This volume, the second in the Asia Society's Asian Agenda Series, is designed to foster increased American understanding of Islam's role in contemporary Asian politics and society. During the last decade, Westerners have tended to view the Muslim world as a unified, threatening force because of various crises in the Middle East. The author asserts that while Islam has provided Asian society with an underlying unity in fundamental belief and practice, its interaction with diverse cultures has resulted in Muslim states with distinctive differences. Co-published with The Asia Society.