Studying Islam and Muslims in contemporary global society : editor's introduction

Contemporary global society, sometimes referred to as the global community, is where societies of the world come together in one single global village. It is where people from different cultures with diverse skills and needs come to engage and interact with each other, share cultural values and knowledge, and learn about and from each other. In contemporary global society, complex socio-cultural, economic and political dilution and solidification occur simultaneously. It is seen as the natural consequence of globalisation, which is the process of cross-border movement of people and commodities, growing interdependence among nations and cultures, expanding interflow of investment, people and information, and increasing interaction and integration among people, corporations and governments. Due to globalisation, it is often said that we live in, not single societies, but one global society today.