(RNS) — Public opinion of Islam has veered dramatically over the past 50 years between those who have characterized it as a violent faith fundamentally opposed to Western values and those who have sought to understand Islam’s plurality, diversity and complexity as practiced in the lives of Muslims. Among the latter was John Esposito, one of the foremost non-Muslim scholars of Islam, who died July 15 at the age of 86 following complications from heart surgery. Esposito, who was professor emeritus of religion, international affairs and Islamic studies at Georgetown University, was distinguished for his careful scholarship that sought to correct Western misconceptions about Islam. In as many as 55 books and a lifetime of teaching, he challenged the “Clash of Civilizations” theory of Islam as proposed by scholars Samuel Huntington and Bernard Lewis. Esposito sought to build bridges between Westerners and Muslims, becoming a go-to source for sensitive and nuanced portrayals of Islam among journalists, diplomats, foreign policy advisers and scholars. “He had a humanizing factor in addition to his academic knowledge, and then …