This guide explains Islamic history, the Qur’an, sharia law, and Islam’s relationship with the West. It analyzes the struggle within the faith for a more humane interpretation of the religion, issues surrounding women, democracy, and economic development, and the outlook post-9/11 and the Iraq war.

Merryl Wyn Davies is a writer, anthropologist, and TV producer. The author of Knowing One Another: Shaping an Islamic Anthropology, she also co-authored the international bestseller Why Do People Hate America?

Ziauddin Sardar is a writer, broadcaster, and cultural critic. His works include Postmodernism and the Other, Orientalism, and Why Do People Hate America?, written with Merryl Wyn Davies.