Introduction : understanding Islam-West relations and Muslim and non-Muslim mutual perceptions

![CDATA[The current Islam-West relations have a long and rich history of subjugation, cooperation. suspicions, and misunderstandings. Islam as a religion and cultural tradition has been at the doorsteps of Europe since its early days, and contrary to common assumption Islam in the West is an old phenomenon. In the first Islamic century, Muslims successfully penetrated North Africa, Spain, and briefly France. The mounting of a crusading effort by Pope Urban II, in an attempt to regain Christian Jerusalem, formed the basis for 'Crusader and antiCrusader' temperament; this has shaped attitudes of the Christendom and Islamicate towards each other for centuries.]]