In the book "Coffee with the Prophet," Muhammad visits the twenty-first century and discovers how much Islam and the world have changed in 1,400 years.

Dr. Gabriel's goal in writing Coffee with the Prophet is to let readers examine Islam through the words of the Prophet himself. People around the world are confused about Islam, Dr. Gabriel says. Its defenders say Islam is a religion of peace, which promotes human rights. Its detractors say it is a religion of violence, which violates human rights. "So I am bringing Muhammad, the founder of this religion, to speak for himself-not a politically correct Muslim scholar or a Muslim radical to speak for him. Muhammad is going to speak directly to the world community and present himself, with no mediator in between." Of course, bringing Muhammad to us from the seventh century required a fictional approach. (Ever the scholar, Dr. Gabriel has followed the narrative with an extensive section of notes.)