With this summer issue of its Essays collection, Resetdoc presents to its readers the research and thoughts of three prominent intellectuals on the political transformations experienced  by Islam and its numerous interlocutors throughout history up to present time. Akeel Bilgrami focuses on the internal flaws of popular and pundit-instigated perspectives of the relationship between Western and Islamic public opinion as a ‘clash’ or a ‘conflict’, while José Casanova draws our attention to a fundamental difference between anti-Islamic xenophobia that is widespread in contemporary Europe and its counterpart in the U.S. Zaid Eyadat’s article analyses the constant presence of dialogue within the history of Islam and the ensuing exchange with Western culture.