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Muslim Voices Indiana University

Steeped Traditions: The Cultural and Religious History of Tea in the Islamic World by Paige Benner

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“Two Men Laden With Tea, Sichuan Sheng China, 30 JUL [1908]” [Wikimedia Commons]
For those who know me in my real life know I am a tea fanatic. Black, green, red, herbal, hot or iced, with or without milk, I am obsessed. However, through all my brews of teas around the world, I never took time to recognize the culture of the tea I was enjoying, especially tea from Muslim cultures around the world.  

Although popular all over the world, tea originated in China, specifically in the southwest region by Emperor Shen Nung.[1] However, in the 9th and 10th centuries, tea reached the Islamic world likely by Silk Road trade routes that connected China to Central Asia, Persia, and the Middle East where it is mingled with other herbs in the region. An example of this route is the “Old Tea Horse Trade Road” which is a 2,500-mile-long mountain trail stretching from Tibet to as far as the Red Sea. [2]Traders have been photographed with over 150 pounds of tea on their back and walked 150 miles along these paths.

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An Introduction to Kurdish Tattoos by Taylor Nasim Stone

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“Portrait of woman with deq on her face (Yavuklu 2022)”

Modifying the body is not, by any means, a new phenomenon and tattoos are among some of the oldest forms of bodily adornment. The content, application, and ascribed meanings within the practice of tattooing can vary widely depending on the geography and culture. Within Kurdish culture, this centuries-old practice is known as deq or xal. Its importance lies in associating bodies with cultural identity as it has historically been a critical signifier of Kurdish cultural embodiment which Ahmet Yavuklu highlights in his book, Ancient Footprints.

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The Undying Red Border: Finding Bengali New Year in Exile* by Niger Sultana

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“pohela boishakh” by ভাস্কর is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

As I sit in my quiet study room in America, the hustle and bustle of life back home seem distant, yet still so vivid in my memory. The last time I celebrated Pohela Boishakh—the Bengali New Year—in Bangladesh was in 2020. That year, I was surrounded by my students and colleagues at the Department of Folklore at Nazrul University, Bangladesh, where we gathered to embrace the spirit of the new year with traditional fervor. After that, the world changed forever. The Covid-19 pandemic halted not only our personal lives but also the ways in which we celebrated our most cherished traditions. I left for America to pursue my PhD in 2021, and though life continued, a part of me remained rooted in the celebrations and cultural experiences I had left behind. The memory of Pohela Boishakh- the Bangla New Year celebration especially the ones celebrated with family and friends, remains as fresh as ever.

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Nooruz in Central Asia by Ardahbek Amantur

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“Symbol of Novrus holiday” Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

Is there a Central Asian Nooruz?

If you had been a companion of Marco Polo in the 13th century or a Russian empire’s intelligence collector in the 19th century and happened to pass through the Iranian town of Yazdi, the storied city of Bukhara, or the vast Dashti Kipchak steppe around March 20, you would have noted a festival celebration. Across these regions, the peoples of Central Asia (who did not call themselves such at the time) celebrated the New Year around the same time as the Iranians, Turks, and some Caucasians do.

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Women in the Qurʾān: A Brief Analysis of the Discourse on Naming Women by Batool Dasan

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Women in the Qurʾān: A Brief Analysis of the Discourse on Naming Women

Girl Reciting Qur’an by Osman Hamdi Bey (1880) | Wikimedia Commons

There is no doubt that women have an important presence in the Qurʾān. However, while the Muslim Holy Book acknowledges the names of more than 26 men including prophets and well-known figures, there is only one woman named explicitly, “Maryam,” the mother of prophet Isa. There are also about 19 men mentioned implicitly. The phrases “the two sons of Ādam” and “brothers of Yūsuf ” are the only verses in which men are brought up in a social capacity related to another man is an example to this. As for the rest of them, they were referred either as a king, a man from the city, the people of the cave, and so on. The number of women who were implicitly introduced is approximately 17. All of them except for one—who is the Queen of Sheba—were spoken of in their social relation to men as wives, mothers, or daughters. This disparity must be considered. In this short article, I will attempt to scratch the surface to answer the question: Why did the Qurʾān hide women’s names, and why did it reveal the name “Maryam” specifically?

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A Testament to Resilience and Faith: Brief History of African American Muslims by Paige Benner

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Ayouba Suleiman Diallo | Yarrow Mamout | Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori

From boxer Muhammad Ali to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, or civil rights activist Malcom X to basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, there is no shortage of impactful Black Muslims in the United States. While they are an integral part of the Muslim community, both in the US and abroad, too often Black Muslims in the United States go overlooked. African American Muslims make up roughly 20% of the total US Muslim population and have been integral in the history of Islam in the United States, layered by a quest for identity, a struggle for social justice, and breaking away from the legacy of slavery that had defined them.

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Rediscovering the Purpose of Hijab by Nadia Ranginwala

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Image Source: Adobe Stock
(Education License – Standard Image)

We live in an era of extreme convenience, and it’s no surprise this has greatly dulled our capacity for hardship. When people can work remotely, do Instacart groceries, and see what their friends are up to without leaving the premises of home – discomfort becomes a counterculture. It’s easy to lose touch with the value of hardship, a quality that nurtures the soul and draws us closer to Allah SWT. I’ve found that wearing the hijab serves as an act of resistance to this culture of ease, because it pushes us to put our desires second to God. A challenge when our lives have been structured to prioritize ourselves. Unlike praying or fasting, which can be done privately, hijab is a more blatant reminder that some of the most beneficial acts of worship are meant to be uncomfortable and can leave us struggling. And that is okay.

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New Year(s) and Calendars of the Muslim World

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“Months of the Islamic Hijri Calendar”
Image Source: Muslimaid.org

The world has recently entered 2025 per Gregorian calculations, but did you know that according to the Islamic calendar we are in the year 1446; and in 1431 in the Bengali calendar; or in 1403 in the Persian calendar? Or perhaps the year 10067 in the Yoruba calendar? While our understanding of what year we are in and new year celebrations are highly dominated by the Gregorian calendar of the West, other calendars are used either officially or culturally around the globe to mark new beginnings annually. 

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Mary in Islam by Dr. Aaron Ponce

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Kaptan Paşa Camii, mosque in İstanbul’s Üsküdar district (verse 3:37 above mihrab)

Few in Western societies are aware of the importance of Mary in Islam. The Virgin Mary, or Maryam (مريم) in Arabic and Farsi, Meryem in Turkish, is among the most revered women in the Islamic tradition. In comparison to Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS), and other women figures in Islam including Khadija and Asiya, Mary occupies a unique position of both esteem and Qur’anic importance. She is the only woman mentioned directly by name in the Qur’an and has a whole sura (chapter of the Qur’an) named after her, sura 19. Overall, Mary is mentioned over thirty times in the Qur’an. This suggests her importance since often-mentioned figures in the Qur’an form the allegorical foundations of Muslim religious beliefs, and those mentioned most are often considered prophets of God (see below).

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The Deep-Rooted Ties between Portugal and Islam by Paige Benner

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“Mosque Central de Lisbon” | Author’s Personal Collection

Often when Americans think of Europe as a whole, they often associate Christianity and colonization. While this is often the case, there are beautiful cultures that lie within the minority of people in these areas. This concept is especially true in Lisbon, Portugal, a city I was lucky to study abroad in for the month of June this past summer. While I was there, the city’s architecture sparked my curiosity about Muslim culture in the region. Although Islam is no longer the most prominent religion in the area, the county as a whole still has strong reflections of its Islamic past, particularly in its language, cuisine, architecture, and agriculture. As past Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa so elegantly stated, “Islam is in Portugal’s soul”.

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