Never has a cardinal direction taken on such an identity as "the West". And we're not just talking about the Wicked Witch of the West, harbinger of the direction the Western world was headed in! Where once the West allegedly led the family of nations, taking down the specters of fascism, communism, tyranny and genocide, today it is a glutton, choking to death on the very evils it sought to defeat. As "the West" leaves a vacuum, other ways of being are presented--especially from those championing the Global South, such as BRICS states. The West is no longer said to be the standard of governance, law, culture, economics, or thought. We have reached a breaking point, amid the continued absurdity of the US, the irrelevance of Europe, and Western acceptance of genocide and war run amok.

This issue of Critical Muslim asks what's gone wrong with the West, what lies beyond the West and, most importantly, what happens next.

About Critical Muslim: A quarterly publication of ideas and issues showcasing groundbreaking thinking on Islam and what it means to be a Muslim in a rapidly changing, interconnected world. Each edition centers on a discrete theme, and contributions include reportage, academic analysis, cultural commentary, photography, poetry, and book reviews.