Excerpt:
John Esposito has logged 3 million miles over the past four decades traveling to and from Islamic nations of the Middle East and Asia.
He speaks and reads Arabic. And he thinks Americans misunderstand the religion embraced by a quarter of mankind.
Esposito, who will speak Thursday in Tulsa, is author of 45 books, professor of religion and international affairs and of Islamic studies at Georgetown University, presidentelect of the American Academy of Religion, and founding director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown.