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Book Review: Minarets in the Mountains

Minarets in the Mountains by Tharik Hussain is published by Bradt Guides....

Watch ‘Malcolm X and the Sudanese’

A new documentary, 'Malcolm X and the Sudanese', looks at the role of Ahmed Osman in the life of Malcolm X. Osman, a Sudanese development economist, first met Malcolm by chance at Muhammad’s Temple #7 in Harlem in the summer of 1962. The film, directed by Sophie Schrago and written and produced by Hisham Aidi, follows Osman, now in his late seventies, as he returns to Harlem 55 years after the death of Malcom X.

Ibn Battuta: Loneliness on the Road, Culture Shock & Lessons for the Modern Traveller

Omar Rais reviews Edoardo Albert's new book on the great 14th century traveller, Ibn Battuta, focusing on aspects of his journey such as culture shock and loneliness, that even the modern traveller can relate to.

The History of Islam in Africa: 11 Books to Read

The history of Islam in Africa is almost as old as Islam...

Hijab London bus

Review: London Muslim History Tour

‘Discover untold stories’, reads the slogan emblazoned on the back of our...

Review: The Muslim Traveller’s Guide to Granada on Alchemiya

Remember when there was barely such a thing as a documentary for...

Did you know 3 fragments of the Black Stone are ke

Did you know 3 fragments of the Black Stone are kept in a mosque in Turkey?

📷 @zara_choudhary

EDIT: There are 2 fragments on the minbar, making 4 in total. Typo in the text: fragments of the *Black Stone* not the Kaba

Among the lesser-known episodes of the story of su

Among the lesser-known episodes of the story of sugar, is the moment when sugar production passed from Muslim Spain to Christian Europe, ushering in an unspeakably devastating period of slavery, loss of human life, and abuse of workforce (not to mention the environment), as well as the development of globalised capitalism and white supremacist theories and policies.

Ready to have your sweet tooth pulled? 📖 READ: As-Sukkar, Azúcar: The Bitter Inheritance of Andalusi Sugar | @medinatenour via the link in our bio✨

📷 From a manuscript on agriculture
📷 Page from a 14th century manuscript of Ibn al-Bitar’s “Book of Simples” depicting sugar cane
📷 Sugar plantation in the British colony of Antigua, 1823
📷 Children on a Louisiana sugar-cane plantation around 1885
📷 Colonial sugar cane manufacturing

The cultural fabric of Kochi has been elegantly wo

The cultural fabric of Kochi has been elegantly woven by the beauty of Islam. Known as the ‘Princess of the Arabian Sea’, the city is a well known tourist hotspot and one of the most visited in all of Kerala, India, but the influence of Islam here, is still relatively understated, if not unknown.

Still, the aesthetics of Islam though hidden under a veil, are definitely notable and worthy of discussion. Islam in Kochi is marked by its uniquely local character, and influenced by the Sufis who lived and enriched this once lively trading port, something which has sadly been left unattended.

This article seeks to analyse the Islamic culture of Kochi through the traces left by the Sufis, and scholars of the city. Walking through the old wooden mosques of Kochi evokes a nostalgia for the tradition and splendor of Islam, and a time when sufis and saints wandered along these narrow streets and soft shores.

📖 READ: The Sufis of Kochi, South India by @ma_twahir via the link in our bio✨

Jumu'ah Mubaraka from Al-Azhar Mosque (972), The R

Jumu'ah Mubaraka from Al-Azhar Mosque (972), The Resplendent Congregational Mosque of Egypt. This mosque, whose name means "The Shining One" is located in the Heart of Islamic Cairo and is one of the most influential in the Islamic World. It is founded upon diversity of jurisprudence in Islam. What distinguishes it from many religious institutions in the region is its firm belief to teach all four mad'dhabs without giving preference of one over the other.

📷 by @thebluecairo

Damascus, once the capital of the Muslim world, ha

Damascus, once the capital of the Muslim world, has always attracted man. Its conquest opened up a whole new world to the Muslims, and ever since the Umayyads, has remained a magnet for the warrior and wanderer. The Great Umayyad Mosque, the heart of Damascus, has been home to Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Tamiyyah, Ibn Arabi, and Imam al-Ghazali. No one would pass the region of Sham and not visit this mosque. Its accounts are numerous, and are almost always filled with wonder and awe. During the visit of the 12th century Andalusian traveller, Ibn Jubayr, he notes:

Ibn Jubayr says ‘The mosque has three minarets. One on the west side is like a lofty tower with large apartments and spacious chapels, all leading to large doors and lived in by strangers of pious mode of life. The topmost chamber was where Abu Hamid al-Ghazali – may God him in His favour – prayed in seclusion’

While many visit the mosque and appreciate its gold mosaics and unique architecture, the highlight of this wonder for me was to just observe the space where al-Ghazali spent his days as a sweeper. A small door, marked with a plaque, commemorates the chamber where the Huajjat al-Islam (‘Proof of Islam’) stayed. Today the space is used for teaching students and small informal lectures.

#findingghazali #damascus

A blessed Jummah Mubarak. Rustem Pasha Camii. Is

A blessed Jummah Mubarak.

Rustem Pasha Camii. Istanbul.

Images of the exterior and interior of the Aqsa Mo