Islam liberated men and women from the shackles of slavery and made them masters of the world. The history of the Mamlukes illustrates this observation. In the 9th and 10th centuries, there was a brisk slave trade down the Volga River, near the Caspian Sea. The Vikings raided Europe with unrelenting ferocity in search of booty and slaves. Eastern Europe, fossilized as it was between...

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, during which Muslims observe a month-long fast from dawn to sunset. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam that provides numerous spiritual, physical and social benefits.Spiritual BenefitsRamadan is a time for spiritual reflection, worship and drawing closer to Allah. By practicing self-control through abstaining from food,...

(Adopted with permission from the book, Deeper Roots, Muslims in the Americas and the Caribbean from before Columbus to the Present, by Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick, DPB Printers and Booksellers, Cape Town, South Africa. Those interested in further research are strongly urged to read Dr. Quik’s book.) Ancient America was not isolated from the old world as many historians and...