Buenos Aires, Argentina Until fairly recently, Islam historically made little headway in establishing footholds in the Americas. Sizeable Muslim communities can as yet be found in only three countries: the United States, Brazil and Argentina. Of these, the Muslim community of Argentina is the smallest; and yet it is home to the King Fahd Islamic Cultural Center in Buenos … [Read more...]
MEVLANA MUSEUM
Konya, Turkey While Sufism originated in Persia and other eastern Islamic nations, it reached the pinnacle of its popularity much later in the Turkish territories of Asia Minor. This was due in large part to one Jala Al-Din Rumi, one of the greatest and most revered of Sufi philosophers, who came to Konya as a refugee fleeing the Mongols. He contributed much in the way of … [Read more...]
ACADEMIC HERITAGE SITES OF TOOS (TOMB OF FERDOWSI, HARUNIYEH TOMB)
Toos, Iran Throughout much of the Abbasid period, the small, unlikely city of Toos on the distant frontier of Persia was an important Islamic intellectual center. Some of the greatest Muslim thinkers of the 10th and 11th centuries were born and/or made their homes here. Among these noteworthies were scientists Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan and Nasir Al-Din Tusi, the poet Asadi … [Read more...]
KHAST IMAM MOSQUE (MASJID KHAST IMAM)
Tashkent, Uzbekistan Generally speaking, the most revered artifacts of Islam that have survived the centuries have been preserved in places that make geographical sense: Mecca, Cairo, Istanbul and so forth. So it is unusual that the Uthman Qur’an, believed to be the oldest known copy of the Qur’an and which according to tradition was once in the possession of Uthman, Ali or … [Read more...]
MOSQUES OF SHIRAZ (MASJID VAKIL, MASJID NASIR AL-MULK, MADRASSA KHAN)
Shiraz, Iran Shiraz is one of the oldest and most historically important cities in Iran. In addition to its prominence in ancient times, it has served as the capital of Islamic Persia twice, most recently in the 18th century. Many of the city’s most prominent mosques and other religious institutions were built or refurnished during the Qajar period, notably the Masjid Nasir … [Read more...]
MADRASSA AR-ZAHIRIYYA
Damascus, Syria As if the Tomb of Saladin wasn’t enough, Damascus also boasts the gravesite of yet another of the greatest Islamic military commanders of all time: Abu Al-Futah, better known as Baybars, who led the beleagured Muslims of Syria and Egypt to tremendous victories against both the Crusaders and the Mongols. Although Baybars did not restore the Islamic Empire of … [Read more...]
AL-AZHAR MOSQUE (MADRASSA AL-AZHAR)
Cairo, Egypt By the time the Fatimids came to power, Fustat was the already the political center of Africa. As the capital of the Fatimid dynasty, it also became the second most powerful city in the Islamic world after Baghdad. During their reign, the Fatimids transformed Fustat into a religious and cultural powerhouse as well, adorning the city with mosques, schools and … [Read more...]
MADRASSA AL-KAIROUIAN
Fes, Morocco The Madrassa Al-Karouian is not only one of the oldest Islamic sites in North Africa, it is culturally one of the most important institutions in the world. Founded in the mid-9th century, Al-Karouian is generally recognized as the oldest continually operational university of higher education on Earth. This is not merely an Islamic tradition; this recognition … [Read more...]
