ISLAM IN THE MODERN WORLD
At the height of European colonial expansion in the 19th century, most of the Islamic world was under colonial rule with the exception of a few regions such as the heart of the Ottoman empire, Persia, Afghanistan, Yemen and certain parts of Arabia. But even these areas were under foreign influence, or, in the case of the Ottomans, under constant threat.
After the First World War with the break up of the Ottoman Empire, a number of Arab states such as Iraq became independent, others like Jordan were created as new entity, and yet others like Palestine, Syria and Lebanon were either mandated or turned into French colonies.
As for Arabia, it was at this time that Saudi Arabia became finally consolidated. As for other parts of the Islamic world, Egypt which had been ruled by the descendants of Muhammad Ali since the 19th century became more independent as a result of the fall of the Ottomans, Turkey was turned a secular republic by Ataturk, and the Pahlavi dynasty became a new chapter in Persia where its name reverted to its eastern traditional form of Iran. But most of the rest of the Islamic world remained under colonial rule.
Arab: It was only after the Second World War and the dismemberment of the British, French, Dutch and Spanish empires that the rest of the Islamic world gained its independence. In the Arab world Syria and Lebanon became independent at the end of the war so too Libya and the sheikdoms around the Gulf and the Arabian Sea by the 1960's. The North African countries of Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria had to fight a difficult, and in the case of Algeria, long and protracted war to gain their freedom which did not come until a decade later for Tunisia and Morocco and two decades for Algeria. Only Palestine did not become independent but but was partitioned in 1948 with the establishment of the state of Israel.
India: In India Muslims participated in the freedom movement against British rule along with Hindus and when independence finally came in 1947, they were able to create their own homeland, Pakistan, which came into being for the sake of Islam and became the most populated Muslim state although many Muslims remained in India. In 1971, however, the two parts of the state broke up, East Pakistan became Bangladesh.
Far East: Farther east still, the Indonesians finally gained their independence from the Dutch and the Malays theirs from the Britain. At first Singapore was part of Malaysia but it separated in 1963 to become an independent state. Small colonies still persisted in the area and continued to seek their independence, the Kingdom of Brunei becoming independent as recently as 1984.
Africa: In Africa also, major countries with large or majority Muslim populations such as Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania began to gain their independence in the 1950's and 1960's with the result that by the end of the decade of the 60's most parts of the Islamic world were formed into independent national states. They were however exceptions. The Muslims states in the Soviet Union failed to gain their autonomy or independence. The same holds true for Sinkiang ( called Eastern Turkestan by Muslim geographers ) while in Eritrea and the southern Philippines Muslim independence movements still continue.
National States: While the world of Islam has entered into the modern world in the form of national states, continuous attempts are being made to create closer co-operation within the Islamic world as a whole and to bring about greater unity. This is seen not only in the meetings of the Muslim heads of states and the establishment of the OIC ( Organization of Islamic Countries ) with its own secretariat, but also in the creations of institutions dealing with the with the whole of the Islamic world. Among the most important of these is the Muslim World League ( Rabitat-al-alam-al-Islami ) with its headquarters in Makkah. Saudi Arabia has in fact played a pivotal role in the creations and maintenance of such organizations.
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