The Golden Age of Cats: The Medieval Middle East, Muezza and the Mark of Muhammad (or Mary)

6 Degrees of Cats

We all know cats were considered gods (well, god-adjacent) in ancient Egypt - but did you know that nearly 2 billion people in today's world still consider them in connection to their religion? Find out more here at 6 Degrees of Cats, the world's #1 cat-themed culture, history and science podcast.

In this episode, we set sail across oceans of, um, water and time to Islam's Golden Age, a period marked by innovation and artistic brilliance in the Near East aka the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) aka Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA).

Religious scholar Dr. Megan Goodwin sets us up for this historical journey by providing historical context for Europe's Dark Ages and their misguided anti-feline decrees.

She is joined by Dr. Ali Olomi, our Islamic history expert, as he unpacks the significance of cats in the region during that era and sheds light on why they continue to hold a special place in the Islamic world. Discover the profound connection between caring for cats, all animals, and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, as demystified by Dr. Olomi.

Season 1's guest, Catholicism researcher René Ostberg, shares a delightful anecdote affirming our podcast's theme that everything is interconnected.

Come for the fascinating cat facts, and stay for the enlightening exploration of Islam's Golden Age (which was also a Golden Age for Cats, at least on that side of the world.)

Complete our anonymous LISTENER SURVEY and sign up for a limited edition free 6 Degrees of Cats postcard! Go to https://tinyurl.com/6Doc-postcard23

Support the podcast, sign up for The Captain’s Log, the companion podcast newsletter and learn about way$ to help keep this ship afloat for our next season here: linktr.ee/6degreesofcats.

• Photo of Binky’s “M

Referenced episodes:

• Witches, Whiskers and Whisky: Re-introducing the Original Cat Lady of Halloween!
• A Mother’s Tail: Introducing St. Gertrude, the Patron Saint of Cats (and Her Mom)

About the experts:

• Ali A. Olomi, Ph.D., is a writer, historian, and podcaster of Middle East and Islamic history. He is Assistant Professor of History at Loyola Marymount University, an Affiliated Scholar with the Rutgers Center for Security, Race, and Rights and the host of “Head on History”, a podcast on Islamic intellectual history. Dr. Olomi can be followed on all social media @aaolomi
• Megan Goodwin, Ph.D., is the host of the hit podcast “Keeping it 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion” and author of “Abusing Religion: Literary Persecution, Sex Scandals, and American Minority Religions” (Rutgers University Press). She can be followed on X/Twitter @mpgphd
• René Ostberg, M.S., is a Chicago-based writer and researcher who specializes in Catholic culture whose writing has appeared in many publications such as National Catholic Reporter and Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Producer, writer, editor, sound designer, host, basically everything*

• Captain Kitty (Amanda B.)

* with co-executive producers Binky & Snuggles

Animal voices include:

• Binky & Snuggles _^..^_

Music:

• Leathered: "Look Alive" © 2022
• Samples licensed via Loopcloud
• Additional sound effects from Pixabay.com

Logo design:

• Edward Anthony © 2024 (Instagram: @itsmyunzii)

Research used:

• A&E Television Networks. (2023, June 6). Middle ages - definition, Timeline & Facts. History.com. https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/middle-ages
• Arabian Peninsula, 1000–1400 A.D.: Chronology: Heilbrunn Timeline of art history: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. (n.d.). https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/07/wap.html
• Blakemore, E. (2023, June 6). What life in Medieval Europe was really like. History. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/what-life-in-medieval-europe-was-really-like
• Chism, C. (2009, March). Arabic in the Medieval World. Modern Language Association, 124(2), 624-631.
• Dash, M. (2013, July 22). Islam’s medieval underworld. Smithsonian.com. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/islams-medieval-underworld-15821520/
• Hoh, A. (2017, October 26). A Thousand and One nights: Arabian story-telling in world literature: 4 corners of the world. A Thousand and One Nights: Arabian Story-telling in World Literature. https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2017/10/a-thousand-and-one-nights-arabian-story-telling-in-world-literature/
• Moritz, B. M. (2019, February 25). Tycho Brahe - “those who study the stars, have god for a teacher.” Science meets Faith. https://sciencemeetsfaith.wordpress.com/2018/10/24/tycho-brahe-those-who-study-the-stars-have-god-for-a-teacher/
• Nicolaou, E. (2019, May 24). The origin story of “Aladdin” is far wilder than you know. Is Aladdin Based On True Story? Surprising Myth Origins. https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/05/233443/is-aladdin-true-story-real-legend
• Ortega, R. (2023, October 27). National Black Cat Day 2023: Why do people struggle to trust them?. MARCA. https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/us-news/2023/10/27/653be17a46163f9c518b458c.html
• Prager, S. (2020, June 10). In Han Dynasty China, bisexuality was the norm. JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/in-han-dynasty-china-bisexuality-was-the-norm/
• Sheldon, N. (2021, April 17). “Thou shalt not suffer a cat to live”: Why pope Gregory IX’s Vox in Rama implicated cats in devil worship. History Collection. https://historycollection.com/thou-shalt-not-suffer-a-cat-to-live-why-pope-gregory-ixs-vox-in-rama-implicated-cats-in-devil-worship/
• Yale School of Medicine. (2005, September 15). From the Middle East, in the Middle Ages. Yale School of Medicine. https://medicine.yale.edu/news/yale-medicine-magazine/article/from-the-middle-east-in-the-middle-ages/
• Yuko, E. (2023, August 9). How Cats Became Divine Symbols in Ancient Egypt. History.com. https://www.history.com/news/cats-ancient-egypt
• Zeitlin, J. T. (1997). Historian of the strange pu songling and the Chinese Classical Tale. Stanford University Press.