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.
Specifications
Index. Bibliography. Glossary. Chronology. Tables and graphs.
About the Author(s)
Jamie Stokes is the editor of Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East for Facts On File. Previously, he worked as an editor with the Diagram Group for more than 10 years.
Foreword author Jeffrey T. Kenney is professor of religious studies at DePauw University. He holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from the University of California in Santa Barbara and is the author of Muslim Rebels: Kharijites and the Politics of Extremism in Egypt.