Starting with 9/11 and continuing with the quagmire in Iraq, the West was forced to interact more fully with the civilization of Islam. In The Universal Hunger for Liberty (Basic Books, 2004), Michael Novak sets forth a new model for facing this very challenge—and for healing a still violently fractured world. We will only succeed in building a more harmonious world order, Novak argues, if we embrace the fundamental role of human liberty—as conceived by our Judeo-Christian founding fathers—in bringing about historical change. Can we also find grounds in Islam for political, economic, and religious liberty—and thereby ensure a safe future for people in all corners of the globe?
