Summary
For more than three decades, U.S. foreign policy has focused with increasing intensity on countries in which the majority of the people are Muslim, practitioners of the religion known as Islam. The Muslim World explores Muslim societies across the world, outlining their history, traditions, and the great diversity among them.
What is the Muslim world's quarrel with the United States and with the West in general? Are Islamic fundamentalists, or Muslims in general, opposed to modernity? Are the problems of the Muslim world a legacy of Western imperialism? Are they the result of U.S. intervention? Do Muslims feel they have a religious duty to fight until the whole world worships as they do? Some of these questions have definitive answers, and some do not. The Muslim World attempts to provide readers with a firmer grounding on the subject and a basis for further research. It maps out, in a clear and concise manner, the challenges facing Muslim societies today, outlines the roots of these challenges, and connects them with the history, economy, and politics of other regions.