The Essential Rumi continues to be the bestselling of all Rumi books, and the definitive selection of his beautiful, mystical poetry.

This classic of Christian devotional literature has brought understanding and comfort to millions for centuries. Both Protestants and Catholics -- as well as mystics and historians of religious thought -- have studied these meditations on the life and teachings of Jesus, finding in them a path to prayer and spiritual guidance.

In the public mind, Islam is a religion of extremes: it is the world's fastest growing faith; more than three-quarters of the world's refugees are Islamic; it has produced government by authoritarian monarchies in Saudi Arabia and ultra-republicans in Iran. Whether we are reading about civil war in Algeria or Afghanistan, the struggle for the soul of Turkey, or political turmoil in Pakistan or Malaysia, the Islamic context permeates all these situations.