Youssef Courbage is research director at the French National Institute for Demographic Studies. His research concerns Arab and Muslim countries, Asia and Eastern Europe, and interactions among demography and politics. He has studied economics, sociology, demography, and urban planning at Lebanese and French universities.
Emmanuel Todd is a researcher at the French National Institute for Demographic Studies and author of numerous books, including After the Empire: The Breakdown of the American Order, The Final Fall: An Essay on the Decomposition of the Soviet Sphere, The Making of Modern France: Ideology, Politics, and Culture.

We are told that Western/Christian and Muslim/Arab civilizations are heading towards inevitable conflict. The demographics of the West remain sluggish, while the population of the Muslim world explodes, widening the cultural gap and all but guaranteeing the outbreak of war. Leaving aside the media's sound and fury on this issue, measured analysis shows another reality taking shape: rapprochement between these two civilizations, benefiting from a universal movement with roots in the Enlightenment.

List of Figures and Tables
Introduction: Clash of Civilizations or Universal History
1. The Muslim Countries in the Movement of History
2. Crises of Transition
3. The Arab Family and the Transition Crisis
4. Other Muslim Women: East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
5. At the Heart of Islam: The Arab World
6. The Non-Arab Greater Middle East
7. After Communism
8. Matrilocal Asia
9. Sub-Saharan Africa
Conclusion
Appendix
Notes