Appreciate a rich and diverse culture. Understand real people in their everyday lives. The need to understand Islam and Muslims has never been greater, both because of conflicts that dominate the news and because of the increasing presence of Muslims in Western societies. There are hundreds of books that introduce the Western reader to Islam, and dozens of books that explore various Muslim societies (usually Arab ones). Islam & Muslims is the first to bring together both, explaining Islam in theory and in practice across the diverse Muslim world. Readers learn not just what Islam says about everything from the nature of God to marriage to prayer to politics, but also how individual Muslims (traditional or modern, devout or barely observant) apply teachings in everyday life.