Muslim world but are rapidly increasing. In the Eastern Middle East, Iran has a high level of youth literacy at 98%, whereas Iraq's youth literacy rate has sharply declined from 85% to 57%, during the American-led war and subsequent occupation. Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country in the world, has a very high youth literacy rate at 99%. In Afghanistan, seminaries are operated by politically active religious organizations and have taken the place of basic education not provided and funded by the government. A 2016 Pew Research Center study about religion and education around the world found that Muslims have the lowest average
Engaging the Muslim World all his expertise, Cole fails to source some of his harshest accusations; moreover, for a scholar championing greater subtlety of thought, he too often discards nuance himself." The article also labeled the book a "missed opportunity". "The New York Times" disputed some of Cole's key points. It criticized Cole's comparison of Islamist groups with American militas and Cole's downplaying of Iran's nuclear program, remarking that "The [weapons] inspectors tell a very different story." Engaging the Muslim World Engaging the Muslim World () is a 2009 non-fiction book about the relationship between the United States and the Arab and Muslim worlds