By ALEXANDER DOLITSKY
May 22, 2026 – Islam, the youngest of man’s great universal religions, is also in many ways the simplest and most explicit. It venerates a single, all-powerful God. Its founder, Mohammed (570-632 A.D.), was neither savior nor messiah, but one through whom God chose to speak. Its faith concerns itself as much with man’s behavior in this world as with his fate in the hereafter.
Unlike those ancient religions which evolved slowly from legendary origins, Islam came into being in the full light of history and spread with hurricane speed. Indeed, within a few years of Mohammed’s death in 632 AD, it had overwhelmed the entire Middle East; within another century its dominance extended from Gibraltar Strait to the Himalayas Mountains. Today, its adherence, 2.1 billion strong, encompasses over 25% of the total population on the earth (nearly 8.3 billion people).
Islam’s massive early growth stems from a mix of historical circumstances, the power vacuum in the Mediterranean, and the relentless energy and tactical skill of Arab armies pushing beyond their borders. Nevertheless, its continued strength and durability, for some, derive from the nature of its structure—simple, lucid and affirmative—which has preserved the unity of Islam through nearly 1,400 years. Islam is more than a formal religion; it is an all-pervasive way of life, guiding thought and action to a degree without parallel in Western world. A key to its power lies in the word “Islam” which means “submission”—i.e., to the will of God. The word “Muslim” is derived from the same root, hence “one who submits.”
Each true Muslim, therefore, lives always face to face with God, wherever his “prayer rug” may lie is the same of Allah (“the one God”). To the Muslim believer, religion and life, faith and politics are inseparable. The conviction that God is omnipresent (ever-present) ruler, and omniscient (all-knowing) judge imparts to Muslims around the world a dignity and confidence that have rendered them impervious to both adversity and apostasy. In the broadest sense, Islam is a brotherhood of men under God (Allah), transcending barriers of race and nation, united in an organized effort to execute God’s will.
Another bulwark of Islam’s dogma is its assurance that utterances of Mohammed as preserved in the Koran and other less sacred Muslim writings, represent the final and absolute expression of the will of God. To the Muslims, they supersede all previous revelations and confirm the truths of the Old and New Testaments. According to Koran, the God of Islam, Allah, is also the God of Judaism and Christianity.
However, in Muslim eyes his word was incompletely expressed in the earlier scriptures and fulfilled only in the Koran. In the same way, Islam revers the biblical prophets from Abraham and Christ, contending only Mohammed was last and greatest—the Seal of the Prophets. Denying the identity of Christ, Islam also repudiated attempts to defy Mohammed who insisted that he was a man chosen to be spokesman of God.
From the Cold War to Islamic expansion worldwide
The Cold War (1946–1991) and the expansion of Islamic movements—particularly from the late 1970s onward—represent two distinct, yet often overlapping, periods of geopolitical restructuring and ideological conflict. While the Cold War was a bipolar struggle between secular capitalism and communism, the latter involved a rise in ideological fervor focused on religious, political, and cultural identity.
Parallels and Overlaps
The Afghanistan Turning Point: The Soviet-Afghan War (1979–1989) served as the primary bridge, where US containment policy supported Mujahideen fighters, which inadvertently fostered the rise of global “Jihadism.”
Proxy Warfare: Both eras utilized regional proxies. The Cold War saw disputes in Vietnam or Cuba, while the post-1979 “Islamic Cold War” (often characterized by Saudi-Iranian rivalry) featured competition for influence in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
Failed Containment: Just as the US aimed to contain Soviet expansion, the rise of radical Islamic ideologies often emerged from the vacuum left after the Cold War’s end in 1991.
Key Differences
Nature of Conflict: The Cold War was characterized by tensions between two state superpowers, whereas Islamic expansion involves non-state actors and ideological movements that challenge state structures.
Targeting: Cold War conflict was primarily political and territorial (e.g., dividing Europe, geopolitical influence in South America), while the later rise of militant Islamism often targets cultural, religious, and secular institutions, presenting a different type of threat to international security.
Theological Foundation: The Islamic expansion, particularly the rise of sectarian divides between Sunni and Shia-led factions (Saudi Arabia/Iran), is rooted in historical conflicts stemming back centuries, intensified by modern power politics.
In fact, the end of the Cold War did not bring peace between superpowers, but instead transitioned from a bipolar structure to a fragmented environment, where Islamic fundamentalism became a central challenge to global security, replacing communism in the perceptions of many Western policymakers.
The growth of the global Muslim population
The growth of the global Muslim population from approximately 300 million in 1956 to 1.1 billion in 1991, and to about 2.1 billion in 2026 is driven almost entirely by natural demographic increase (higher birth rates and lower death rates) rather than conversion or immigration. The three main pillars of this growth, as outlined by demographic studies from the Pew Research Center, include:
- Higher Fertility Rates
On average, Muslim women give birth to 2.9 children in their lifetimes, compared to the global non-Muslim average of 2.2 children per woman. The total fertility rate in Japan sits at a record low of 1.15 to 1.20 children per woman and the total fertility rate for non-Muslim women in Western and broader Europe hovers around 1.5 to 1.6 children per woman.This high fertility of Muslim society is particularly concentrated in high-growth regions like sub-Saharan Africa, parts of the Middle East, and South Asia, where generational family sizes remain larger than in Western or East Asian nations.
- Younger Median Age Structure
Muslims have the youngest median age of any major global religion at about years, compared to for non-Muslims. With a large proportion of the population already in—or about to enter—their prime childbearing years, demographic momentum propels continuous population growth.
- Minimal Religious Switching
While other faiths (such as Christianity or Judaism) lose significant numbers of adherents to secularization or switching, Islam retains its members. Studies estimate that religious conversions into and out of Islam roughly offset each other globally. As demographers at the Pew Research Center point out, growth stems almost entirely from natural increase.
How Japan and Eastern Europe React to the Spread of Islam
Japan and Eastern European nations respond to the growth and presence of Islam through strict immigration limits and cultural caution. While Japan relies on highly regulated labor visas and maintains strong cultural homogeneity, Eastern Europe explicitly defends its Christian foundations against mandatory EU quota policies.
Japan: Cautious Integration and Restrictive Demographics
Japan’s national policy remains highly restrictive. Its 2024 refugee acceptance rate was roughly only 190 of over 12,000 applicants. While the government is opening paths for foreign nursing and technical workers, most communities maintain strict cultural standards.
Recent polls indicate that a majority of the Japanese public holds unfavorable views toward Islam, with over 60% of respondents characterizing it negatively. Consequently, public opposition to large-scale Muslim immigration is significant, with up to 95%.
Although the number of Muslims in Japan has climbed to about 360,000 (largely driven by technical trainees from Indonesia), local infrastructure—such as the scarcity of Islamic burial sites and prayer spaces—highlights the country’s struggle to adapt to cultural shifts.
Eastern Europe: Sovereignty and Border Security
The Visegrad Group (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia) has actively rejected the European Union’s compulsory relocation quotas. Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has built border fences and maintained that national sovereignty takes precedence over EU-wide migration policies. Eastern European leaders often distinguish their welcoming stance toward Ukrainian war refugees from their opposition to migrants from the Middle East. Governments and public argue that large-scale Muslim immigration threatens the continent’s cultural and Christian heritage and presents security risks.
Based on 2026 demographic data and recent sociological discourse, the perceived spread of Islam into Western countries is addressed through several distinct, often polarizing, strategies. A logical conclusion from a policy standpoint, focused on maintaining existing Judeo-Christian cultural demographics, typically involves the strengthening of national identity, selective immigration policies, and the encouragement of assimilation. Other approaches focus on dialogue, modernization, and supporting moderate voices within Islam, arguing that confrontation can fuel radicalism.
The author was born and raised in the former Soviet Union before settling in the U.S. in 1978. He moved to Juneau in 1986 where he taught Russian studies and Archaeology at the University of Alaska Southeast, and Social Studies Teacher at the Alyeska Central School of the Alaska Department of Education. From 1990 to 2022, he served as a director and president of the Alaska-Siberia Research Center, publishing in the fields of anthropology, history, archaeology and ethnography. Find him on Amazon.com.
Alexander Dolitsky: When we were allies
Home » Alexander Dolitsky: From the Cold War legacies to Islamic resurgence
Alexander Dolitsky: From the Cold War legacies to Islamic resurgence
By ALEXANDER DOLITSKY
May 22, 2026 – Islam, the youngest of man’s great universal religions, is also in many ways the simplest and most explicit. It venerates a single, all-powerful God. Its founder, Mohammed (570-632 A.D.), was neither savior nor messiah, but one through whom God chose to speak. Its faith concerns itself as much with man’s behavior in this world as with his fate in the hereafter.
Unlike those ancient religions which evolved slowly from legendary origins, Islam came into being in the full light of history and spread with hurricane speed. Indeed, within a few years of Mohammed’s death in 632 AD, it had overwhelmed the entire Middle East; within another century its dominance extended from Gibraltar Strait to the Himalayas Mountains. Today, its adherence, 2.1 billion strong, encompasses over 25% of the total population on the earth (nearly 8.3 billion people).
Islam’s massive early growth stems from a mix of historical circumstances, the power vacuum in the Mediterranean, and the relentless energy and tactical skill of Arab armies pushing beyond their borders. Nevertheless, its continued strength and durability, for some, derive from the nature of its structure—simple, lucid and affirmative—which has preserved the unity of Islam through nearly 1,400 years. Islam is more than a formal religion; it is an all-pervasive way of life, guiding thought and action to a degree without parallel in Western world. A key to its power lies in the word “Islam” which means “submission”—i.e., to the will of God. The word “Muslim” is derived from the same root, hence “one who submits.”
Each true Muslim, therefore, lives always face to face with God, wherever his “prayer rug” may lie is the same of Allah (“the one God”). To the Muslim believer, religion and life, faith and politics are inseparable. The conviction that God is omnipresent (ever-present) ruler, and omniscient (all-knowing) judge imparts to Muslims around the world a dignity and confidence that have rendered them impervious to both adversity and apostasy. In the broadest sense, Islam is a brotherhood of men under God (Allah), transcending barriers of race and nation, united in an organized effort to execute God’s will.
Another bulwark of Islam’s dogma is its assurance that utterances of Mohammed as preserved in the Koran and other less sacred Muslim writings, represent the final and absolute expression of the will of God. To the Muslims, they supersede all previous revelations and confirm the truths of the Old and New Testaments. According to Koran, the God of Islam, Allah, is also the God of Judaism and Christianity.
However, in Muslim eyes his word was incompletely expressed in the earlier scriptures and fulfilled only in the Koran. In the same way, Islam revers the biblical prophets from Abraham and Christ, contending only Mohammed was last and greatest—the Seal of the Prophets. Denying the identity of Christ, Islam also repudiated attempts to defy Mohammed who insisted that he was a man chosen to be spokesman of God.
From the Cold War to Islamic expansion worldwide
The Cold War (1946–1991) and the expansion of Islamic movements—particularly from the late 1970s onward—represent two distinct, yet often overlapping, periods of geopolitical restructuring and ideological conflict. While the Cold War was a bipolar struggle between secular capitalism and communism, the latter involved a rise in ideological fervor focused on religious, political, and cultural identity.
Parallels and Overlaps
The Afghanistan Turning Point: The Soviet-Afghan War (1979–1989) served as the primary bridge, where US containment policy supported Mujahideen fighters, which inadvertently fostered the rise of global “Jihadism.”
Proxy Warfare: Both eras utilized regional proxies. The Cold War saw disputes in Vietnam or Cuba, while the post-1979 “Islamic Cold War” (often characterized by Saudi-Iranian rivalry) featured competition for influence in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
Failed Containment: Just as the US aimed to contain Soviet expansion, the rise of radical Islamic ideologies often emerged from the vacuum left after the Cold War’s end in 1991.
Key Differences
Nature of Conflict: The Cold War was characterized by tensions between two state superpowers, whereas Islamic expansion involves non-state actors and ideological movements that challenge state structures.
Targeting: Cold War conflict was primarily political and territorial (e.g., dividing Europe, geopolitical influence in South America), while the later rise of militant Islamism often targets cultural, religious, and secular institutions, presenting a different type of threat to international security.
Theological Foundation: The Islamic expansion, particularly the rise of sectarian divides between Sunni and Shia-led factions (Saudi Arabia/Iran), is rooted in historical conflicts stemming back centuries, intensified by modern power politics.
In fact, the end of the Cold War did not bring peace between superpowers, but instead transitioned from a bipolar structure to a fragmented environment, where Islamic fundamentalism became a central challenge to global security, replacing communism in the perceptions of many Western policymakers.
The growth of the global Muslim population
The growth of the global Muslim population from approximately 300 million in 1956 to 1.1 billion in 1991, and to about 2.1 billion in 2026 is driven almost entirely by natural demographic increase (higher birth rates and lower death rates) rather than conversion or immigration. The three main pillars of this growth, as outlined by demographic studies from the Pew Research Center, include:
On average, Muslim women give birth to 2.9 children in their lifetimes, compared to the global non-Muslim average of 2.2 children per woman. The total fertility rate in Japan sits at a record low of 1.15 to 1.20 children per woman and the total fertility rate for non-Muslim women in Western and broader Europe hovers around 1.5 to 1.6 children per woman.This high fertility of Muslim society is particularly concentrated in high-growth regions like sub-Saharan Africa, parts of the Middle East, and South Asia, where generational family sizes remain larger than in Western or East Asian nations.
Muslims have the youngest median age of any major global religion at about years, compared to for non-Muslims. With a large proportion of the population already in—or about to enter—their prime childbearing years, demographic momentum propels continuous population growth.
While other faiths (such as Christianity or Judaism) lose significant numbers of adherents to secularization or switching, Islam retains its members. Studies estimate that religious conversions into and out of Islam roughly offset each other globally. As demographers at the Pew Research Center point out, growth stems almost entirely from natural increase.
How Japan and Eastern Europe React to the Spread of Islam
Japan and Eastern European nations respond to the growth and presence of Islam through strict immigration limits and cultural caution. While Japan relies on highly regulated labor visas and maintains strong cultural homogeneity, Eastern Europe explicitly defends its Christian foundations against mandatory EU quota policies.
Japan: Cautious Integration and Restrictive Demographics
Japan’s national policy remains highly restrictive. Its 2024 refugee acceptance rate was roughly only 190 of over 12,000 applicants. While the government is opening paths for foreign nursing and technical workers, most communities maintain strict cultural standards.
Recent polls indicate that a majority of the Japanese public holds unfavorable views toward Islam, with over 60% of respondents characterizing it negatively. Consequently, public opposition to large-scale Muslim immigration is significant, with up to 95%.
Although the number of Muslims in Japan has climbed to about 360,000 (largely driven by technical trainees from Indonesia), local infrastructure—such as the scarcity of Islamic burial sites and prayer spaces—highlights the country’s struggle to adapt to cultural shifts.
Eastern Europe: Sovereignty and Border Security
The Visegrad Group (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia) has actively rejected the European Union’s compulsory relocation quotas. Former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has built border fences and maintained that national sovereignty takes precedence over EU-wide migration policies. Eastern European leaders often distinguish their welcoming stance toward Ukrainian war refugees from their opposition to migrants from the Middle East. Governments and public argue that large-scale Muslim immigration threatens the continent’s cultural and Christian heritage and presents security risks.
Based on 2026 demographic data and recent sociological discourse, the perceived spread of Islam into Western countries is addressed through several distinct, often polarizing, strategies. A logical conclusion from a policy standpoint, focused on maintaining existing Judeo-Christian cultural demographics, typically involves the strengthening of national identity, selective immigration policies, and the encouragement of assimilation. Other approaches focus on dialogue, modernization, and supporting moderate voices within Islam, arguing that confrontation can fuel radicalism.
The author was born and raised in the former Soviet Union before settling in the U.S. in 1978. He moved to Juneau in 1986 where he taught Russian studies and Archaeology at the University of Alaska Southeast, and Social Studies Teacher at the Alyeska Central School of the Alaska Department of Education. From 1990 to 2022, he served as a director and president of the Alaska-Siberia Research Center, publishing in the fields of anthropology, history, archaeology and ethnography. Find him on Amazon.com.
Alexander Dolitsky: Echoes of the Silk Road, ancient pathways, modern networks (Part 1)
Alexander Dolitsky: From Ancient Silk Road to Modern Pipeline Project (Part 2)
Alexander Dolitsky: When evil cannot be pardoned
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