🌙🏫 Best Muslim business schools?

In a week when 12 Muslim-majority nations qualified for the FIFA World Cup (more on that below), Musletter tried very hard not to start sentences with, ‘Did you hear what Tucker Carlson said…’ and instead adopted the hear-no-evil monkey pose and took some deep breaths. And relax…

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📚 Muslim business school: Who doesn’t love stuff ranked? Well, DinarStandard and SalaamGateway broke out the abacus and identified the top 30 business schools shaping the future leaders of the Islamic economy. The researchers focused on curricula, credibility, and the wider ecosystems the schools offer. Malaysia came in red hot, with nine institutions on the list, including INCEIF University in Kuala Lumpur at #1. The UK’s Durham Business School was at #2, and Universiti Malaya came in third. The UAE had four institutions on the list, with Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Bahrain, and Kuwait also having good showings. Check out the full list here.

🇸🇦 Makkah gets an airport: For anyone who has juggled connections in Jeddah or Medina or booked trains where you can’t take more than a thimble of luggage… well, there’s some good news. At least for the traveler. Not sure about the air quality. Makkah is getting an airport. Oh, and a metro to complement the existing (and very busy) bus system. The roads are getting an upgrade too, with major works on the key links around the Grand Mosque. Feasibility studies are done and dusted, with the hope that private-sector partnerships will ignite the projects quickly and make getting in, out, and around the city much easier, especially during Hajj.

⚽️ Muslim nations at World Cup: It was celebration time as 12 Muslim-majority nations qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Yes, we are going to list them: Türkiye (beating Kosovo), Bosnia and Herzegovina (who defeated the usually-dangerous Italy on penalties), as well as Iraq, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia, and Iran. Phew. And if you don’t want to cheer for a team, then how about an individual? Top of the list is the next-level talent Lamine Yamal, who stood up to anti-Muslim chants from his own country’s fans. So, everything is in place for the tournament, which takes place in… (checks notes). Okay, but at least Canada and Mexico will join the US in hosting games in a kind of North American trio of friends who are no longer talking to each other.

🪵 Exporting oud to the world: Saudi Arabia is elevating oud from a fragrance to a global economic asset as part of its Vision 2030. Nothing says goodbye to oil dependency like a woody, rich scent that the rest of the world wants. And it’s starting to bring in serious money: KSA’s fragrance industry is set to reach $4.93 billion by 2029. But it’s more than the scent; there is growing interest in the culture and stories behind the product. Meanwhile, Saudi and other GCC fragrance exporters are thinking ahead, using sustainable sourcing and biotech solutions as well as creating new, more robust supply chains. The increased global interest is already noticeable, with the Arabian Oud store (which has been making London’s Oxford Street smell way better for years) now opening at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey, complementing its existing branch in NYC’s Times Square.

🇪🇸 Halal tourism in Spain: Spain has launched the Halal Travel Guide to Spain. It’s an interactive guide that blends the past with the present, highlighting Spain’s Islamic heritage while also providing what modern Muslim travelers need – halal restaurants, prayer spaces, and so on. Spain ain’t dumb, the tourism board understands that Muslim travelers are a huge and growing market. And Spain really delivers the goods: Alhambra in Granada, Córdoba’s Great Mosque, and Medina Azahara, and we haven’t even mentioned Seville. Yes, they have lots of stuff. And it’s stunning.

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