The widely held belief that a deep historical and ideological gulf exists between Islam and the West is turned on its head in this thought-provoking book. We have rapidly grown used to the idea, particularly since the declaration of a world-wide war on terrorism, that between Islam and the West there exists a deep historical and ideological gulf. Christopher J. Walker's book turns such accepted views on their head and paints instead a picture of two belief systems which have a history of toleration.