Cultures in Conflict by Bernard Lewis

Christians, Muslims, and Jews in the Age of Discovery

How much do you really know about Islam? Are muslims really in favor of a "jihad" or holy war, to kill all the infidels? Are you one of the infidels they want to kill? Or are they just a sadly misunderstood religion of good people? With the global situation as it is, Americans and others need to understand more about the problems we are facing. Cultures in Conflict by Bernard Lewis may be a source of good information for you.

Hailed as "the doyen of Middle Eastern studies" in The New York Times Book Review, Bernard Lewis stands at the height of his field. "To read Mr. Lewis," wrote Fouad Ajami in The Wall Street Journal, "is to be taken through a treacherous terrain by the coolest and most reassuring of guides. You are in the hands of the Islamic world's foremost living historian." Now this sure-handed guide takes us through treacherous terrain indeed--the events of 1492, a year laden with epic events and riven by political debate. With elegance and erudition, Lewis explores that climactic year as a clash of civilizations--a clash not only of the New World and the Old, but also of Christendom and Islam, of Europe and the rest. In the same year that Columbus set sail across the Atlantic, he reminds us, the Spanish monarchy captured Granada, the last Muslim stronghold on the peninsula, and also expelled the Jews. Lewis uses these three epochal events to explore the nature of the European-Islamic conflict, placing the voyages of discovery in a striking new context. He traces Christian Europe's path from being a primitive backwater on the edges of the vast, cosmopolitan Caliphate, through the heightening rivalry of the two religions, to the triumph of the West over Islam, examining the factors behind their changing fortunes and cultural qualities. Balanced and insightful, this far-reaching discussion of the encounters between Islam, the West, and the globe provides a new understanding of the distant events that gave shape to the modern world.

index

The Adventures of Ibn Battuta by Ross E. Dunn A Muslim Traveller of the 14th Century -- American Jihad by Steven Emerson The Terrorists Living Among Us -- American Muslims by M. A. Muqtedar Khan Bridging Faith and Freedom -- Christianity and Islam by Glover Shipp Bridging Two Worlds -- Cultures in Conflict by Bernard Lewis Christians, Muslims, and Jews in the Age of Discovery -- The Culture of Islam by Lawrence Rosen Changing Aspects of Contemporary Muslim Life -- Daughters of Another Path by Carol Anderson Anway, Carol L. Anway Experiences of American Women Choosing Islam -- Discovering Islam by Akbar S. Ahmed Making Sense of Muslim History and Society -- Dreams of Trespass by Fatema Mernissi, Fatima Marnissi Tales of a Harem Girlhood -- What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims by Suzanne Haneef -- Extreme Islam by Adam Parfrey Anti-American Propaganda of Muslim Fundamentalism -- Islamic Fundamentalism in the West Bank and Gaza by Ziad Abu-Amr, Ziyad Abu 'Amr Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Jihad (Indiana Series in Arab and Islamic Studies) -- Islam Today by Akbar S. Ahmed A Short Introduction to the Muslim World -- Jihad in the West by Paul Fregosi Muslim Conquests from the 7th to the 21st Centuries -- Makers of Contemporary Islam by John Obert Voll, John L. Esposito -- Militant Islam Reaches America by Daniel Pipes One of the most far-reaching examinations of militant Islam written to date -- Muslim Child by Rukhsana Khan, Patty Gallinger Understanding Islam Through Stories and Poems -- The Muslim Discovery of Europe by Bernard Lewis The eleventh-century Muslim world -- Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks The Hidden World of Islamic Women -- The Ornament of the World by Maria Rosa Menocal, Harold Bloom How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain -- Osama Bin Laden by Anthony J. Dennis A Psychological and Political Portrait -- Price of Honor by Jan Goodwin Muslim Women Lift the Veil of Silence on the Islamic World -- Progressive Muslims by Omid Safi On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism -- Some Far and Distant Place by Jonathan S. Addleton Muslim-Christian Encounters Through the Eyes of a Child -- Struggling to Surrender by Jeffery B. Lang Some Impressions of an American Convert to Islam -- Sword of Islam by John F. Murphy Jr. Muslim Extremism from the Arab Conquests to the Attack on America -- Taking Back Islam by Michael Wolfe American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith -- Understanding Islam by Thomas W. Lippman An Introduction to the Muslim World -- Unveiling Islam by Ergun Mehmet Caner, Emir Fethi Caner An Insider's Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs -- Why I Am Not a Muslim by Ibn Warraq A former Muslim looks at Islam