Islam, like any religion, faces the challenge of adjusting to modernity, in particular the economic and cultural power of a dominant West. From a historical perspective, what have been Islam's ancient and modern conflicts with the West? What issues are confronting Muslims in the modern globalized world? And what is the impact on the West of the Islamic resurgence? Here are excerpts from FRONTLINE's interviews with Chandra Muzaffar, professor at the University of Malaysia's Center for Civilizational Dialogue; Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf of Masjid al-Farah in New York City; Akbar Muhammad, associate professor of history and Africana studies at Binghamton University; Nilufer Gole, professor of sociology at Bogazici (Bosphorous) University in Istanbul; and Amina Wadud, professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Muslims account for one-fifth of the world's population. What are the basic principles of their faith? What are the tensions between progressive and reactionary forms of contemporary Islam? And how is Sharia (Islamic) law interpreted in different local cultures and circumstances? Here are excerpts from FRONTLINE's interviews with: Akbar Muhammad, associate professor of history and Africana studies at Binghamton University; Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf of Masjid al-Farah in New York City; and Chandra Muzzafar, professor at the University of Malaysia's Center for Civilizational Dialogue.

Women covered in head scarves and chadors; Islamic divorce rules favoring men; the view that women should be relegated to the private rather than public sphere. These attitudes and practices subjugate women, say critics. Is Islam inherently discriminatory? What is the role of Muslim women in the Islamic resurgence? And what does it mean to be a Muslim "feminist?" Here are excerpts from FRONTLINE's interviews with: Nilufer Gole, professor of sociology at Bogazici (Bosphorous) University in Istanbul; Amina Wadud, professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University; and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf of Masjid al-Farah in New York City.