This chapter explores how considerations of private international law affected marriage and gender relations during the Mongol occupation of China, in the Yuan dynasty (1260–1368). I first address matters of jurisdiction and choice of law that arose in Yuan China and border areas when lawsuits involved non-Chinese. It demonstrates the willingness of Mongol Yuan officials to consider non-Chinese law in adjudication and how this process could be complicated by facts on the ground. The section reveals under Mongol rule a form of ‘transnational everyday life’, as other scholars have termed it, and the disadvantages that often accrued to women in these circumstances. Then I demonstrate how the Chinese encounter with Mongol rule and the resulting ‘foreign’ elements introduced into legal practice brought about changes in traditional, codified, Chinese marriage law. Finally, I address the Mongol use of strategic marriages in their interpolity relations both during the united world empire and in the Yuan dynasty. These interpolity marriage relations were crucial to Mongol successes during their conquests and in their efforts to maintain sovereignty over conquered peoples.

This chapter considers Christian converts from Islam who were converted forcibly in the early sixteenth century and known as moriscos. Once Catholic, the moriscos came under the jurisdiction of the Spanish Inquisition. For more than a century, Spanish authorities worried about Moriscos adhering to their former religion and being Christian in name only; Spanish inquisitors investigated and prosecuted them for practicing Islam. The number of trials reached a high point in the second half of the sixteenth century, and only dropped when the monarchy expelled the Moriscos from the Spanish kingdoms between 1609 and 1614. This essay examines how the Spanish Inquisition constructed a model of Islamic heresy that encompassed Morisco cultural traditions. It surveys the rise in inquisitorial prosecution of this population across multiple Spanish regions. It also considers Morisco responses to the Inquisition, including strategies of petitioning and financial negotiation. This chapter assesses what Inquisition records can reveal about Morisco histories, as well as methods for reading beyond inquisitorial perspectives.

This chapter examines the role religion played in the prosecution of the American Revolution. It explains the way that Revolutionary leaders often utilized religious language in their public appeals, translating justifications for rebellion from terms of Enlightenment reason and international law to religious terms. This chapter also demonstrates how the Continental Congress coopted hundreds of American clergymen as spokesmen for the independence. Finally, it demonstrates how religious beliefs – and religious identities – were affected by the Revolution, including conflicts over liturgy and fractures within religious communities over politicized public rituals such as days of fasting and prayer. Although Protestant Christian denominations were the most numerous in the colonies at the time of the Revolution, this chapter considers the experiences of American Catholics and Jews as well.

In an effort to “reform” and fundamentally redefine who gets to call themselves a rights-bearing citizen of India, the BJP government introduced the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). January and February of 2020 saw riots across India over the issue of NRC and CAA. The Indian government made a decision by passing CAA, which stated that Muslims from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh could not become citizens of India. The decision also resulted in the Shaheen Bagh protests where Muslim women organized a dharna, “sit in,” for weeks to protest this draconian decision. NRC/CAA meant that many Muslims who were born in India but could not produce proper documents of being from India would not be regarded as lawful citizens of India. Many Indians below the poverty line have limited access to resources such as literacy that safeguard documentation. These Indians are not limited to their religious backgrounds yet NRC/CAA targets only Muslim citizens. NRC/CAA has led to widespread debate about how citizenship is framed and the legality of the law itself. Leaders of the BJP made several speeches where they framed Muslims as outsiders and “takers” who drain Indian society.

Minoritized groups are often portrayed as “hard to reach” by policymakers yet face myriad obstacles in undertaking – and, in particular, shaping – climate action. For many minoritized communities, the pursuit of climate justice is inherently intertwined with achieving other goals, such as economic, gender, and/or social justice. In this chapter, we examine the experiences of climate actors from Muslim communities in the UK, finding that the politicization of climate action may shape the assumptions of policymakers behind the scenes, generating more effective and inclusive policy outputs. However, this strategy faces complex power inequalities, as Muslims face structural inequalities that hinder, or even threaten, involvement. Muslim communities face a higher probability of arrest when participating in political action, alongside worse conditions following such an arrest. Our interviewees tell us that a wider pursuit of societal justice and alternative forms of politicization beyond protests are integral to achieving more representative and effective climate action for Muslim communities.

This chapter traces the development of perceptions and interactions within the Islamic world of the papacy from the beginnings of Islam in the seventh century until contemporary times. It explores how the first few centuries were marked by ignorance before Christian military victories and political and economic expansion led to increased contacts and knowledge after 1050. It then examines how relations developed between the three great Muslim empires of the early modern world – Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal – and the papacy between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, and well as how contacts expanded from the traditional area of the Mediterranean basin to also encompass Persia and India. Finally, it explores relations in the modern era, including diplomatic contacts between the papacy and the Ottoman sultans in the nineteenth century, the impact of the First World War, and the effects of decolonization on the Islamic world’s relations with the papal curia.

European history has been defined as a field by a notion of Europe – its borders, values, civilization, and nationalities – that is structured by Christianity and its secular legacies. Rather than seeking to globalize the history of Europe by considering the impact of European Christianity on other parts of the world, and how it was impacted by them, this chapter challenges that narrative. It asks how the historiography of Europe can be integrated with the historiographies of Europe’s historic non-Christian populations, namely Jews and Muslims. These are historiographies with their own rhythms, conceptual frameworks, and geographies in which Europe carries quite different connotations. They shift our attention from the north and west to the south and east, enjoining us to think differently about Europe and the diversity that has always existed within it. Separately, these historiographies speak to very different experiences. Taken together, they help us to think differently about the interface between Europe and the world and to write the history of Europe itself against the grain.

The chapter examines principles and values of communication and societal relationships from an Islamic perspective. It highlights the significance of communication in Islam, including language, communication theory, and the principles of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The chapter explores different levels of Islamic communication, cultural influences, and communication within Muslim families across age groups. It addresses the challenges Muslims face in a globalized world and the impact of communication technologies on Islamic culture. The chapter offers health practitioners and educators an insight into effective Islamic-based communication in therapeutic relationships for individuals with regards to addressing mental and physical health issues. This chapter also briefly discusses the contemporary challenges of globalization and communication as it relates to Islamic principles.

This chapter emphasizes the significance of cultural competency and its relevance to health care through an Islamic lens. While Islamic texts do not directly address cultural competence, they highlight principles aligning with its values and highlight the importance of understanding and respecting various cultures. Addressing the health care needs of Muslim patients necessitates a thorough integration of cultural, religious, and spiritual considerations, recognizing the substantial influence of religion and spirituality on health care decisions. This chapter discusses the importance for public health care practitioners to be equipped with the requisite skills and knowledge to cater to the specific needs of Muslim patients and communities and the adherence to religious beliefs and practices. The foundational principles of cultural competencies, deeply rooted in Islamic values, can be universally applied in health care settings, ensuring health care providers are culturally competent and capable of offering culturally congruent care within an Islamic context.

Muslims structure their everyday lives and religious practices around Allah, believing that whatever happens, it is His will. Islam enables Muslims to cope with everyday life, especially when challenges occur, assisting in reducing levels of anxiety and reactive depression. The use of the Qur’an and Islamic teachings and guidance promotes positive religious coping, which is positively associated with desirable mental health and well-being indicators. Western psychiatry and psychology are attempting to move away from a biomedical model of care, but they still struggle to incorporate Islamic teachings and guidance and positive religious coping in treatment planning. Designing culturally competent mental health services involves accommodating and addressing Islamic beliefs and practices of Muslim patients to increase positive religious coping and develop more culturally congruent care.