Before global maps… before nation-states… before the modern world took shape…
In this seventh episode of The Mosaic Chat, we enter a moment when faith begins to travel across oceans and continents, carried by ships, empires, and new ambitions.
From the fifteenth century onward, European powers expand beyond their borders, driven by trade, curiosity, and a sense of religious mission. Exploration becomes conquest, and conquest often goes hand in hand with evangelisation. New worlds are encountered, but also transformed, as local cultures and beliefs are reshaped under imperial influence.
At the same time, the Islamic world continues to evolve across vast territories, while facing new political and military pressures. Empires adapt, reform, and sometimes weaken, opening the way for new forms of political organisation and identity.
Across these shifting landscapes, religious communities move, settle, and redefine themselves. Eastern Christian minorities, Muslim societies, and Jewish populations each navigate a changing world shaped by both opportunity and constraint.
From the emergence of Zionism and the return to Palestine, to the gradual collapse of empires and the rise of nation-states, a new global order begins to take form. Political borders increasingly reflect centuries of religious history, migration, and conflict.
At the same time, another transformation unfolds. Scientific discovery offers new ways of understanding the world, adding a new layer to how humanity interprets existence alongside faith and tradition.
Understanding this moment helps us see how today’s world was shaped at the intersection of religion, power, and exploration, and how these forces continue to influence identities and tensions across the Middle East and North Africa.
🎙 A conversation with Pauline Berthaud and Tomer Attias.
📖 Inspired by Abramundi: Manifesto for the Creation of an Abrahamic Alliance in the Middle East and North Africa
