476 forests and forestry: The Islamic World wood, but the dowels of a mushrabiya were set loosely in holes in the oval balls so that they could expand and contract freely The mushrabiya was used to filter light through windows and often decorated balconies, from which the latticework gets its name (Mushrabiya means “balcony.”) The mountain ranges in the far north of Africa had forests because the ground was too steep and rocky for herding cattle, sheep, or goats Although the ancient Romans had much depleted the wildlife of the Atlas Mountains, those mountains retained enough game to be a favorite hunting spot for Islam’s social elite The Atlas cedar (also known as the Atlantic cedar) was the fastest growing of cedars, and it seems to have been quick to take advantage of any open spaces in the mountains The Syrian juniper was found all along the northern mountains of North Africa Trade had existed for centuries between the northern reaches of North Africa and the peoples of western Africa and central Africa Islam found its way into two notable kingdoms south of the Sahara: Ghana, which existed from about 700 to 1200, and Mali, which existed from about 1200 to 1500 Recent research indicates that Ghana was mostly Muslim among its aristocrats and royalty but not among commoners On the other hand, Mali’s population probably was mostly Muslim Both kingdoms occupied grasslands and parts of forests The people who lived in the forests seem to have been fiercely independent, and they guarded the mysteries of their lives even from government officials Most secretive of all were the gold miners The gold miners hid themselves from outsiders as much as they could, and they took such great care in hiding the locations of their mines that it seems no outsiders ever figured out where they were; even today archaeologists are uncertain of their exact locations Sometimes intrepid Muslim traders or explorers ventured into the forests around Ghana and Mali, with some choosing to remain in forest villages Many Muslims could read and write, and many societies in the forest regarded being able to write as a source of spiritual power Muslims could become oracles in forest villages, free to propagate their faith There seems to have been constant friction between those who made their livings exploiting the bounty of the forest and those who wished to burn it down in order to create grazing or farming land There were several hundred species of trees and plants in those forests at the edge of the western African Islamic world The kola nut tree, the baobab, the Portia tree, the tamarind, the ackee, the Meru oak, the dita bark, the sausage tree, the Senegal date palm, and the African oil palm were some of the useful trees of the forest Of these, the kola nut, the baobab, the Senegal date palm, and the tamarind were the most important Growing in the humid lowlands along the shore of western Africa, the kola nut produced a seed that was chewed for the stimulation its caffeine provided, and chewing it was considered medicinal The baobab grew all the way from the west coast to the east coast of Africa Its fruit was edible, and its bark was used to make rope The Senegal date palm grew in open woodlands and along streams, making it accessible to people coming from the outside into the forest Its orange fruit was eaten, made into wine, and used in cooking The tamarind grew throughout the forests south of the Sahara The wood of the tamarind was used as timber, and its fruit was used for juice as well as in cooking Although much of the old forest had been eliminated during classical times, there were mountains where trees thrived but with terrain that was difficult for people to exploit There were the common yew tree, the wych elm, the cork oak, the English oak, the hawthorn, and the common ash Yew wood was used for furniture; the wych elm’s dense wood was used for shipbuilding; the English oak grew in lowlands, and its wood was used for building, furniture, and decoration; the hawthorn was dense and hardy and was used to form windbreaks and enclosures for animals; the common ash provided durable white wood that was used for anything that had to endure rough handling Of particular importance was the cork oak, the bark of which yielded cork These trees lived for more than 300 years and appeared not only in mountain forests but in orchards as well In India, Muslim conquerors found a forest-management system already in existence, and differences in how Muslims and Hindus believed forests should be treated were a steady source of friction between the two groups As Muslims fought their way through northwest India into the heart of India, they encountered vast forests of many different species of tree For about 2,000 years a caste of foresters had tended the forests, charged by tradition with managing the harvesting of trees and the hunting of game The Hindus believed that trees could be inhabited by usually benevolent spirits who could tell people the future Thus, the spirit of each tree had to be given an apology before harvesting because moving to a new tree was a tremendous inconvenience for the spirit Moreover, it was an important part of Hindu ritual to replant places where trees had been cut down By and large such beliefs and activities were nonsense to Muslims, for whom apologizing to tree spirits was paganism The process of accommodation between the two faiths on the matter of caring for forests took well beyond the medieval era to reach a state where both Muslims and Hindus believed they were in agreement In Muslim-governed lands of India the forests provided numerous products As had been the case under Hindu governments, most of the products were controlled by the government Timber was harvested for use in local building and