"This book is the result of a series of extended interviews between an internationally acclaimed expert on Islam and two journalists who have dedicated themselves for many years to studying key themes of Islam and to analyzing the possibility of coexistence between people of different faiths and cultures." "How did Islam begin? What does the Qur'an represent for Muslims? What relationships have developed between Islam and violence, between Islamic culture and the West? How can a real integration of Islam take place in European societies? What are the conditions for a constructive encounter between Christians and Muslims?" "Samir Khalili Samir, S.J., one of the world's leading experts on Islam, responds to these questions in an in-depth interview that can help one learn and judge for oneself, without prejudice or naivete. This is a contribution in the spirit of the realism needed in order to build adequate ways of living with those who have become our new neighbors."--Jacket.