Between Jihad and Salaam Profiles in Islam by Joyce M Davis. (New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1999. 339 pages.)

Abstract

Today, politicians and political activists of every stripe recognize the power
of the international media. From the most gilded generalissimo to the grulr
biest guerrilla, there are few who would pass up a chance to plead their case
on the world stage. This has given foreign correspondents, particularly
those from first world countries like the United States, easy access to
movers and shakers across the globe. Unfortunately, understanding does
not always come with access.
Nowhere has this lack of understanding been more pervasive- or more
pernicious - than among those reporters covering the Islamic world. Joyce
M. Davis, deputy foreign editor for Knight Ridder newspapers and former
deputy senior editor at National Public Radio, sets out to remedy this prolr
lem in her book, Between Jihad and Salaam: Profiles in Islam. Through
interviews with 17 "Islamic leaders," Davis endeavors "to help us understand
the intellectual vitality that is now igniting the Muslim world."
However, like too many of her colleagues, the author quickly becomes lost
in the surface realities of that world. In the end, her book does little to challenge
the stereotypes and misconceptions she promises to shatter.
Davis begins the book with an introduction that outlines her mission
while revealing the limits of her own understanding. While she deftly dispels
some of the more blatant misunderstandings about Islam, she also
throws around technical terms like "lslamists" and "scholars" without ...