What does jihad really mean? What is the Muslim conception of law? What is Islam's stance toward unbelievers? Probing literary and historical sources, Bernard Lewis traces the development of Islamic political language from the time of the Prophet to the present. His analysis of documents written in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish illuminates differences between Muslim political thinking and Western political theory, and clarifies the perception, discussion, and practices of politics in the Islamic world. $c From back cover.

Arabic collection. "Based on the Exxon Foundation lectures, delivered ... in the University of Chicago, 29 October-4 November 1986"--Pref. Includes index.