Columbus's historic voyage emerged from a navigational and map-making legacy that owed much to Arab explorers and scholars. Had he paid greater heed to these sources, his mistakes would have been fewer.

In the Bronze Age, tin was as important a commodity as oil is today. Archeologist Aslihan Yener was convinced she would find ancient tin mines in Turkey that an army of skeptics claimed never existed.

To bring Muslim nations together through sports, foreign ministers of 42 Muslim states organized the Islamic Games—which opened last fall in Izmir, and in 1983 may be held in Saudi Arabia.

The new Faysal Mosque is both an engineering marvel and a work of art. Combining elegance, strength and serenity, this colossal structure attracts worshipers from across Pakistan and around the world.

New-wave filmmakers in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco are challenging America's Hollywood-dominated film industry, creating original movies with universal themes that appeal to global audiences.

A self-described jack-of-all-trades, this celebrated American Muslim calligrapher and instrument-maker has mastered an array of medieval skills and breathed new life into arts and technologies of old.