The Islamic World and the Mediterranean: From Colonial Legacy to Political and Cultural Interdependence

This collection investigates the conflictual relationship between the Islamic world and Western civilization, looking at its history as key to understanding its present. The historical narrative starts from the controversial encounter that took place at the close of the 18th century, the effort being to improve our understanding of that engagement and its current implications, focusing in particular on how it has affected law, philosophy, and religion. The subsequent age of 19th-century colonialism is analysed with a view to understanding the currents of mutual influence that throughout that era ran between Islam and the Western world, looking at the law and the institutions, as well as at different strains in the culture. This discussion provides the backdrop against which the book turns a critical eye on current Euro-Mediterranean relations, highlighting the need to move beyond the conditionality principle that has traditionally been a cornerstone of European policy toward Arab Muslim peoples and to set this relationship on a new foundation, one that recognizes the interdependency between these two areas, making it possible to open up a Mediterranean space of mutual recognition among all its peoples. The book will be of interest to researchers and academics working in the areas of legal and political history, comparative law, legal philosophy, law and religion, and Islamic studies.

Gustavo Gozzi is an Alma Mater honorary professor at the University of Bologna, Italy.