There is a huge disconnect between the official account of church demise and the death of faith peddled in political and media circles, and the vitality of churches in every corner of the country. Why do the pundits ignore what is happening? Sean Oliver-Dee counters that the ongoing health of the church is being ignored because it contradicts three myths that the 'new establishment' wants to assert: that the gradual death of religion is a good excuse to ignore the views of Christians; that encouraging Christianity to die will benefit society; and that scientific progress will necessarily cause the death of faith. The growth of the church runs contrary to all three assertions. It's time to challenge the myths.

The Caliphate Question combines the disciplines of theology, history, and international relations in order to approach the complex and sensitive issue of how Western governments in this case the British have historically engaged with foreign policy issues that have centered around questions of theology or faith. The British government's approach to policy-making in the field of Islamic governance from the First World War through to the early Cold War is the case study for this book, both because of the extensive documentation that exists on the period and because of its relevance to the current geo-political world. While the book is not a critique of current British foreign policy, it does seek to furnish policy-makers and commentators with a framework within which such increasingly necessary policy-making can be created."

This book is an exploration of the perceptions of the American and British governments about Islam and Muslims based upon their experiences over the past two centuries. It provides a response to the accusation that US and British governments are inherently anti-Islamic and are seeking the destruction of that faith through their policy decisions. The book uses primary documents from the US and British governments to examine the attitudes of politicians and officials in a variety contexts ranging from the 'War on Terror', the Iranian Revolution and the 'Trojan Horse' Scandal to the conversion of Alexander Russell Webb to Islam, Islamic Finance and Mosque-building. In so doing it provides a wide-angle lens on the diversity of issues and experiences which have shaped the views of officials and politicians about Islam.

Issues of citizenship, identity and cohesion have rarely been as vital as they are today. Since the events of 9/11 and subsequent terrorist episodes in Bali, Madrid, London and elsewhere, focus in this area has centred primarily upon Muslim minority communities living in the West. Opinion polls of Muslim communities in Europe and publications from authors within those communities have shown that there is an energetic debate going on around what it means to be a Muslim and a citizen on this continent. Sean Oliver-Dee explores these questions of citizenship and loyalty from the point of view of Muslims living under non-Muslim rule and non-Muslim governments trying to engage with them. He draws on the historical contexts of Muslim minorities living under British and French imperial rule in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and looks at how shari'a functioned within the context of imperial civil codes. This book draws important comparisons between the French and British approaches to their Muslim minorities, which illuminate the strengths and weaknesses of both, and engages with current debates about the compatibility of Islamic law with civil law in non-Islamic societies. This is important reading for scholars, students, commentators and policy-makers concerned with the question of Western engagement with its minorities.