ABSTRACT
During the period of imperialism this environment meant the world of Islam was subject to intrusive and dominating activities emanating from Europe. The various versions of the "Islamic state" that had existed up to that time came to be redefined in terms of the European model. The Cold War model had no place in it for the revival of the Islamic. The United States (US) was indifferent to importance of Islam and the Soviet Union was careful to keep its Muslim Central Asian Republics stable. Islam is now important to American foreign policy because it is seen as problematic and often as threat. A communist Afghanistan was even more of challenge but it provided Islamabad with an opportunity to join forces with the US and Saudi Arabia to thwart the spread of communism. In the post-modern world, Europe is in decline and Islam is invigorated. While these developments are important transitions, their trajectories are not clear and they often conflict.
