CONFLICTED

Re-Thinking Islam’s Global History


Listen Later

Islam is often treated as a civilisation apart — self-contained, resistant to modernity, and fundamentally at odds with the West. In this episode, Thomas speaks to Oxford professor James McDougall about why that framing is misleading, and how Islamic history is inseparable from the making of the modern world itself.

Drawing on his new book Worlds of Islam: A Global History, McDougall explains:

  • Why Islamic and Western histories are deeply intertwined rather than civilisationally opposed
  • The extent to which Islam is an imperial and political project
  • Islam’s role in shaping global modernity before European dominance
  • What made European power different in the nineteenth century
  • How the Mongol sack of Baghdad reshaped the geography of the Islamic world
  • The importance of Central Asia, Indonesia, and West Africa to Islamic history
  • The debate over early Islamic sources and why scholarly scepticism has softened
  • Whether today’s tensions reflect a clash of civilizations — or a clash of perspectives

  • Follow James on Instagram: www.instagram.com/jamesrobertmcdougall

    Follow James on Substack: substack.com/@mcdougalljames

    Follow James of Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jamesrmcd.bsky.social


    Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm 

    Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted

    And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted

    And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


    Conflicted is a Message Heard production.

    Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.

    This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    CONFLICTEDBy Message Heard

    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6

    4.6

    450 ratings


    More shows like CONFLICTED

    View all
    In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

    In Our Time

    5,478 Listeners

    Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

    Dan Snow's History Hit

    4,774 Listeners

    The Audio Long Read by The Guardian

    The Audio Long Read

    851 Listeners

    Today in Focus by The Guardian

    Today in Focus

    979 Listeners

    Conflicted: A History Podcast by Evergreen Podcasts

    Conflicted: A History Podcast

    540 Listeners

    The Story by The Times

    The Story

    259 Listeners

    The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

    The Rest Is History

    15,609 Listeners

    This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler by Podmasters

    This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler

    148 Listeners

    The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

    The Rest Is Politics

    3,043 Listeners

    Battleground by Goalhanger

    Battleground

    334 Listeners

    Empire: World History by Goalhanger

    Empire: World History

    2,460 Listeners

    The Rest Is Politics: Leading by Goalhanger

    The Rest Is Politics: Leading

    765 Listeners

    Disorder by Jason Pack & Evergreen Podcasts

    Disorder

    104 Listeners

    The Rest Is Politics: US by Goalhanger

    The Rest Is Politics: US

    2,221 Listeners

    The Rest Is Classified by Goalhanger

    The Rest Is Classified

    1,120 Listeners