With over a billion followers, Islam is the world's fastest growing religion and a major global religious and political force in the 21st-century. It is also the subject of much misunderstanding, and many people know little of its origins or principles.

What is Islam? is the perfect introduction to this important and complex subject. It covers all aspects of the religion in clear and concise chapters, including:

Faith: The origins of Islam, the Koranic law and how it is dispensed
The Muslim world: A look at Islamic nations and their relative importance
History: The major events in the history of Islam
Sects: Islamic sects and the rise of militant Islam in the 20th and 21st centuries

This indispensable guide remains the definitive introduction to the subject.

Chris Horrie is an award-winning newspaper, magazine and television journalist and author of ten books about politics, the media, business, sport and popular culture. He has also made a number of television documentaries on subjects as diverse as the commercialisation of football, the rise and fall of tabloid newspapers, management consultants and black American Jazz.