Of the many dividing lines that cross the West today, one of the most significant is about Islam – not so much Muslims vs. non–Muslims (however much some would like to see it like that) as simply what people actually think (or know) about Islam. Islam is seen by many in the West as something to be feared rather than understood, just as many Muslims have that same opinion of the West. Yet, there is nothing inevitable about this hostility or division.

Building on his new book, The House of Islam, which seeks to provide entry to the minds and hearts of Muslims the world over, Ed Husain spoke at Theos on the past, present and future of Islam, exploring its beliefs, law, art, and the longstanding tension between mysticism and literalism that remains live within Muslim communities.

How can Muslims confront the issues that are attacking Islam from within, and what can the West do to help work towards that end?

Ed Husain is a policy advisor, writer and speaker on terrorism and the geopolitics of the Middle East. A co–founder of the Quillliam Foundation, Husain is a former senior advisor at the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and former Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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