Islamic world in the context of "Salafi movement"

A caravanserai (or caravansary; /kærəˈvænsəˌraɪ/) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a variety of names including khan, funduq and wikala. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information, and people across the network of trade routes covering Asia, North Africa and Southeast Europe, most notably the Silk Road. In the countryside, they were typically built at intervals equivalent to a day's journey along important roads, where they served as a kind of staging post. Urban versions of caravanserais were historically common in cities where they could serve as inns, depots, and venues for conducting business.

The buildings were most commonly rectangular structures with one protected entrance. Inside, a central courtyard was surrounded by an array of rooms on one or more levels. In addition to lodgings for people, they often included space to accommodate horses, camels, and other pack animals, as well as storage rooms for merchandise.

The history of slavery in the Muslim world was throughout the history of Islam with slaves serving in various social and economic roles, from powerful emirs to harshly treated manual laborers. Slaves were widely in labour in irrigation, mining, and animal husbandry, but most commonly as soldiers, guards, domestic workers. The use of slaves for hard physical labor early on in Muslim history led to several destructive slave revolts, the most notable being the Zanj Rebellion of 869–883. Many rulers also used slaves in the military and administration to such an extent that slaves could seize power, as did the Mamluks.

Most slaves were imported from outside the Muslim world. Slavery in the Muslim world did not have a racial foundation in principle, although this was not always the case in practice. The Arab slave trade was most active in West Asia, North Africa (Trans-Saharan slave trade), and Southeast Africa (Red Sea slave trade and Indian Ocean slave trade), and rough estimates place the number of Africans enslaved in the twelve centuries prior to the 20th century at between six million to ten million. The Ottoman slave trade came from raids into eastern and central Europe and the Caucasus connected to the Crimean slave trade, while slave traders from the Barbary Coast raided the Mediterranean coasts of Europe and as far afield as the British Isles and Iceland.

Paper is a thin nonwoven material traditionally made from a combination of milled plant and textile fibres. The first paper-like plant-based writing sheet was papyrus in Egypt, but the first true papermaking process was documented in China during the Eastern Han period (25–220 AD), traditionally attributed to the court official Cai Lun. This plant-puree conglomerate produced by pulp mills and paper mills was used for writing, drawing, and money. During the 8th century, Chinese paper making spread to the Islamic world, replacing papyrus. By the 11th century, papermaking was brought to Europe, where it replaced animal-skin-based parchment and wood panels. By the 13th century, papermaking was refined with paper mills using waterwheels in Spain. Later improvements to the papermaking process came in 19th century Europe with the invention of wood-based papers.

Although there were precursors such as papyrus in the Mediterranean world and amate in the pre-Columbian Americas, these are not considered true paper. Nor is true parchment considered paper: used principally for writing, parchment is heavily prepared animal skin that predates paper and possibly papyrus. In the 20th century with the advent of plastic manufacture, some plastic "paper" was introduced, as well as paper-plastic laminates, paper-metal laminates, and papers infused or coated with different substances to produce special properties.

Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the holiest city in Islam. It is located in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia and is the capital of Mecca Province. Mecca is considered the birthplace of Islam and the birthplace of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

It is 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its metropolitan population in 2022 was 2.4 million, making it the third–most populated city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and Jeddah. The Cave of Hira atop the Jabal al-Nour, just outside the city, is where Muslims believe the Quran was first revealed to Muhammad. Visiting Mecca for the Ḥajj is an obligation upon all able Muslims. The Great Mosque of Mecca, known as the Masjid al-Haram, is home to the Kaaba, believed by Muslims to have been built by Abraham and Ishmael. It is Islam's holiest site and the direction of prayer (qibla) for all Muslims worldwide. Around 44.5% of the population are Saudi citizens and around 55.5% are Muslim foreigners from other countries. Pilgrims more than triple the population number every year during the Ḥajj pilgrimage, observed in the twelfth Hijri month of Dhūl-Ḥijjah. With over 10.8 million international visitors in 2023, Mecca was one of the ten most visited cities in the world.

Rag paper is a category of paper that is made from a pulp of discarded textiles, rope and other fibre products. Rag paper in its various forms was a widely-used paper for most of the past two millennia. Production spread along the Silk Road from its early 2nd-century origin in China to the Islamic world by the 8th century. It was introduced into Christian Europe by the 12th century, and western Europe came to dominate rag production up until the mid-19th century, when rag paper was displaced in favour of far more cost-efficient pulpwood acidic paper.

Rag paper is valued today as a specialty paper for its archival quality and tear resistance compared to wood pulp paper. Modern rag paper is often cotton paper, made from cotton linters, with a usual pH of 6.4 and degree of polymerization of 1481.2.

Medieval Islamic astronomy comprises the astronomical developments made in the Islamic world, particularly during the Islamic Golden Age (9th–13th centuries), and mostly written in the Arabic language. These developments mostly took place in the Middle East, Central Asia, Al-Andalus, and North Africa, and later in the Far East and India. It closely parallels the genesis of other Islamic sciences in its assimilation of foreign material and the amalgamation of the disparate elements of that material to create a science with Islamic characteristics. These included Greek, Sassanid, and Indian works in particular, which were translated and built upon.

Islamic astronomy played a significant role in the revival of ancient astronomy following the loss of knowledge during the early medieval period, notably with the production of Latin translations of Arabic works during the 12th century.

The Hijri era (Arabic: التقويم الهجري, romanized: at-taqwīm al-hijrī) is the calendar era used to record dates in the Islamic world. Its epoch (start point of the era) is the year in which Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Yathrib (now Medina), in 622 CE. This event, known as the Hijrah, is commemorated in Islam for its role in the founding of the first Muslim community (ummah). Time in this era is measured by two principal calendars: the lunar Hijri calendar (known in the West as the "Islamic calendar") which counts lunar years since the Hijrah and which is used by most Muslims around the world; and the solar Hijri calendar (also known as the "Persian calendar") which counts solar years since the Hijrah and which is used in Iran.

In the West, dates in the lunar Hijri calendar are denoted as AH (Latin: Anno Hegirae) or Hijri year (Arabic: سنة هجرية, romanized: sanat hijriyya, lit. 'in the year of the Hijra') in the style of the Christian/Common (AD/CE) and Jewish eras (AM) and can similarly be placed before (preferably) or after the date. In predominantly Muslim countries, it is also commonly abbreviated H ("Hijra") from its Arabic abbreviation hāʾ (هـ). Years prior to AH 1 are reckoned in English as BH ("Before the Hijra"), which follows the date. Dates in the solar Hijri calendar are denoted as SH. The current year according to the lunar Hijri calendar is AH 1447; according to the solar Hijri calendar the current year is SH 1404. The difference in numbering arises because a lunar year is about eleven days shorter than a solar year.

Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm ibn Yaḥyā al-Naqqāsh al-Zarqālī al-Tujibi (Arabic: إبراهيم بن يحيى الزرقالي); also known as Al-Zarkali or Ibn Zarqala (1029–1100), was an Arab maker of astronomical instruments and an astrologer from the western part of the Islamic world.

Although his name is conventionally given as al-Zarqālī, it is probable that the correct form was al-Zarqālluh. In Latin he was referred to as Arzachel or Arsechieles, a modified form of Arzachel, meaning 'the engraver'. He lived in Toledo, Al-Andalus before moving to Córdoba later in his life. His works inspired a generation of Islamic astronomers in Al-Andalus, and later, after being translated, were very influential in Europe. His invention of the Saphaea (a perfected astrolabe) proved very popular and was widely used by navigators until the 16th century.

During the High Middle Ages, the Islamic world was an important contributor to the global cultural scene, innovating and supplying information and ideas to Europe, via Al-Andalus, Sicily and the Crusader kingdoms in the Levant. These included Latin translations of the Greek Classics and of Arabic texts in astronomy, mathematics, science, and medicine. Translation of Arabic philosophical texts into Latin "led to the transformation of almost all philosophical disciplines in the medieval Latin world", with a particularly strong influence of Muslim philosophers being felt in natural philosophy, psychology and metaphysics. Other contributions included technological and scientific innovations via the Silk Road, including Chinese inventions such as paper, compass and gunpowder.

The Islamic world also influenced other aspects of medieval European culture, partly by innovations made during the Islamic Golden Age, including various fields such as the arts, agriculture, alchemy, music, pottery, etc.

Bengal (/bɛnˈɡɔːl/ ben-GAWL) is a geographical, ethnolinguistic, historically geopolitical region in South Asia, located north of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is politically divided between the sovereign state of Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and Karimganj district in the Indian state of Assam.

The ancient Vanga Kingdom is widely regarded as the namesake of the Bengal region. The Bengali calendar dates back to the reign of Shashanka in the 7th century CE. The Pala Empire was founded in Bengal during the 8th century. The Sena dynasty and Deva dynasty ruled between the 11th and 13th centuries. By the 14th century, Bengal was absorbed by Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent. An independent Bengal Sultanate was formed and became the eastern frontier of the Islamic world. During this period, Bengal's rule and influence spread to Assam, Arakan, Tripura, Bihar, and Odisha (formerly- Orissa). Bengal Subah later emerged as a prosperous part of the Mughal Empire.