Beginning with Muhammad and his historical and cultural context, this book recounts the tale of the thirteen-century-long encounter of Western and Islamic civilizations. Armour uses the best of contemporary research to show how events such as the Crusades and the Reconquista of Spain have indelibly shaped the mindset of the West toward Islam and vice versa. He reveals how the modern Western political and economic system -- marked by the globalization of capitalism, technology, and science -- has been perceived by the Islamic world as a Godless secular assault on all that is holy. He ends with the Arab-Israeli conflict and the events of 11 September 2001 as the latest concrete manifestations of the tragic encounter between the three "People of the Book."