https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/07/150722-koran-quran-oldest-manuscript-birmingham/

In 2015, a graduate student at The University of Birmingham found two pages misplaced in a newer manuscript of The Qur’an. Noticing the text was visibly different, the student notified the university. Radiocarbon Dating places the creation of the pages between 568 CE and 645 CE. If accurate, this means the document could have been written during the life of Muhammad (570 CE- 632 CE).

The economic effects of the attacks on oil refineries in Abqaiq seem to be a large topic for discussion in all news sources at the moment. However, the consequences of this event on climate change has not made much appearance. While reading this article, I learned a lot about the actual threats the attack had. What really shocked me was the fact that the Gulf region already the location of much of the worst air pollution in the world, and the implications of the drone strike have made conditions even worse.

You can also read about the response to this environmental issue here.

Quebec “has just passed a new law that bars civil servants in positions of ‘authority’ from wearing religious symbols [e.g. hijab] at work.”

Link

Kanopy is one of the databases we have access to from the library. Here is a list of documentaries, lectures, or lecture series that have to do with Islam, particularly in our time line.

I recommend The Great Courses videos the most; they have been invaluable to me with every history class I have taken. I cannot recommend them enough. They’re easy to understand, have lots of visuals, are often even entertaining, and so convenient since you can watch them anywhere!

Log in to the library before clicking on the links below so they will take you to the correct page instead of to Kanopy’s login page.

IF the links 404 on you, go to Kanopy and put in the search bar the words after the last forward slash in the URL. Example:

For the first URL below, type in the search box on Kanopy, “turning points middle eastern history.”

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/turning-points-middle-eastern-history

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/living-history-experiencing-great-events-anc

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/rise-and-flourishing-islam

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/751-talas-1192-tarain-islam-asia

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/1087-hattin-crusader-desert-disaster

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/islamic-expansion-and-rule

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/crusaders-capture-jerusalem

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/lunar-crescent-and-islamic-calendar

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/history-and-achievements-islamic-golden-age

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/living-history-experiencing-great-events–18

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/islam-and-scriptural-recitation

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/hadith-and-sufism

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/islam-and-caliphate

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/holy-quran

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/islam-violence-and-islamophobia

https://umw.kanopy.com/video/islam-comes-india

Tensions between Muslims and non-muslims in Malaysia is rising as clearly demonstrated by the recent campaign by the Muslim community to boycott products and goods made by non-Muslims. Many think this is simply an attempt to create solidarity within the Muslim community while other worry that it is the exploitation of racial issues for political gain.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/kl-acts-to-ease-tensions-over-call-to-boycott-non-muslim-goods

A church in Michigan has had to cancel a lecture series they had planned after it being criticized as islamophobic by politicians and other religious leaders. The lecture series promised to provide information about how Islam is threatening the US.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bloomfield-hills-baptist-church_n_5d790b8ee4b0a938a42be023

Iran has participated in the World Expo since it’s beginning and it currently prepping to have a major presence in the 2020 World Expo. The World Expo is a huge cultural event similar to the Olympics so they are excited to be able attend and this is the first World Expo being held in the Middle East.

http://www.iran-daily.com/News/258301.html

The MET is currently housing an exhibit on (mostly contemporary) Islamic calligraphy. The collection shows different works of calligraphy and could be useful/interesting for paper topics or research.

Article: https://www.dailysabah.com/arts-culture/2019/09/03/the-calligrapher-and-the-city-islamic-ink-at-the-met

Link to the exhibit: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2019/decorated-word-islamic-calligraphy

On display at the Art Institute of Chicago until October 16th, 2019 is an exhibit showcasing “Ornamental Traditions: Jewelry from Bukhara.” This article details the purpose of the exhibit is a “reanalysis of Islam’s relationship to aesthetic and conceptual relevance in the worlds of contemporary art.” The article goes on to talk about the role and creation of secular art, this may be an interesting topic to compare with religious art in Islam for a paper.

Article: https://www.dailysabah.com/arts-culture/2019/09/17/the-visualization-of-islamic-culture-eastward-at-the-art-institute-of-chicago

Exhibit link: https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9048/ornamental-traditions-jewelry-from-bukhara

Archaeologists working in Israel have uncovered what is believed to be one of the world’s oldest mosques. The Israel Antiquities Authority is dating the site to the 7th century C.E. into the 8th century, right around the time of Islamic expansion into the Israeli region. This discovery is a rare find and of religious significance due to the congregation of the Mosque during the 7th and 8th centuries being mostly rural workers and local farmers.

Article: https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/07/20/archaeologists-find-mosque-dating-back-to-islams-arrival-in-holy-land/