The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality

Are Islam and the West on an inevitable collision course? Recent events, such as the World Trade Center bombing and the shootings of British tourists by militants in Eqypt only enhance the Western view of Islamic fundamentalists as medieval fanatics. 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 the media. But these perceptions, John Esposito writes, stem from a long history of mutual distrust, criticism, and condemnation--and they are far too simplistic to help us understand one of the most important issues of our times. In The Islamic Threat, Esposito places the challenge of Islam in critical perspective, exploring the vitality of Islam as a global force and the history of its relations with the western world. He offers a systematic assessment of Islamic politics in several key nations (including Iran, Libya, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, and Algeria) and in particular Islamic movements (from moderates to radicals), demonstrating the diversity of the Islamic resurgence--and the mistakes western analysts make in assuming a hostile, monolithic Islam. Esposito examines the potential challenge or threat of Islam and explores the issues facing Islam and the West in the 1990s, from democratization and pluralism to American foreign policy.