House of Islam : A Global History

A fascinating and revelatory exploration of the intricacies of Islam and the inner psyche of the Muslim world from the bestselling author of The Islamist `Islam began as a stranger,' said the Prophet Mohammed, `and one day, it will again return to being a stranger'. Today, Islam is to many in the West an alien force, with Muslims to be held in suspicion. This separation between the Muslim world and the West breeds misunderstandings which serve only to worsen tensions between the two. A failure to grasp the inner workings of religion and geopolitics continues to haunt American foreign policy and Western attitudes towards the Islamic world. The complexities and shadings must be better understood by the West not only to build a stronger, more harmonious relationship between the two cultures, but also for greater accuracy in predictions as to how current crises such as the growth of ISIS might develop and from where the next might emerge. Islam and the West: Hearts and Minds of a Billion Believers aims to address the key questions and points of disconnection. What are the roots of the conflict between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims that is engulfing Pakistan and the Middle East? Does the Koran encourage the killing of infidels? An analysis of why contemporary Islam has become a political ideology and project, Islam and the West also explores the events and issues that have come from and contributed to the broadening gulf between Islam and the West, from the US's overthrow of Iran's first democratically elected leader to the emergence of ISIS, from the declaration of a fatwa on Salman Rushdie to the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo. Authoritative and engaging, Ed Husain leads us clearly and carefully through the nuances of Islam and its people, taking us back to basics to better grasp the DNA of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims to contend that that the Muslim world need not be a stranger to the West, nor our enemy, but our peaceable allies.