is a prominent political philosopher and author who contributes regularly to The Guardian, New Statesman, and the Times Literary Supplement. He has written several influential books on political theory, including Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals (2002), Al Qaeda and What It Means To Be Modern (2003), Heresies: Against Progress and Other Illusions (2004), and Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia (2007). In his writings, he strongly speaks out against any form of fundamentalism, religious or otherwise. John Gray studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford, where he received his BA, MA and Ph.D degrees. From 1976-1996 he was Fellow in Politics at Jesus College, Oxford, and in 1996 he became Professor of Politics at Oxford. Between 1998 and 2007 he was School Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics, where he is now Emeritus Professor. [040609]