Nile Green

‘Why am I a historian of global Islam? I try to understand how different cultures do, and don’t, understand each other.’

Waning Crescent: The Rise and Fall of Global Islam by Faisal Devji charts how colonialism and nationalism propelled the Muslim world into modern history.

Industrial Birmingham was an important stop on the grand tours of various Muslim rulers, all eager to learn from the city of a thousand trades.

Britain’s dearth of Afghan informants provided an opportunity for a disinherited Indian prince and his son to present themselves as an authentic conduit to the Muslim world. Soon they were advising the nation on subjects from geopolitics to the powers of the occult.