How does the Muslim conscience face up to the agonising dilemma posed for Islam by Saddam Hussein 's invasion of Kuwait? On the one hand, such aggression by one Muslim country against another must be condemned; on the other, the intrusion of the forces of the west in Saudi Arabia, guardian of the Holy Places, must be resisted. Why is the Muslim world so divided? And why is it so often thrown into conflict with western values? Many Muslims yearn for the supremacy of 'umma, the universal community of all Muslims, but must their faith in Islam override their allegiance to the State?