The widely held belief that a deep historical and ideological gulf exists between Islam and the West is turned on its head in this thought-provoking book. We have rapidly grown used to the idea, particularly since the declaration of a world-wide war on terrorism, that between Islam and the West there exists a deep historical and ideological gulf. Christopher J. Walker's book turns such accepted views on their head and paints instead a picture of two belief systems which have a history of toleration. AUTHOR: Christopher J. Walker worked in Southeby's department of historical and literary manuscripts before winning a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship to write a history of modern Armenia. He has also written 'Visions of Ararat' and a 'Life of Oliver Baldwin', the son of a Conservative Prime Minister who became a labour MP.