The physical setting for Ahmad-i Jam’s shrine is sketched. The shrine lay in the middle of a perilous tract of Greater Iran (Iranshahr), one that witnessed the crisscrossing of armies from Europe and Asia. Paradoxically, while post-Mongol Khurasan lay in ruins, the shrine’s first major edifice was erected in 633/1236. Consequent to Ilkhanid-, Kartid-, and Timurid-period benefactions, an eclectic architectural ensemble characterized the shrine, which became a shrine complex. The architectural contours were frozen (ca. 844–46/1440–43). Recent developments – facilitated partly by the Islamic Republic of Iran – have “unfrozen” the architectural contours. The architectural ensemble and the administration of Ahmad-i Jam’s shrine are described.

The chapter reviews the various principles and legal foundations shaping the debate with relation to gene patenting from an Islamic perspective. It analyses the relevant Islamic rules related to the debate including those applicable to property ownership, intellectual property protection and the public interest (Maslaha). As such, the permissibility of gene related activities from an Islamic perspective would be governed by several considerations including its objectives (Maqasid), the public interest considerations, and the ownership model resulting from these activities. The chapter argues that Islamic principles applicable to the ownership of gene patents are yet to be adequately explored and institutionalised within the Muslim states. The chapter concludes that there is an urgent need for legal reform in this field in Islamic countries.