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"Islam non-existent in the world system until mid-1970s", says leading French academic

The world’s foremost expert on Political Islam, Gilles Kepel, gave a lecture on jihad on Tuesday evening.

Speaking at the London School of Economics (LSE), Kepel trailed the history and geography of the political-religious phenomenon.

Beginning and ending with Afghanistan, the former visiting professor at Columbia University explained how Political Islam plugged into the world system.

Kepel is the Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs (2009-10) in LSE IDEAS, the centre for the study of international affairs, diplomacy and grand strategy.