Europe and the Islamic World sheds much-needed light on the shared roots of Islamic and Western cultures and on the richness of their inextricably intertwined histories, refuting once and for all the misguided notion of a "clash of civilizations" between the Muslim world and Europe. In this landmark book, three eminent historians bring to life the complex and tumultuous relations between Genoans and Tunisians, Alexandrians and the people of Constantinople, Catalans and Maghrebis--the myriad groups and individuals whose stories reflect the common cultural, intellectual, and religious heritage of Europe and Islam.

Table of Contents

• Foreword - by John L. Esposito
• General Introduction
• PART I: Saracens and Ifranj: Rivalries, Emulation, and Convergences - By John Tolan
• 1. The Geographers’ World: From Arabia Felix to the Balad al-Ifranj (Land of the Franks)
• 2. Conquest and Its Justifications: Jihad, Crusade, Reconquista
• 3. The Social Inferiority of Religious Minorities: Dhimmis and Mudejars
• 4. In Search of Egyptian Gold: Traders in the Mediterranean
• 5. On the Shoulders of Giants: Transmission and Exchange of Knowledge
• PART II: The Great Turk and Europe - By Gilles Veinstein
• Introduction to Part II: Continuity and Change in Geopolitics
• 6. The Ottoman Conquest in Europe
• 7. Ottoman Europe: An Ancient Fracture
• 8. Antagonistic Figures
• 9. The Islamic-Christian Border in Europe
• 10. Breaches in the Conflict
• PART III: Europe and the Muslim World in the Contemporary Period - By Henry Laurens
• Introduction to Part III
• 11. The Eighteenth Century as Turning Point
• 12. Civilization or Conquest?
• 13. The Age of Reform
• 14. The Age of Empire
• 15. The First Blows to European Domination
• 16. The Great War and the Beginning of Emancipation
• 17. Contemporary Issues
• Selected Bibliography