The Muslim world had long been dormant and was therefore almost ignored by the west. Since 9/11 there is a new awareness seeking multiple explanations of those events often in a distorted and simplified manner. Is there such a thing as the "clash of civilizations"? Or is the turmoil in the Muslim world rooted in a set of causes that are based on religious belief that remain deeply misunderstood?

This overview of the state of the countries where Islam is the dominant faith offers new insights into the Arab Spring and the challenge of Iran. Taking on such historians as Samuel Huntington and Francis Fukuyama, Ardavan Amir-Aslani, an attorney and historian of Iranian descent living in Paris, argues persuasively for a different analysis and a fresh approach to what has become one of the major issues of the twenty-first century. How does religious faith intersect with geopolitics in the post Cold War period? America, Russia, Israel are all playing major roles amid the turmoil of the region but the great originality of this book is to show the complexity and sometimes baffling actions and reactions within Muslim societies and countries. Across Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, from Pakistan to Morocco, the world of Islam remains in religious and geopolitical ferment. Amir-Aslani's authoritative voice suggests that western values may not apply neatly into the picture as many leaders would prefer. He offers a realistic and true understanding of this new reality.