The Introduction proposes the concept of Monsoon Islam and situates it against the historiography of Islam in general and of the Indian Ocean in particular. It distinguishes Monsoon Islam as defined primarily by its close relationship to the world of trade: many of its chief characteristics were shaped by the imperatives of doing business with, and among, non-Muslims. The Malabar Coast serves as a useful case study for this due to its geographical setting, political framework, and social context; at the same time, the region is in many ways exemplary of broader trends across the Indian Ocean. Chronologically, the main focus of the book is on the period from the 12th to the 16th century because it saw a great expansion in trans-oceanic trade, an economic dominance of Muslim merchants , and after 1498 the contestation of this position by the Portuguese. The most important types of primary source material on which this study is built are described. Finally, an outline of the book is presented, which is organized around four spaces, each of which is examined in both its physical and symbolic manifestations: the Port, the Mosque, the Palace, and the Sea.