Hadir al-Alam al-Islami

Author died
1432 AH
Editions
Matabi' al-Dajwi

Hadir al-Alam al-Islami (The Present State of the Islamic World) is a contemporary political and geopolitical study by the Egyptian scholar Ali Juraysha (d. 1432 AH / 2011 CE), surveying the strategic, ideological, socioeconomic, and political conditions of the Muslim world as well as its contemporary crises.

Purpose and Methodology

Juraysha noted in his introduction that he undertook the work to provide an up-to-date reference on the state of the Muslim world, observing that no comprehensive study had appeared since Lothrop Stoddard’s The New World of Islam (translated into Arabic by Ajaj Nuwayhid with commentary by Shakib Arslan).

The author based his study on firsthand observation, published data, geographic and economic statistics, and field accounts received from active liberation movements, including representatives of the Moro National Liberation Front, the Pattani movement, and Palestinian fighters. Juraysha emphasized an objective approach focused on structural causes and remedies rather than personal polemics, frequently omitting specific names from his source citations to maintain analytical focus.

Structure and Contents

The book is arranged into an introductory section followed by two main parts:

  • Introductory Part (الباب التمهيدي): Discusses the strategic status and global position of the Muslim world across three dimensions: geographic, jurisprudential (fiqhi), and political. It highlights the Muslim world's central geographical location, waterways, human capital, and agricultural and mineral resources (such as oil and iron).
  • Part One: The Reality of the Islamic World (واقع العالم الإسلامي): Divided into four chapters covering the intellectual, political, social, and economic spheres. The intellectual chapter critiques ideological inroads into the Muslim world, including Western colonialist and Marxist influences. The political chapter analyzes the collapse and absence of the Islamic Caliphate, neo-colonial dependency, and departures from Islamic governance.
  • Part Two: Contemporary Islamic Issues (قضايا إسلامية معاصرة): Arranged into three chapters:
    1. Usurped Lands (أوطان سليبة): Covers the historical loss of al-Andalus, the occupation of Palestine, and Muslim populations under communist rule in the Soviet Union, China, and elsewhere.
    2. Lands Engaged in Struggle (أوطان تجاهد): Examines active conflicts, specifically focusing on Afghanistan, Eritrea, and Southeast Asian regions.
    3. Lands Facing Imminent Threats (أوطان يتهددها الخطر): Assesses political and sectarian vulnerabilities in Indonesia, Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon.

Publication History

The work has been published in multiple editions across the Arab world, including a third edition published by Dar al-Mujtama' in Jeddah (1408 AH / 1988 CE) and a fourth edition issued by Maktabat Wahba in Cairo (1991 CE).

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