Christian empires. At the time of Leo Africanus Italian bankers and other in Europe had been buying gold from North African merchants for centuries. This gold was responsible for helping the spread of capitalism throughout Europe. Colonialism, the spread of trade, and exploration changed the way cosmopolitan centers related to emerging markets in underdeveloped lands. The Transnationalism evident in today’s cultures and societies appears to have had its seeds sewn in this era. In Leo Africanus we see a journey that involves trade and mercantilism, clashing religions, political battles and a host of different cultures. More often as not the influence of outside forces radically alter the way of life of native peoples, typically for the worse. We see the political maneuvering and dispossessed people it manifests in the words of Khali, “This city is protected by those who seek to despoil it, and governed by those who are its enemies. Soon, my sister, we shall have to take refuge beyond the sea” (21).
We also see that religious intolerance is as bad as it is in modern times with respect to differences between Muslims and Christians. There is little tolerance for religious difference to be found anywhere in the world if Leo Africanus is to be used as an example. At one point we see an Islamic man use religion to curse all would-be enemies of Muslims with the threat of death, “May God destroy those who starve the Muslims” (224). In other cultures and on other travels, we see how little tolerance there is for Christians in many parts of the Mediterranean, “His Eminence tells me that certain fanatical soldiers could cut you into pieces, you, your family and
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