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Representative image of warriors of the Khwarazmian Empire, from a 13th-century Mina’i bowl. Source: Public domain

The Epic Rise and Demise of the Khwarazmian Empire

The Khwarazmian Empire, spanning from the 11th to the 13th centuries, flourished as a formidable power in Central Asia. Situated along the Silk Road, its strategic location fostered vibrant trade and...
Bara Imanbara in Lucknow in northern India. Source: Memories Over Mocha / Adobe Stock

The Gravity-Defying Bara Imambara was Built to Create Jobs During a Famine

The Bara Imambara, or “Great” Imambara of Lucknow in northern India, stands a testament to human ingenuity and compassion. Built during a devastating famine in the 18th century, this architectural...
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem. Source: andyross / Adobe Stock.

Is This the World's Most Contested Religious Site? (Video)

In Jerusalem's Old City lies the Alexa mosque within the Dome of the Rock, a site of profound religious significance. For Jews, it's the Temple Mount , while for Muslims, it's the noble sanctuary...
Ezekiel’s Tomb. Credit: David Stanley / Flickr.

Ezekiel's Tomb: Transcending Religious Boundaries (Video)

Ezekiel's Tomb , nestled beside the meandering rivers of Babylon in Al Kifl, Iraq , is a testament to the convergence of history, faith, and the enduring human spirit. This 14th-century shrine,...
A Muslim and a Jew inside a Jewish synagogue in Kolkata, India. Source: YouTube Screenshot / Atlas Obscura.

The Muslims Preserving Kolkata's Last Jewish Synagogues (Video)

In the vibrant city of Kolkata, India, a heartening and harmonious interfaith tradition is flourishing as Muslim caretakers diligently preserve the last remaining Jewish synagogues . This unique...
Steaming cup of coffee. Source: alexandarilich / Adobe Stock

Coffee Sparked a Controversial Caffeine Crackdown in Mecca

Coffee drinking is part and parcel of everyday life, though it hasn’t always been that way. Curiously enough, coffee drinking was deemed so controversial in the early 16th century that it was banned...
Representational image of the Muslim explorer Ibn Hawqal. Source: nsit0108 / Adobe Stock

The Uncharted Horizons of Ibn Hawqal, the World’s First Travel Writer

At a time when the outlines of the known world were a mystery to many, and even the most powerful empires had no idea about the realms beyond their distant borders, the scholars of the Muslim world...
A tired Muslim woman awakening early during Ramadan. (Odua Images/Adobe Stock)

In Centuries Old Tradition, Drummers Awaken a Sleeping Istanbul to Ramadan

3,400 Muslim drummers dressed in Ottoman period costumes will march through 1000 Istanbul neighborhoods, reciting ancient poems before dawn, preserving “a beauty” from the month of Ramadan. Selami...
The Moors left behind a legacy of culture and architecture, such as the Alhambra palace complex in Granada, Spain. Source: lunamarina / Adobe Stock

15 Facts About the Moors You've Probably Never Heard

The Moors left a significant mark on medieval Europe, especially with their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711 AD. They ruled over Spain for several centuries, transforming it culturally,...
Female monarchs have been rare, but not unheard of, across the world. Like their male counterparts, they had mixed track records. Source: FrankBoston / Adobe Stock

Five Female Monarchs of the Muslim World

The death of British Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year provoked retrospectives on her reign, as well as reflection on the rule of other female monarchs. Many powerful women leaders of the West are...
Gold Coin Hoard in Israel Tells the Violent Story of Muslim Conquest

Gold Coin Hoard in Israel Tells the Violent Story of Muslim Conquest

Stashed in a wall in Israel around the time of the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem 1,400 years ago, this gold coin hoard was minted during one of the bloodiest and paradigm changing periods of history...
Tamerlane's cruelty was legendary and extensive, including 120 skull towers containing about 90,000 heads near Baghdad after the sultan of the city insulted him. (Kanphichaya / Adobe Stock)

Did The Curse of Tamerlane Cause One of the Bloodiest Battles in World War II?

When Tashmuhammed Kari-Niyazov and Mikhail Gerasimov were tasked by Stalin to lead an expedition to Samarkand in Uzbekistan to open the tomb of Tamerlane, they didn’t know just how significant their...
The Hashshashins were a military group of trained fedayeen fighters, also known as the Order of Assassins. Source: warmtail / Adobe Stock

The Notorious Hashshashins, the Original Assassins of Persia

When it comes to legends, none is quite as moviesque as that of the Hashshashins, who in the Middle Ages inspired fear in the hearts of leaders in the Middle East. Hassan-i Sabbah, dubbed the Old Man...
Horseback archery is seeing a comeback in Malaysia. Source: lisheng2121 / Adobe Stock

Horseback Archery Sees Revival Amongst Elite Malaysian Muslims

Horseback archery was commonly used in hunting and warfare in Malaysia for thousands of years. While the ancient discipline declined with the introduction of firearms, it is now seeing something of a...
Derbent: Contested Ancient City Stronghold on the Silk Road

Derbent: Contested Ancient City Stronghold on the Silk Road

Nestled between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, the Russian city of Derbent and its famed citadel tells the story of ancient power struggles to control the Silk Road trade route which...
Folio from an Arabic manuscript of Dioscorides, De materia medica, 1229 (Public Domain)

Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi: Islam's Medical Genius

Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Zakariya Al Razi is not a familiar name to most in the English-speaking world. But he was one of the most notable persons in the history of medicine. He was a renowned Persian...
Pork hams and sausages. Based on the latest research study of food remnants in Islamic Sicily from medieval cooking pots we now know that the urban Muslims did not eat pork, but that rural people under their rule did. (April D / Adobe Stock)

Medieval Cooking Pots Reveal Rural People Under Muslim Rule Ate Pork!

The island of Sicily is not somewhere most of us would immediately associate with having been a powerful Islamic kingdom. However, between 841 and 1091 AD, the Emirate of Sicily was a key political...
The Afaq Khoja Mausoleum And The Legacy Of A Great Uyghur Leader

The Afaq Khoja Mausoleum And The Legacy Of A Great Uyghur Leader

The Afaq Khoja Mausoleum is a tomb complex located in Xinjiang, an autonomous region in northwestern China. For the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs (or Uighurs ) who inhabit the region, this mausoleum...
Ending the Historical Atrocity of Virginity Tests?

Ending the Historical Atrocity of Virginity Tests?

Since medieval times, many Muslim communities have regarded the hymen, the tiny piece of skin known as the vaginal membrane, as proof of virginity and a woman’s moral virtue. Even today in the United...
Ancient Muslim man

Ismail al-Jazari: Medieval Muslim Inventor and "Father of Robotics"

The medieval period saw the rise of many new inventions all around the world. Emerging out of the so-called Dark Ages, many prominent scholars and learned minds came up with new inventions to make...
400+ Ancient Muslim Graves Unearthed in Spain

400+ Ancient Muslim Graves Unearthed in Spain

Roadworkers in northeastern Spain unexpectedly came across an Islamic burial ground in use from the 8th-11th century. Archaeologists have unearthed more than 400 ancient Muslim graves at the site...
Missing Stone Inscription Holds Key to Almazán Skeletons Enigma

Missing Stone Inscription Holds Key to Almazán Skeletons Enigma

Archaeologists in Almazán Spain are boxed into a corner with a double-edged mystery in which a missing carved stone holds the answer to why eleven bodies were buried beneath a massive medieval...
Qutub Minar, the tallest brick minaret in the world, New Delhi, India.             Source: kingslyg / Adobe Stock

Qutb Minar, the Incredible Victory Tower of the Mamluk Dynasty

Islamic culture has left an indelible mark on India’s celebrated architectural heritage. One of the most remarkable examples is the Qutb Minar , also known as the Victory Tower and the tallest...
The Holy Saviour Church in Chora. Credit: Yordan Rusev / Adobe Stock

Turkey Converts ANOTHER Former Byzantine Church into a Mosque

Just one month after announcing that the world-famous Hagia Sophia, originally a Byzantine cathedral, would be converted back into a mosque , Turkish President Erdogan has inflamed tensions yet again...

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