Real Captain Jack Sparrow was a Muslim !

Fascinating article about the real Captain Jack Sparrow fictionalised in the popular film series 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. A few interesting points about the real Jack Sparrow:

* His real name was Captain Jack Ward and he was also known as Jack Birdy.
* He was on the run from the church when he converted to Islam in the late 16th Century.
* His entire crew also converted to Islam with him.
* Captain Jack Birdy was obsessed with little birds during his time in Tunisia (where he fled). So much that the locals would call him Jack Asfur, asfur being Arabic for sparrow. This is where the name Captain Jack Sparrow comes from.
* His Muslim name was Yusuf Reis
* He was married to another renegade from Christendom who also converted to Islam, Jessimina the Sicilian.
* Whilst Captain Jack Birdy was known as a great drunkard, he stopped drinking alcohol when he converted to Islam.
* He was instrumental in rescuing thousands of Spanish Jews and Muslims fleeing their expulsion from their lands in the 16th and 17th centuries.