Hamza Roberto Piccardo was born in Imperia in 1952. He embraces Islam in 1975, during a long trip to Western Africa. In 1988 he draws up the Italian edition of “Al Minhaj al Muslim (The Muslim’s Way) by Shaykh Abu Bakr al Djazayri, the first work of religious law for Italian Muslims. In 1990 he is among the founders of the Union of Islamic Communities and Organizations in Italy (UCOII) and is elected in the national board. He prepares a draft of the Agreement which will rule the relationship between the Islamic community and the Republic of Italy.

In 1992 HRP is elected head of the national board again. In the same year, he gives birth to the Muslim Community of Western Liguria, whose aim is to promote the opening of the Mosque of Imperia, followed by the opening of other Mosques in Albenga (Savona) in 1994, San Remo (Imperia) in 1996, and Cengio (Savona) in 1998 .

In 1993 he establishes the publishing house “Al Hikma”, through which publishes a monthly magazine, and directs “The Muslim”. This is a multilingual magazine, mainly edited in Italian and Arabic, but with contributions in many other languages as well as Bosnian,Turkish, Somali. “The Muslim” released up to 1994, when its publication is suspended due to financial reasons. At the end of 1994, after a five years-work, HRP publishes the first edition of the “Essay of translation and interpretation of the Holy Quran the Inimitable”. This is the first complete translation and commentary (it includes over 2500 notes and a wide, rich apparatus of appendixes, indexes of names and thematic index) conceived and implemented by Muslims in Italy for Italians and in Italian. In 1996, HRP is appointed national secretary, being in charge until 2000. In 1996 the first edition of the Economic translation of the Quran is released, whose print runs out of all the 25,000 copies within 8 months. Next printing editons follow one after the other, reachinbg the total of more than 160,000 copies distributed and sold. HRP makes and still carries out an Islamic portal in English, islam-online, which is currently the most visited among the websites on Islàm in Italian language. In the following years, HRP still continues his publishing activity and releases “Anela il petto” (The chest yearns) a collection of poems on the 99 beautiful names of God, illustrated by the painter Nadia Valentini.

In 2003 establishes the website libreria islamica. In 2005 he is elected spokesman of the European Muslim Network, whose chairman is Tariq Ramadan. In May of the same year, HRP releases with Alif Editions (Centre of Studies Ibn Sina) “Il Puzzle del Derviscio” (The Puzzle of the Dervish), his first novel. In 2006 publishes “Luci prima della Luce” (Lights before the Light), a collection of 140 invocations. In April 2007, publishes with Edizioni Libero di Scrivere (Free to Write) “Ode alla Rossa” (Ode to the Red) a poem inspired by Morocco and the city of Marrakech in particular. In the same year, he gives up all his charges to devote himself to publishing and writing. Released in 2008, “Miracolo a Baghdad”(Miracle in Baghdad), is his second novel, with a political background.