Islam remains the fastest growing religion in the world, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr is one of the foremost experts on Islamic thought. He is a Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University and the author of more than books. In this formidable volume, Nasr makes his case for the integrity and sustainability of traditional Islam based on the Qur'an and the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad in counterpoint to the modernism of the West and the extremism of Muslim fundamentalists. This agenda is an example of the author's interest in clearing up misconceptions and misunderstandings of Islam in the West.

In the first section of the book, Nasr takes a hard look at the basics of the Islamic tradition with material on the spiritual significance of jihad, the Islamic work ethic, male and female in the Islamic perspective, and the reality of Shi'ism today.

A core section on Islamic Spirituality offers reflections on conditions today and prospects for tomorrow. Nasr also charts the course of Sufism in the West before moving on to the tensions between Islamic tradition and the forces of nodernism and fundamentalism in various intellectual and cultural contexts. Here he discusses education, science, art, and city planning.

In his enlightening postscript, Nasr honors the refusal of Islam to sit still for a picture of the future. He predicts the survival of Sufism with its spiritual appeal to Westerners and its roots in many countries around the world. Nasr also thinks that in the future there will be more and more cooperative ventures among all Muslim groups.