Islam has been one of the most powerful religious; social; and political forces in history. Over the last 1400 years; from origins in Arabia; a succession of Muslim polities and later empires expanded to control territories and peoples that ultimately stretched from southern France; to East Africa and South East Asia. Yet many of the contributions of Muslim thinkers; scientists; and theologians; not to mention rulers; statesmen and soldiers; have been occluded. This book rescues from oblivion and neglect some of these personalities and institutions while offering the reader a new narrative of this lost Islamic history. The Umayyads; Abbasids; and Ottomans feature in the story; as do Muslim Spain; the savannah kingdoms of West Africa and the Mughal Empire; along with the later European colonisation of Muslim lands and the development of modern nation-states in the Muslim world. Throughout; the impact of Islamic belief on scientific advancement; social structures; and cultural development is given due prominence; and the text is complemented by portraits of key personalities; inventions and little known historical nuggets. The history of Islam and of the world's Muslims brings together diverse peoples; geographies; and states; all interwoven into one narrative that begins with Muhammad and continues to this day.