This book attempts to trace the Arabs' attempt to achieve modernity, even if it was a lizard's terrier. Passing through various political concepts, and through the dilemma of authenticity and modernity, until arriving at a definition of modernity. And identifying the reasons for the Arabs' inability to achieve modernity. All the way to the dialectic of us and the other...the crisis of cultural backwardness, and the role of identity. The impact of Islamic heritage and legitimacy. The meaning of Islam and renewal.