Buried Treasure

In the season for anniversary retrospectives, Juan Cole – professor of history at the University of Michigan and president of the Global Americana Institute – has done a great service by compiling a list of the "Top Ten Good News Stories from the Muslim World in 2009 that You Never Heard About."

 

There are some interesting bits in there about political, social, and economic progress in unexpected places. Case in point, holding down the #10 spot is an item about the unveiling of Saudi Arabia's first co-ed university, a remarkable moment for a nation still living under one of strictest forms of sharia law. Cole comments that, "It may seem a small thing, but many big social processes start small. Most Americans forget that Princeton U. did not become coed until 1969."

 

You can find the rest of the list here. Definitely worth a read if you're in the mood for some revealing stories that failed to attract much media attention over the past year.