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Any aempt to explore the breadth of global history – its cultures, its stories, its people – in 100 pages will inevitably lead to unlikely juxtapositions and fusions. So it is this issue that one of history’s most intractable conflicts, between Israelis and Palestinians, rubs shoulders with a look at how global Islam has adapted to the 21st century, along with the heartrending story of a mother’s grief for her murdered son and that incident’s impact on civil rights movements worldwide.
These are complex, weighty issues, so we have dedicated large sections of this issue to exploring them in depth. From page 44, Matthew Hughes focuses on eight key periods and turning points in the conflict in the Middle East, a struggle that has scarred life for many of the region’s people across generations. This is not a definitive history – with fiercely contested interpretations, it’s impossible to reduce events to a simplistic narrative – but an effort to place a story that is clouded by controversy into a longer historical context.
Another subject that regularly makes headlines is the rise of violent extremist groups claiming to act in the name of Islam. The reasons for this trend, and how the faith should evolve within a 21st century west that can seem at best indifferent to religious belief, are
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among the subjects explored in the latest book from writer and historian Ed Husain. He met fellow expert Tom Holland for a frank and fascinating discussion on these and other questions, which starts on page 72.
The lynching of Emmett Till in Mississippi in 1955, meanwhile, was both a human tragedy and an event around which the global civil rights movement coalesced and gained momentum. From page 62, BBC presenter Maria Margaronis investigates what happened and why it continues to resonate in 2018.
If the past is rich in such diverse stories, the same is certainly also true of the present. This issue’s cover feature explores what happens when these stories run alongside each other, creating new frictions, and asks: how has migration changed the world? A panel of leading experts tackles that topic from page 16.
There’s much else to discover in the issue, too, from
the feats of a female Viking voyager (page 42), to what videogames can tell us about the past (page 54). We will be back from 5 September; for now, enjoy the issue.
Ma Elton Editor, BBC World Histories
Together with two regular titles, the BBC History Magazine team also produces a bi-weekly podcast, live events and a range of special editions exploring specific topics and periods
Available around the world, BBC History Magazine is published 13 times a year in print and many digital editions. Turn to page 91 for our latest subscription offer.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: DAVIDE BONAZZI–SALZMANART. INSIDE FRONT COVER: ALAMY. INSIDE BACK COVER: GETTY IMAGES. THIS PAGE: STEVE SAYERS–THE SECRET STUDIO
Launched in 2016, BBC World Histories complements BBC History Magazine and is published every two months.
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