by Shahzad AzizFrom the publisher:
Using the cities and culture of the Middle East as a backdrop, this study explores issues within the Arab world and in its relations with the West. Serious debate is interspersed with witty travel dialogue to discuss many issues facing the Eastern world today, such as the adoption of Western popular culture, the war on terror, the Arab-Israeli conflict, martyrdom, the position of women in Islam, and the Western view of the Muslim world.
Depicts the Muslim world as it really is—a place of complexity and contradiction where globo-culture meets religion with surprising consequences." —Q News Magazine
"Elegant, witty and informative. Aziz represents a fascinating and timely perspective on the Middle East." —Henry Hemming, author, Misadventure in the Middle East
"This is an absorbing read about Islam in the modern world from a writer with much promise." —Ehsan Masood, journalist and author, British Muslims
"Religion, ethnicity, culture, identity, international relations, and Islamic social history are cogently discussed and interpreted." —Tahir Abbas, director, Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Culture, University of Birmingham, UK
"A fascinating and enjoyable read." —Ali M Ansari, author, Confronting Iran: The Failure of American Foreign Policy and the Roots of Mistrust
Like no other book about the contemporary Muslim world." —Reza Aslan, author, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam
