In Islam and the West, Bernard Lewis brings together in one volume eleven essays that indeed open doors to the innermost domains of Islam.

Europe and Islam -- Legal and historical reflections on the position of Muslim populations under non-Muslim rule -- Translation from Arabic -- The Ottoman obsession -- Gibbon on Muhammad -- The question of Orientalism -- Other people's history -- The return of Islam -- The Shi'a in Islamic history -- Country and freedom -- Religious coexistance and secularism.