Benazir Bhutto, the late former Prime Minister of Pakistan, finished writing the book Reconciliation – Islam, Democracy and the West, just days before her tragic assassination on 27 December 2007. The book, which will go on sale tomorrow, is her bold vision of how to reconcile the rapidly-growing tension between Islam and the West.

Reconciliation is Bhutto’s final words. It is a wake-up call to bridge the gap between extremist Islam and the West, and it is all the more powerful coming directly from Bhutto so shortly before she became a victim of Islamic terrorism herself. This book will stand as her lasting legacy.

Bhutto explores the complicated history between Pakistan and the West, tracing the roots of international terrorism to American support for General Zia ul Haq, who destroyed political parties, eliminated an independent judiciary, marginalised NGOs, suspended the protection of human rights, and aligned Pakistani intelligence agencies with the most radical elements of the Afghani Mujahadeen. She speaks out not just to the West, but to the Muslims across the globe who are at a crossroads between the past and the future, between education and ignorance, between technology and terrorism, and between dictatorship and democracy.

Reconciliation includes a foreword written just after the assassination by Mark Siegel, Bhutto’s collaborator on the book, and an afterword from Bhutto’s husband and children.

Bhutto was the chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party. Born in 1953 in Karachi, she was the first woman to lead a post-colonial Muslim state. She served as Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1988-1990 and 1993-1996. She had lived in exile since 1999 and returned to Pakistan in October 2007, two months before her assassination.