"From Africa's Atlantic shore to the far-flung Pacific islands of Indonesia, through North Africa, the Middle East and Central, South and Southeast Asia, the Islamic world extends over a vast portion of the globe, embracing approximately one-fifth of the planet's population. And yet, despite the presence of substantial Muslim communities in Europe and North America, the Islamic peoples - their lands, history, culture, art and faith - remain to many Westerners largely unknown, ignored or misunderstood." "These images captured by Robin Laurance on his photographic journey through the heart of Islam - from the desolate open spaces of the mid-Atlas mountains in Morocco to the lush green paddy fields of Southeast Asia - will do much to dispel such ignorance of the realities of the Muslim world, of its extraordinary achievements and of the way of life of its ordinary men and women as they pursue their everyday existence." "This book answers an urgent need by portraying the Islamic lands and people as they really are: richly colourful, markedly diverse and, above all, powerfully inspiring."--Jacket.