Definitive Encounters: Islam, Muslims and the West explores various dimensions of Islam , provides insights into the making of the contemporary Muslim world, and brings into sharp relief some of the more hidden aspects of the encounters between Islam, Muslims and modern Western civilization. These encounters ere viewed from the perspective of sacred history - a view of history which takes all events at the human plane as a continuum of the story humanity, which began with the descent of Adam to Earth. Seen through this prism, contemporary global conflicts gain a degree of depth that is often lacking in secular approaches.

The prism through which contemporary events are seen is constructed by tapping into the primary sources of Islam - the Quran and the Sunnah - as well as the early history of Muslims and the traditional Islamic view of the cosmos and the human condition. Divided into three major themes, Definitive Encounters builds a compelling case for seeing the contemporary situation of the world as a continuity of an old conflict between those who believe in the Creator and those who do not. It argues that the forces of globalization, the unprecedented reach of modern science and technology, and the insatiable craving of certain Western countries for dominance, power and wealth are now playing a major role in producing a global calamity of apocalyptic proportions.