As you review the history of Islam and its spread throughout what we now know as the Middle East, North Africa, and many parts of Asia, what stands out as critical for understanding it’s evolution, its role in society, its impact on development and creation of any form of world order? How is Islam closely linked to politics and society? Are the fears of hard-line Islamophobes warranted, or should be more careful not to assume a high degree of universality in a threat posed by Islam to the West? How do we otherwise explain relatively harmonious Muslim societies in places like Indonesia, Morocco, etc.?