The Borders of Islam: Exploring Samuel Huntington's Faultlines from Al-Andalus to the Virtual Ummah »

Stig Jarle Hansen, a specialist in Islamic philosophy and political Islam in Somalia, is a senior researcher at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) in Oslo.

Atle Mesoy is a researcher in political Islam.

Tuncay Kardas teaches at Sakarya University in Turkey where he specializes in Turkish security, political theory, and Islam.

In The Clash of Civilizations, Samuel Huntington argued that the borders between Western and Islamic civilizations would one day become the loci of cultural conflict. The statements of Osama Bin-Laden would seem to support this view. "This battle is not between al-Qaeda and the U.S.," he famously said in October of 2001. "This is a battle of Muslims against the Global Crusaders."

These specially commissioned essays critically examine the virtual and actual borders of Islamic civilization. Contributors concentrate on local dynamics and whether they support or contradict an emerging global confrontation between Islam and its Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, and secular neighbors. They consider borders that host Muslim majorities (Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Somalia, Pakistan, and Turkey), those that have significant Muslim minorities (Phillipines, Nigeria, and India), and those that reflect new faultlines created by migration to France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Spain or by advances in technology. Essays explore the rise of international Salafi jihadism and whether it can be traced to countries that straddle the Islamic and non-Islamic world. In conclusion, the contributors argue that mechanisms far more complex than those described in Huntington's Clash of Civilizations influence many border regions, suggesting that, while poverty and institutional failure heighten religious awareness and practice, the actual effects of these phenomena are entirely different.

Preface and Acknowledgements Stig Jarle Hansen Hansen, Stig Jarle Atle Mesoy Mesoy, Atle Tuncay Kardas Kardas, Tuncay

Introduction Huntington and "Islam's bloody borders" Stig Jarle Hansen Hansen, Stig Jarle Atle Mesoy Mesoy, Atle Tuncay Kardas Kardas, Tuncay 1

Region I Asia and the Middle East: Borders at the Centre of Islam? Stig Jarle Hansen Hansen, Stig Jarle 15

Ch. 1 Israel/Palestine-Multiple Agendas and Division Lines Andrew Rigby Rigby, Andrew Jorgen Johansen Johansen, Jorgen 23

Ch. 2 Lebanon-Between "Clash" and Coexistence Hicham Bou Nassif Nassif, Hicham Bou 35

Ch. 3 Afghanistan - "Friction" between Civilizations Antonio Giustozzi Giustozzi, Antonio 51

Ch. 4 Pakistan - Have the Chickens Come Home to Roost? Kavita Khory Khory, Kavita 65

Ch. 5 Indonesia - The Radicalization of Islam Kirsten Schulze Schulze, Kirsten 83

Ch. 6 Philippines - "Civilizational" or Colonial Border? Ben Reid Reid, Ben 99

Region II Africa, the Crescent of Islam Stig Jarle Hansen Hansen, Stig Jarle 111

Ch. 7 Nigeria - Islamist Activism and Religious Conflicts Sakah Mahmud Mahmud, Sakah 115

Ch. 8 Somalia - Grievance, Religion, Clan, and Profit Stig Jarle Hansen Hansen, Stig Jarle 127

Ch. 9 Ethiopia - On the Borders of Christianity Terje Ostebo Ostebo, Terje 139

Ch. 10 Sudan - Trying to Understand its "Multiple Marginality" Gerard Prunier Prunier, Gerard 155

Region III The "Old" European Border Stig Jarle Hansen Hansen, Stig Jarle 169

Ch. 11 Chechnya - How War Makes Jihad James Hughes Hughes, James 173

Ch. 12 Turkey - Secularism, Islam and the EU Tuncay Kardas Kardas, Tuncay 191

Ch. 13 Bosnia - Religion and Identity Svein Monnesland Monnesland, Svein 211

Ch. 14 Spain -The Al Andalus Legacy Elena Arigita Arigita, Elena 223

Region IV The New Borders Atle Mesoy Mesoy, Atle 235

Ch. 15 Britain - Rejecting Western Modernity? Dominique Thomas Thomas, Dominique 239

Ch. 16 France - The Clash of Civilizations? Farhad Khosrokhavar Khosrokhavar, Farhad 249

Ch. 17 Scandinavia - Alienation or Integration? Atle Mesoy Mesoy, Atle Stig Jarle Hansen Hansen, Stig Jarle 261

Ch. 18 The United States of America-American Muslim Exceptionalism Allen D. Hertzke Hertzke, Allen D. 271

Ch. 19 A Virtual Border Conflict Stephen Ulph Ulph, Stephen 289

Conclusion Stig Jarle Hansen Hansen, Stig Jarle Atle Mesoy Mesoy, Atle 309

Glossary 317

Endnotes 321

Contributors 377

Index 381