Syed Hamad Ali

Jan 1, 2024 | hechoencalifornia1010.com | Syed Hamad Ali

Every year, Muslims from around the world gather in Makkah for Hajj. Men and women in pilgrim garb circumambulate the Kaaba and perform the sacred rituals enjoined for pilgrims. But the Hajj is more than a religious gathering. For centuries it was the source of cross-cultural exchanges and trade between Arabia and the rest of the Muslim world. A new book that sheds light on this is Hajj Across Empires: Pilgrimage and Political Culture after the Mughals, 1739-1857 by historian Rishad Choudhury.

Dec 31, 2023 | thenationalnews.com | Syed Hamad Ali

Every year, Muslims from around the world gather in Makkah for Hajj. Men and women in pilgrim garb circumambulate the Kaaba and perform the sacred rituals enjoined for pilgrims. But the Hajj is more than a religious gathering. For centuries it was the source of cross-cultural exchanges and trade between Arabia and the rest of the Muslim world. A new book that sheds light on this is Hajj Across Empires: Pilgrimage and Political Culture after the Mughals, 1739–1857 by historian Rishad Choudhury.

Nov 5, 2023 | thenationalnews.com | Syed Hamad Ali

To the untrained eye, an oud might appear as an pear-styled musical instrument with a short neck and strings running along the length. But as Rachel Beckles Willson writes in her introduction to The Oud: An Illustrated History, it is “not just a beautiful pear-shaped box, neck, and strings; rather, it has long been a link to the world of bereavement that allows new voices to be brought to life.

Oct 15, 2023 | thenationalnews.com | Syed Hamad Ali

Over the years, countless books and documentaries have been made about the First World War, with anything of substance presumably already covered on the topic. But historian and economist Ian Rutledge’s new book, Sea of Troubles, manages to take a fresh approach by focusing on the war’s little-known origins in European Imperialism. “The subject of the book is very original, it hasn’t really been explored satisfactorily before,” he tells The National.

Sep 30, 2023 | thenationalnews.com | Syed Hamad Ali

The mid-13th century was a period of terror and upheaval in the Middle East as the Mongols rampaged across areas that are now Iran and Iraq, destroying cities and leaving “towers of skulls” in their wake. Its apotheosis was the fall of Baghdad to the horde in 1258 when a large part of its inhabitants were massacred, with the Abbasid caliph al-Musta’sim rolled up in a carpet and trampled to death.