Though nation-state is the basis of organisation of the current human society on a larger plain, even a cursory look at the current demographic map of the world suggests that no society is ethnically pure. Travel is now faster and easier. Media and communication technology has vastly reduced the pain of physical distance. Economy too is getting globalised. All these have encouraged families and societies to split and spread and yet retain essential bonds and emotional links.
Media enables even smaller ethnic minorities to survive with distinct cultural identity.
All these have weakened the aggressive nature of nationalism. Plurality is fast emerging as the basic characteristic of nation-states and all energies are being directed at making them even more accommodative of people from diverse cultural and religious groups. Most Muslim societies in the past were plural and Muslims were generous in absorbing the useful features of their culture and ensured the security of those groups with their ethos. Yet the basic difference from today's situation lay in the fact that Muslims held the reins of power and determined the overall social conduct in those societies. Today nearly 25 crore Muslims live as minorities in various countries, mostly democracies, such as India, the UK, the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia and new democracies like Russia and some of its former allies in the Soviet Union.