History

The queen of Egyptian music and an undisputed Arab icon, Umm Kulthum's voice continues to echo throughout the region's coffee shops, concert halls and living rooms. Recently voted as one of the world's greatest singers, we take stock of her legacy.

Ibn Sina is a giant of academia. A master of humanities, law, science and medicine, his contributions to knowledge have rippled for millennia. Now known for pioneering the quarantine technique, we take a brief look at some of his huge achievements.

Sufism's tradition, zeal and diversity in the Subcontinent have made it an essential part of modern India. Previously revered, now isolated, the Sufi way of life is nonetheless experiencing a resurgence, with public works emphasising its importance.

Muslim polymath Al-Biruni was a giant of science. The first to calculate the Earth's radius, and the first to describe how the Earth rotated on an axis around the Sun, much of the advances credited to the Renaissance can be traced back to Al-Biruni.

It's easy to forget the essential role medicine and surgery have played in humanity's survival. But this status could have been easily different had it not been for the countless advances made by Al Zahrawi, known as 'the father of modern surgery'.

Thought you knew the history of flying? Think again. Rather than 15th century Italy, the history of human flying dates back to 9th century Cordoba with the inventions of polymath Abbas ibn Firnas. This is his remarkable, horizon-stretching story.

Negotiating social media algorithms has become a vital currency for the 21st century. But who was the man who created such ingenuity? To answer this, we have to cast our minds back to 9th-century Baghdad and learn about the genius of Al-Khwarizmi.

A beacon of intellectual development, Baghdad's House of Wisdom provided welcome shelter for academics across the Arab region for centuries. Ufuk Necat Tasci takes stock of the library's influence and ponders the library's continued importance today.