A dukun preparing medicine, c. 1910-1940

The International History of “Indigenous” Malay Healers

The origins of Malay and Indonesian dukun healers are intertwined with the history of Persian involvement in the region.
Jamia Mosque in Nairobi

A Mughal Mosque in Kenya

Built for Punjabi migrants brought to Africa by the British and modeled on Mughal architecture, the Jamia Masjid in Nairobi serves Kenya’s Muslim minority.
The dream of Zulaykha, from the Amber Album, c. 1670

Dreams in Islam

Even before the founding of Islam, Arabia was home to professional dream interpreters.
A tricolor India flag flies on top of a vehicle on the backdrop of the Jama Masjid mosque on August 15, 2022 in New Delhi, India.

The Unique History of the Meo Tribes of Mewat

The Meos are singled out as cow slaughterers by vigilantes, but their heritage combines Hindu cultural practices—including raising cattle—with the Islamic faith.
Isabelle Eberhardt, 1895

Isabelle Eberhardt: Travel’s Rebel with a Cause

A hash-smoking, cross-dressing woman traveling the Sahara in the early 1900s, Eberhardt unpicked the fabric of society just by being herself.
An image from a manuscript from the 9th century AH/AD 15th century (Safavid dynasty)

Music and Gender in Medieval Islamic Court

As Islam spread across the Arabian peninsula and the Mesopotamian region, it changed the relationship between gender and musicianship.
Jinn gathering for combat in Shah Namah, the Persian Epic of the Kings

Life with a Jinni

A jinni in the home can help a Muslim explore religious tenets, but it may also interfere with the direct relationship between human and god.
Turkish women waiting outside a mosque for friends before going in to pray, 1920

Mosques of Their Own

The long, little-known history of Muslim women in communal religious life.
A woman wearing a head scarf

Muslim Women and the Politics of the Headscarf

For many women, wearing the hijab was—and is—an element of piety, but it's been coopted into a political symbol.
Cover of Muhammed Speaks, 1975

The Nation of Islam’s Role in US Prisons

The Nation of Islam is controversial. Its practical purposes for incarcerated people transcend both politics and religion.