Italians are embarrassed to admit most of us have genetic links across the Mediterranean to include North Africa and the Near East. There is no reason to be ashamed since most of this link pre-dates the founding of Islam.
First of all--I was born in Napoli (Naples) and can trace all of my 8 great-grandparents to within the Campania region, so I am indeed one of "us". Second of all you need to learn the history of the Mediterranean world before making what you believe to be factual statements.--During the Roman Empire period slaves, merchants, solders, etc. came from all over the Empire to the Italian peninsula. Guess what? North Africa and parts of the Middle East were part of that Empire. Didn't you see Gladiator? It is documented by historic records that tens of thousands of slaves where transported from Egypt to Italy during the Empire period. Why do you think some Italians have light brown (olive) skin? This all pre-dates the founding of Islam in the 600's A.D. Even before Rome, how hard do you think it was for people to get into a boat and cross the Mediterranean from North Africa to the Italian peninsula? Did Homo sapiens originate in Italy? I don't think so--they came from somewhere else. After Rome there were many Saracen raids onto the peninsula--they just didn't control Sicily. If you look at the architecture along the coast of the entire peninsula you will see Islamic influence. The language was even affected. Foreigners upon hearing the Neapolitan (from Naples) dialect for the first time, think it sounds Arabic. Modern Neapolitan love songs sound that way too. The Arabic word for "the" is "al"--the Italian word is "il". Mediterranean men greet each other with a kiss on the cheek, whether Italian, Greek, Arab, Turkish, Spaniard, etc. Southern Europeans have more in common with other people of both sides of the Mediterranean than with Northern Europeans. Also it's not just southern Italy--Venice did much trade with the Middle East. Many merchants from there came to Venice to live. The Italian last name "Moro" is very common in Venice, and of course the word "moro" means Moor. Jews, Gypsies, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and other groups also crossed and settled in Italy from the East during the entire period of Italian history. Sicily is just 85 miles from Tunisia--not a very long boat trip. Tunis to Naples takes only an overnight boat ride today. It wouldn't have taken much longer a thousand years ago. I am not ashamed that some of my ancestors are from the south and east side of the Mediterranean, just as I am not proud that some of my ancestors came from north of the Alps. Northern Europeans are not superior to anyone else in the world--so we can stop trying link ourselves with them, and start being ourselves. All of humanity has a mixed past--no one is pure. And even if there were any purity, it wouldn't make them any better.
