Islamic peoples account for one fifth of the world's population and yet there is widespread misunderstanding in the West of what Islam really is. Francis Robinson and his team set out to address this, revealing the complex and sometimes contrary nature of Muslim culture. As well as taking on the issues uppermost in everyone's minds, such as the role of religious and political fundamentalism, they demonstrate the importance of commerce; literacy and learning; Islamic art; the effects of immigration, exodus, and conquest; and the roots of current crises in the Middle East, Bosnia, and the Gulf. Throughout, emphasis is placed on the interaction between Islam and the West, from the first Latin translations of the Quran to the fatwa on Salman Rushdie. This elegant book deliberately sets out to dismantle the Western impression of Islam as a monolithic world and replace it with a balanced view, from current issues of fundamentalism to its dynamic culture and art. Francis Robinson is the editor of two outstanding reference works: Atlas of the Islamic World Since 1500 (Cambridge, 1982) and The Cambridge Encyclopedia of India (1989).

弗朗西斯·鲁宾逊，伦敦大学南亚史教授，伦敦大学皇家霍洛威学院历史系系主任，英国皇家历史学会、英国皇家亚洲学会的特别会员，英国南亚研究学会的成员，是公认的伊斯兰研究领域学养深厚的专家。已撰写有关本领域的论文五十余篇、专著数部，其中包括《印度穆斯林中的分离主义》、《1500年以后伊斯兰世界的阿特拉斯》等，他是《剑桥印度、巴基斯坦、孟加拉国、斯里兰卡、尼泊尔、不丹与马尔代夫百科全书》的主编，该书被美国图书协会评选为1989年优秀参考书。