Captain Jack Sparrow (the Muslim), whose character was distorted by Hollywood films
We have always heard about Captain Jack Sparrow, the famous pirate who dazzled us with his stories and adventures at sea, through the famous Pirates of the Caribbean film series produced by Hollywood.
But have we ever wondered about the identity of this historical figure?! What are his achievements that led Hollywood to produce a series of films based on his character?! So here's the story...
He is Jack Ward, also called Jack Birdy.
Or Jack Sparrow, due to his intense passion for birds, but after declaring his conversion to Islam, he called himself Yusef Reis. He was born in England in 1553 AD to a simple family. He worked in fishing in his youth, and soon took up piracy.
He became one of the most dangerous and powerful pirates after his success in defeating the Spanish fleets with the permission of Queen Elizabeth I of England.
After King James I ascended to the English throne, he ordered an end to the war with the Spanish, which led to harm to many English pirates, led by Jack Ward.
Due to the cessation of their source of livelihood, most of them worked in the British Royal Navy by order of the king, which was something that Jack Ward and most sailors did not like at all.
Only two weeks later, Captain Jack and 30 of his colleagues stole one of the ships of the English fleet.
He was elected as the leader of the pirates by his colleagues, and then they sailed towards the Mediterranean Sea to continue their piracy career against Spanish and Portuguese ships in particular.
Captain Jack then headed to Tunisia, which was under Ottoman rule
He agreed with its ruler, Othman Dey, to make it a base for his operations against the Spanish, in exchange for dividing a fifth of the spoils and wealth in favor of Tunisia. There, Jack declared his conversion to Islam with the men of his crew and changed his name to Youssef Reis.
Youssef Reis (Captain Jack) continued his campaigns against the European fleets, led by the Spanish and Portuguese, until his name became a source of concern and terror for all parts of Europe. Many European writers also described him as a naval jihadist who apostatized from Christianity and converted to the religion of the Arabs.
He also played an important and vital role in transporting thousands of Muslims and Jews fleeing the brutality of the Spanish after the fall of Andalusia to safety.
Youssef Rais married an Italian woman who had also converted to Islam, named Yasmina Sicily.
While he continued to send money to his ex-English wife, he lived the rest of his life in his palace in Tunisia until he died, may God have mercy on him, at the age of approximately 70 years in 1622 AD.
Sources:
1- Pirate Wars - Peter Earl.
2- The Barbary Pirates: The Life and Crimes of John Ward - Greg Pak.