Who Speaks for Islam?

Based on the largest ever study of its kind, this book is the first to present the fascinating findings of the Gallup Poll of the Muslim World. It is co-authored by a bestselling author, Georgetown University professor John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, Gallup's executive director of Muslim studies.The horrific events of 9/11 dramatically intensified what many saw as an on-going conflict between the U.S. and parts of the Muslim world. Extremism has grown exponentially as Muslims and non-Muslims alike continue to be victims of global terrorism. Terrorist attacks have occurred from Morocco to Indonesia and from Madrid to London, as U.S.-led wars rage in Iraq and Afghanistan.As we face savage actions in a world that seems ever more dangerous and out of control, we are confronted daily by analysis from terrorism experts and pundits who see the religion of Islam as responsible for global terrorism. At the same time, terrorist groups like Al Qaeda beam messages throughout the world that demonize the West as the enemy of Islam, responsible for all the ills of the Muslim world.After collecting vast amounts of data representing the views of the world's Muslims, we asked the questions everyone is dying to hear answers to: What is at the root of anti-Americanism in the Muslim world? Who are the extremists? Is democracy a desired construct among Muslims, and if so, what might it look like? What do Muslim women really want? With question in hand, we let the empirical evidence - the voices of a billion Muslims, not individual 'experts' or 'extremists', dictate the answer.