The fourth issue of “Madarat Gharbiya” brings to the forth an assortment of western theological, social, and political views and thoughts focusing on the perceptions and beliefs as well as the historic and contemporary status of Islam, and its adherents, in Europe and in the United States.
 

• French thinker Bruno Etienne is interviewed by Dr Mohamed Nehme, publisher of “Madarat Gharbiya”. Dr Etienne talks about Islam, as a cultural and historic phenomenon, and the Muslims in the West, as a genuine part of the cultural reality. He asserts that today’s societies have become so diverse it’s safe to assume that the era of monotonous perception of the world is over!
   
• A critical review, by Madarat’s contributor Khalil El-Saghir, highlights the ideologically-based thoughts and views of the American orientalist Bernard Lewis regarding Arabs and Muslims history, reviewed through some of his most popular books, mainly the latest: Crisis of Islam.
   
• French journalist Alain Gresh writes about the controversial issue of Muslim women head-cover in France. Gresh critically analyzes the report of the French parliamentary committee (Stasi) and its recommendations in an article published in the Parisian Le Monde.
   
• Islam in Europe: The Incorporation of a Religion. In this essay, researcher Jocelyne Cesari concentrates on the political and social demographics of the European Muslims and their diverse formations.
   
• Islam in Germany is the subject of an essay, by German researcher Ursula Spuler – Stegemann, focusing on the integration of the Muslim communities in the German society and of Islam into the fabric of contemporary German thoughts.
   
• Belgian sociologist Felice Dassetto studies the transformation and development of the European Muslims and the problems they face throughout the process of societal integration.
   
• French journalist Thomas Deltombe looks critically into the distorted images of Islam, and Muslims, created by the French media, specifically the television.
  
  

• Graham Fuller, former vice-chair of the U.S. National Intelligence Council at the CIA and former senior political scientist at RAND, asks and attempts to answer two critically debatable questions: Are Islam and democracy compatible? And are Islamists willing to accept a democratic order and work within it?
  
  

• Canadian theologist François Nault debates the “question of religion” put forth by the late French philosopher Jacques Derrida. What is the role of religious difference within the numerous eruptions of violence that have recently dominated international politics?
   
• Revisiting “Muslim Society”, a book by the late British social philosopher and anthropologist Ernest Gellner. In this essay, Gelner anthropologically and socially analyzes the traditional Islamic society in comparison to Christian and secular societies.
  
  

• From the University of Padova, Italy, Italian sociologist Stefano Allievi, discusses, in a document published in “Limes” magazine, the historical formation of Muslims in Italy.
  
  

• French historian Olivier Roy, interviewed by Benjamin Bibas, presents his views and analyses on the virtual interaction and interactivity via the Internet by the Islamic movements around the world.
  
  

In this section, the reader finds a rich selection of book reviews that sheds more lights on the subject and provides a diverse list of resources.