John O. Voll is Professor of Islamic History and past Associate Director of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. He is a past president of the Middle East Studies Association and serves on numerous editorial boards, including the Oxford Islamic Studies Online. He is the author, co-author, or editor of a dozen books, including Islam & Democracy (with John Esposito), and more than one hundred articles on Islamic and world history.