Convergence of Civilisations

List of Figures and TablesIntroduction: Clash of Civilizations or Universal History 1. The Muslim Countries in the Movement of HistoryThe Growth of Literacy and the Decline in FertilityA "Disenchantment" of the Muslim World 2. Crises of TransitionLiteracy, Contraception, RevolutionMuslim Crises of TransitionIslamism and Forecasting the FutureThe Question of Ideological Content 3. The Arab Family and the Transition CrisisPatrilinealism and PatrilocalismThe Shiite Law of InheritanceEndogamyPsychological and Ideological Implications of EndogamyThe Shock of Modernization 4. Other Muslim Women: East Asia and Sub-Saharan AfricaMalaysian and Indonesian MatrilocalismThe Mass Polygamy of Sub-Saharan AfricaUnprecedented Transition Crises? 5. At the Heart of Islam: The Arab WorldA Belated and Unexpected Transition: Literacy and Oil WealthFrance and the Acceleration of the Transition in the MaghrebBackwardness and Division in Syria: Sunnis and AlawitesThe Heterogeneity of the Arabian PeninsulaA European LebanonThe Palestinians: Occupation, War, and Fertility 6. The Non-Arab Greater Middle EastIran Ahead of TurkeyThe Uncertain Role of the StateDemographic Transition and Nation-stateReligion, Demography, DemocracyThe Pakistani Demographic Time BombDemographic Normality and Political ThreatAfghan ParenthesisBangladesh: Overpopulation and Decline of the Fertility Rate 7. After CommunismAccelerated Increase in LiteracyUn-Islamic Birth Control: Through Abortion...And Through Infant MortalityMuslim Divergences in the Balkans 8. Matrilocal AsiaA Normal Transition That Has StoppedIn Malaysia, Nationalism Rather Than Islam 9. Sub-Saharan AfricaRegional Differences in Fertility: Ethnic Groups and ReligionsMuslim Girls Spared by Mortality Conclusion AppendixNotes

Youssef Courbage is research director at the French National Institute for Demographic Studies. His research concerns Arab and Muslim countries, Asia and Eastern Europe, and interactions among demography and politics. He has studied economics, sociology, demography, and urban planning at Lebanese and French universities. Emmanuel Todd is a researcher at the French National Institute for Demographic Studies and author of numerous books, including After the Empire: The Breakdown of the American Order, The Final Fall: An Essay on the Decomposition of the Soviet Sphere, The Making of Modern France: Ideology, Politics, and Culture.

Youssef Courbage and Emmanuel Todd totally recast the current debate about Islam and the West by focusing attention on some societal fundamentals and by debunking--once and for all--a number of myths. -- Nicolas Guilhot, editor of The Invention of International Relations Theory This articulate and elegant demographic study convincingly documents a general trend toward modernity in the Muslim world, from Morocco to Indonesia. It successfully refutes many Western prejudices towards Islam, especially those based on misconceptions about its religion. It should be required reading for Western policy makers as well as for the general public. -- Leon-Francois Hoffmann, Princeton University Challenging and important reading.Kirkus Reviews Kirkus Reviews 6/1/2011 I found this succinct book fascinating and recommend it. -- Patrick J. Ryan Commonweal 10/7/2011 engaging for a general reader and rewarding for a specialist.Choice Choice 11/1/2011 ahdjkhueh Scholarly and engaging, this is an important work and one which deserves to be widely read. -- Sandra Berns Law Society Journal 9/1/11 A positive, enlightening survey. The Midwest Book Review 9/1/11