Politics and Society in the Islamic World. Polityka i społeczeństwo w świecie islamu

Izabela Kończak, Magdalena Lewicka, Marta Widy-Behiesse

As we prepare this book for publication, the enthusiasm for the «Arab Spring» has proved entirely misguided. The situation across the Middle East is now more dangerous than it has been for half a century. Tunisia’s revolution sparked a string of regional uprisings which ousted the rulers of Egypt, Libya and Yemen, leading to chaos in Egypt and anarchy in Libya, as well as to conflict in Syria. Several major world powers have become embroiled in the latter and the conflict evolved into full scale war. Although Bashar al-Assad of Syria still has control over some territories due to his secret police and the armed forces, he cannot, and probably has no interest in stopping the expansion of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) - a Salafi militant organization born in 2014 in the political vacuum in Iraq left by the fall of Saddam Hussein. With thousands of migrants fleeing conflict-torn countries of the Middle East, Europe is currently struggling to cope with a massive refugee influx, although the vast majority of the refugees have remained in the region, especially in the camps in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Some European countries, including Germany and Sweden, opened their gates to refugees, while others (i. e. Poland and Hungary) refused to take the migrants. Undoubtedly, the migrant crisis has been feeding xenophobia and political populism - anti-immigrant sentiment was one of the reasons why the British voted to leave the European Union in referendum held in June, 2016.  

The Islamic World in Contemporary and Historical Perspective / Świat islamu w perspektywie współczesnej i historycznej

Izabela Kończak, Magdalena Lewicka, Agata S. Nalborczyk

What is and where is the Islamic World in 2019? If we understand the Islamic World as all Muslim-majority countries, according to the Pew Research Center (2015) we would find 50 such countries with a total population of over 1.8 billion. The highest percentage (91%) of the total population in a region considering themselves Muslim, can be found in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA). The starting point of Muslim history would be the prophet Muhammad’s revelation in the 7th century, followed by the Islamic Golden Age (8th–14th centuries), when Muslims were ahead of the rest of the world in the arts, science, philosophy, and technology. This period is still remembered and cherished with pride by both Sunni and Shia Muslims, the two biggest denominations within Islam, which – despite common misconceptions in the West – is not a monolith but splits into different religious schools and branches. The modern era has been marked by the more or less direct colonial domination of European powers which left its legacy in many states belonging now to the Islamic world. Much of today’s turmoil in the MENA region has its roots in the colonial times and the fault lines drawn by the European politicians. However, the blame cannot be wholly assigned to external powers: the list of factors contributing to the Middle East’s present complex and often difficult situation is long and includes many internal issues.