Islam in this twenty-first century is caught between three inter-related forces – globalization, international terrorism and the rise of the American Empire. This book examines those forces from the perspective of the rise and fall of civilizations. If Edward Gibbon and Arnold Toynbee could trace the decline of the Roman Empire to the challenge of Christianity, should we now anticipate the decline of the American Empire through the challenge of Islam? This book examines the stresses and strains of relations between Islam and the West in this era of tense globalization. Issues of church and state within societies interact with issues of ideology and power in foreign relations. This book ranges from the creation of the state of Israel to the aftermath of September 11, and the historical forces which led to both those momentous events.