In a world where international interdependence has become a major consideration, where nations cannot exist in isolation, anthropology is crucial to foster understanding between peoples. Since the essence of Islam is universal, anthropology has a special significance for Muslim cultures. It can enable them to play a constructive part in the modern world's collective future, a future in which 'knowing one another' is of utmost importance.

Knowing One Another contributes to the quest for the Islamization of knowledge by defining the basic concepts of Islamic anthropology. It explores the different strands of traditional, Western anthropological scholarship; explains the importance of the Islamization of knowledge movement; looks at the concept of human life and community as defined in the Qur'an, and calls for a constructive dialogue between Islamic and Western anthropology.