Islam has more than 1.2 billion adherents worldwide. Today, it is imperative that the West understand Islam's role as both a religion and a way of life, what Muslims believe, their practices and history. This set of twelve thirty-minute lectures present an exploration of Islamic law, mysticism, civilization, and Muslim life and society through the ages. Examines the "struggle for the soul of Islam" occurring today between conservatives and reformers, mainstream Muslims and extremists, and how it affects individuals and world events, and particularly the challenges surrounding the role of women in Islam