What is ‘Global Islam’? Definitions for a field of inquiry

Abstract

The topic of ‘global Islam’ has become a prominent focus of discussion in both academic and journalistic writing, as well as in broader political discourse. Yet the cumulative effect of this abundance of commentary has been to render the term global Islam increasingly unclear. As a response to this predicament, this essay proposes a working definition of global Islam that may serve to clarify the object/s of study and, in turn, enable future research to make sense of how, where, and when the phenomena originated. Particular attention is given to the necessity of grappling with the plurality and diversity of Islamic practice worldwide, as well as to the practical analytical problems of scale. In this manner, a distinction is made between ‘global Islam’ and ‘world Islam’. Overall, the essay argues that ‘global Islam’ can serve as an analytically precise category for specific religious actors and organizations who operate in the networked places and specific timeframe of modern globalization.