Islam and Modernity

What's it like to be a Muslim living in the west in the 21st century? And how different is it to the experiences of Muslims who lived in western countries many generations ago? Recent events have given these questions a new importance. George W. Bush's "war on terror" is seen through much of the Muslim world as a war on Islam. This has complex repercussions for Muslims living in the west. Tensions and anxieties are running high as many Muslims in America and Europe are caught in a climate of social unrest, much of it compounded by living in the spotlight of the media. This work generates a fresh perspective on the problematic relationships between Islam, the West and so-called modernity - in the the light of an increasingly vocal Muslim diaspora in Europe and the United States. This is not the first time that conflict has arisen between Muslims in the west and their other communities - the book examines a long history of volatile social relations based on extensive travels and research across four continents. Iftikhar H. Malik offers a wealth of case studies ranging from Muslim Spain and the Ottoman Empire to the present day; from the eruptions of anti-Islamic feeling over the Salam Rushdie affair to the demonstration of Islam currently running high on the agenda of the "war on terror".