Crusade and jihad The thousand-year war between the Muslim world and the global north

In this synthesis, Polk harnesses decades worth of research, teaching, government service, and travel to explain what Islam is, how it has interacted with the non-Muslim world, and what the Muslim reaction to imperialism has been, covering the seventh century to the present day. He covers not only the Middle East but also Central Asia, Southeast Asia, China, and parts of Africa. Throughout the work, Polk foreshadows the writings and philosophers who would influence radical movements later, e.g., Taimiyah, writing in the wake of the Mongol invasions, would influence Wahhabist doctrine of the 18th century and various strains of Islamism in recent decades. Occasionally, the book falls into crass stereotypes. Discussing events leading to the Iran-Iraq War, Polk writes (referring to Gulf access), "logically, regulating its use should have been simple but neither the Iraqis nor the Iranians were governed by logic." Generally, the author maintains his thesis that the Muslim world has not developed to its potential due to the ravages of imperialism. It is not simply a matter of blaming the global North; Polk argues that groups within colonized countries benefited from and worked with these countries, which stunted the development of institutions of democracy. Summing Up: Recommended. General and undergraduate collections. --Mona L Russell, East Carolina University