STORY OF POLITICAL ISLAM
Global Affairs Session 76 11 August 2026 STORY OF POLITICAL ISLAM Muslims, Arabs, Religion & Politics Session 76 explains political Islam as a broad and varied field rather than a single ideology. It distinguishes Islam, Muslim and Arab identities; surveys the spectrum and major strands of political Islam; explains Muslim, Arab and GCC groupings; examines the Sunni–Shia divide and the memory of Karbala; and ends with the persistent fractures and regional organisations shaping the Muslim world. The presentation opens with the 2026 Mecca Joint Defence Agreement as an immediate geopolitical context.