Muslim Journeys Theme: Connected Histories

The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System was one of the libraries chosen to receive the Muslim Journeys bookshelf in 2013. The bookshelf is a collection of fascinating books and DVDs about the Muslim world's history and culture. We’ll profile some in our blog over the next few months.

 

Centuries before the dawn of supersonic transport, the internet, and multinational corporations, the world already was an amazingly interconnected place. Modern-day national boundaries did not exist. Lines between cultures that seem so solid today were blurry. Many of the books in the Muslim Journeys bookshelf provide a tantalizing view as to just how interconnected the medieval world was in spite of the slowness and danger associated with travel.

When Asia Was the World: Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors, and Monks Who Created the “Riches of the East”. Read about how Islam related to the religions and cultures of India, China, Iran, and modern-day Afghanistan.  

The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain.  Learn about a uniquely diverse culture in the Andalusian Middle Ages in Spain.

The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance. Discover how the scientific method began in Muslim lands.

In an Antique Land. Learn what it meant to be free or enslaved in the Muslim world in the days before European colonialism.

Leo Africanus. A swashbuckling historical novel about real-life Hasan al-Wazzan, born in Andalusia on the eve of the Spanish Reconquest.

For more information, visit this site for annotations and other resources provided by the grantor. You can also access the Oxford Islamic Studies Database through our list of A-Z Databases.