Here, gathered in these pages, is what seemed to me to be the essentials of the Islamic vision, to be known for every Muslim and, more broadly, for anyone wishing to form an opinion on this noble religion,

The Muslim reader as well as the non-Muslim will benefit from it. The first by having a deeper understanding of his religion, the second by refining his view on what motivates these Muslims who we talk about so much.

We are living in troubled times where we are seeing a dangerous increase in withdrawal into oneself and ignorance of others. Times when the voices of hatred and ignorance scream on prime time television channels, while those of wisdom and knowledge struggle to be heard.