This book departs from stereotypes that often dominate Western discourse about Muslim societies. The Muslim world encompasses a wide range of countries--among them Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, Senegal, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco--each with a varying degree of religious stricture. Generalizations, therefore, can be erroneous and misleading. The contributors to this book--prominent scholars in anthropology, history, sociology, and political science--examine such issues as the ideology and political practices of Iran's ruling Shi'ite clerics, the impact of state policies on the status of women, the...