This lavishly illustrated book begins in the pre-Islamic world and details the birth, development, and growth of Islam through to the present. It is arranged both thematically and chronologically, tracing the growth of Islamic faith, laws science, art and philosophy through time and across the world, and discussing as well the spread of Islam throughout the middle East, Africa, India, Central and East Asia, and finally Europe and North America. The contributors are all top-level scholars and experts in their fields; they bring a variety of backgrounds and points of view to the work.