Matthew Teller

In the Yoyogi district of Tokyo, Japan, stands the ornate Camii Mosque, in a location where there is a blend of cultures—educating locals and creating a harmony among traditions. Islam’s history in Japan is almost entirely recent, with estimates putting the number of Muslims in Japan close to 200,000 amid a national population of 125 million. “The point is to help people acquire the power of interpretation, the intellectual muscles of critical thinking and critical understanding of this world,” says Qayyim Naoki Yamamoto, professor of Islamic studies at Marmara University.

With more than 150 published works, Eland Publishing reflects a worldly eclecticism, from reprints and re-releases of biographies to letters and even comic novels. The London based publishing house has for 40 years brought new life to travel writing.

One of the world's oldest games, mancala needs only two players, some seeds or beads and shallow pits in the earth. Over more than a millennium and under different names, mancala spread out from East Africa, and now there are almost as many variations as there are cultures that enjoy it.

Nearly all modern maps of Jerusalem’s Old City show it divided into four quarters labeled Christian, Muslim, Armenian and Jewish. But the idea that gave rise to these labels dates back only to the mid-19th century and surveys of the city by colonial mapmakers—and specifically to the pen of a young British chaplain.

At once playful and disciplined, Hatiq Mohammed—“Teakster”—uses traditional Islamic motifs, Arabic calligraffiti and deep colors to “join communities together” in public projects of collaborative creativity that energize cultural dialog.

Nearly 470 years ago, the wife of the Ottoman sultan founded this soup kitchen as an endowed religious charity. Ever since, its cooks have arrived before dawn to begin simmering soup to ladle out later to all who come looking for a warm lunch.