The collapse of communism, and the rise of militant Islamic movements in the Middle East, have raised the spectre of a future dominated by the conflict between Islam and the West. From theories such as Samuel Huntingdon's Clash of Civilizations to the anti-Western rhetoric of many Muslim militants themselves, this image of confrontation has come to be widely accepted. At the same time, the many issues afflicting the Middle East itself - from the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Gulf War, to the arguments on Salman Rushdie and human rights - are widely seen as reflecting the influence of Islam on politics and society of this region.