The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality? » (REV)

About the Author:
John L. Esposito is Professor of Religion and International Affairs, Georgetown University, and Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding: History and International Affairs at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. He has served as President of the Middle East Studies Association and as a consultant to the State Department. His books include Islam: The Straight Path, Islam and Politics, Islam in Asia, and Voices of Resurgent Islam.

Are Islam and the West on a collision course? From the Ayatollah Khomeini to Saddam Hussein, the image of Islam as a militant, expansionist, and rabidly anti-American religion has gripped the minds of Western governments and media. But these perceptions, John L. Esposito writes, stem from a long history of mutual distrust, criticism, and condemnation, and are far too simplistic to help us understand one of the most important political issues of our time. In this new edition of The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?, Esposito places the challenge of Islam in critical perspective. Exploring the vitality of this religion as a global force and the history of its relations with the West, Esposito demonstrates the diversity of the Islamic resurgence—and the mistakes our analysts make in assuming a hostile, monolithic Islam. This third edition has been expanded to include new material on current affairs in Turkey, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Southeast Asia, as well as a discussion of international terrorism.