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Ahmet Kuru, in his book, suggests that the explanation for the lack of social and political development in the modern world can be traced back to a historical ‘state-ulama alliance’ from the 11th-century Saljuq empire or earlier. From the perspective of an historian, however, this dating displays some empirical problems. It is certain that the state eventually did gain the upper hand over the Muslim intellectuals, at least in the centre of the Ottoman empire. But the process to that point was different. In this comment, a different explanation is proposed that points instead to two crucial factors: the loss of a homogeneous Muslim state with the fall of the caliphate, and the rise of a unified Muslim world, an umma, through the independence, not subservience, of the class of scholars in the mediaeval period of Islam. Thus, a model is proposed that focuses on two turning points: the replacement of the effective caliphate with a fractious system of sultanates in the mid-tenth century, coinciding with the solidification of Islamic thought in a more strictly regulated form both in theology, law and in Sufism. The second moment is ca. 1500, when the period of political fragmentation comes to an end with the Ottoman state unifying the Middle East, flanked by Morocco and Iran, while challenges to the religious orthodoxy begin to grow at the margins. Such a model thus sees the ulama as actors for change as well as for orthodoxy throughout Muslim history, responding to changing developments in social and political contexts.

In non-Muslim parts of the World, the majority of people increasingly link Islam with violence and terrorism. Nevertheless, salam (peace) is a core concept of Islamic spirituality. This chapter therefore tries to find the gaps in our understanding of the relation between Islam and Peace and tries to explain why the contemporary view of Islam as an inherently violent religion should be corrected. Starting from linguistic, theological and historical analysis, the intimate link between Islam and ‘salam’ is described. This is followed by an analysis of contemporary sectarian conflicts and their relationship with the present day geo-politics.

The chapter advances the idea that the ‘monotheism’ is not the driving force behind many of the contemporary conflicts in which Muslims are involved but that the main culprit is a sort of ‘moneytheism’ prevalent both in the East and the West. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the prophet’s original concept of monotheism and its view of God as ‘Ar-Rahman’ in order to propose a way out of our contemporary global cultural tensions and conflicts.