Tamara Sonn is the Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor in the History of Islam, and director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. Her most recent books include Islam and Democracy After the Arab Spring (with John L. Esposito and John O. Voll), Islam: History, Religion, and Politics, and Is Islam an Enemy of the West? She is founding editor-in-chief of Religion Compass, Oxford Bibliographies Online--Islamic Studies, and senior editor of Oxford Islamic Studies Online and Oxford's Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, as well as Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion.

"Few scholars have so thoroughly contested the stereotyping of Islam and Muslims typical of the Orientalist tradition, so it is fitting that this volume celebrating his scholarly achievements should contain so many original perspectives on contemporary Muslim movements. The authors do not shy away from controversies, as with the brutality of the ISIS so-called Caliphate, but they carefully set such movements in social and historical context. This is an essential book for understanding the contemporary Muslim world, which interrogates the glib assumptions of so much writing about this key region." -- Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, University of Michigan

"This volume is a worthy recognition of John Esposito's striking contributions over four decades to correcting the misperceptions and distortions in the public and policy apprehension, as well as the scholarly study, of Islam. Fittingly, it demystifies Islam by taking both the pull of first principles and the contestation over interpretations seriously. In so doing, it aptly highlights the possibilities of Scriptural manipulation and the variety of modern practice, but also the potential of religion to evolve and to elevate the human condition." -- James Piscatori, Co-author of Islam Beyond Borders: The Umma in World Politics

"Each of the authors applies Esposito's visionary identification of the flawed 'secular fundamentalist' approach of Western scholarship on political Islam to case studies that range from ISIS to interfaith dialogue and from Southeast Asia to Southside Chicago. This book brings into sharp relief the ways in which an awareness of the historic roots and contemporary shoots of Orientalism and Islamophobia are key to understanding culture and society on the level of the global, the local, and the individual." -- Anne K. Rasmussen, author of Author, Women, the Recited Qur'an, and Islamic Music in Indonesia

"Among his many academic accomplishments, John Esposito is especially esteemed for advancing the study of Islam as practiced and understood by Muslims the world over and for demonstrating its intrinsic importance as one of the three monotheistic faiths. In their articles, the contributors to this celebratory volume poignantly testify to Esposito's success in these endeavors." -- Charles E. Butterworth, Emeritus Professor of Government & Politics, University of Maryland