Recent events have focused attention on the perceived differences and tensions between the Muslim world and the modern west. As a major strand of western public discourse has it, Islam appears resistant to internal development and remains inherently pre-modern. However, Muslim societies have experienced most of the same structural changes that have impacted upon all societies, developments accompanied by a wide range of social movements and by complex and varied religious and ideological debates. Key issues are selected here to give readers an understanding of the complexity of the issues from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including social change and the transformation of political and religious institutions, gender politics, changing legal regimes, devotional practices and forms of religious association, shifts in religious authority, and modern developments in Muslim religious thought. Contributors: Martin van Bruinessen, Deniz Kandiyoti, Muhammad Khalid Masud, Ebrahim Moosa, Armando Salvatore, Abdulkader Tayob, Muhammad Qasim Zaman, Sami Zubaida. “No other book captures current debates with such effectiveness.” —Dale F. Eickelman, Dartmouth College