Andrew Wheatcroft identifies and traces a fault line between Islam and Christendom, from the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 to the modern age. He claims that we cannot come to terms with our current maelstrom unless we face this troubled past, and explains how stereotypes, religion, politics and technology have all contributed to the confusion and mistrust that now rule. Only reason, he argues, can help us to see things as they really are, and solve the problems that still plague us. In an era when relationships between Islam and Christendom, the West and the East, have become strained, Infidels seeks to discover how and why these divisions have arisen and developed.

Originally published: London : Viking, 2003.

"We praise thee, O God" : Lepanto, 1571 -- First contact -- Al-Andalus -- "The jewel of the world" -- Eternal Spain -- "Vile weeds" : malas hierbas -- To the Holy Land -- Conquest and reconquest -- Balkan ghosts? -- Learning to hate -- "A broad line of blood" -- "Turban'd and scimitar'd" -- The black art -- Maledicta : words of hate -- The better angels of our nature.