Islam

Hazel Rochman

Part of the excellent Opposing Viewpoints series, this explores a subject pretty much ignored in YA books: the religion, culture, and politics of Islam and its significance for the West. The black cover picturing a mysterious veiled woman tends to reinforce stereotypes, but the essays and articles debate the issues from many sides. Some writers demonize Islam and focus on the clash of civilizations; some look at the common values between the Muslim world and the West. As well as general sections on the goals of Islam and the meaning of Islamic fundamentalism, there are also particular essays on the status of women and the threat of terrorism. The book is long, the type is dense, and the sources are adult, but classroom units on contemporary world politics will find a lot to discuss here. As always, there are excellent bibliographies of books and articles.