This book tackles the urgent problems of the Muslim world from poverty and illiteracy to economic underdevelopment and ethnic and sectarian conflict. It contains an important chapter on Islamophobia, its impact on Islam-West relations and the OIC's efforts to confront it as a form of racism and xenophobia. Ihsanoglu explains why international institutions need to work together to combat violent extremism; why representative government, free speech, and equal rights for all citizens, are critical for Muslim societies.