The Islamic World

Making sense of the complexity of the Islamic world is o nly possible by being a lert to the multiplicities of its diversity. The Islamic world refers to a swathe of na tions, regions, and peoples whose defining feature is adherence to the religion of Islam. While shared religion is a unifying factor, the Islamic world is far from being a composite whole and in many ways defies easy analysis. Indeed, depending upon the prism through which it is viewed, it can appear, almost disappear, or take on markedly different configu rations. Shared faith does not crea te a monolith, rather it raises questions about the weight and balance to be given to the divergent, and at times contending, aspects of a complex reality.