In the 14th century, Chinese rice traveled with Timur to North India, Central Asia, and Iran, and until only recently was a regional specialty or luxury item in other parts of the world . Eggplants and melons were transplants to the Middle East from India. In the 18th and 19th centuries, tomatoes, peppers, green beans and paprika migrated from the New World to Spain, then straight-way to the Ottoman Empire.
Foods migrate, and so do spiritual teachings.
The inner kernel of all revealed religions, ripening in the revelation of Muhammad, Sufism is a spiritual path rooted in full participation in everyday life. Its mystical teachings traveled from Arabia to Iran, Mesopotamia and Central Asia, and thereafter to Africa, Anatolia, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Albania, Bosnia, France, England, and North and South America. Sufi customs have developed within various cultures, with shared elements resulting from Sufism s roots in Islam. The flavor of each Sufi community is taken from the flavor of the culture from which it grew, and from the emphasis of its founder and leaders. However, millions of people throughout the world have found in the traditions of Sufism a path for the fulfillment of their life s purpose, opening their hearts in praise and remembrance of God.