Between 1000 and 1250, Turkish converts gained control of Baghdad, and the Islamic world split into eastern and western spheres.

WSJ: Islam at the Louvre

Ibrahim Maalouf (Lebanon), trumpeter, mixes Western and Eastern musical styles and works with artists from all over the world.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

Singapore's government has worked to marry Eastern culture and Western business practices, and the country is now the world's fourth leading financial center, behind London, New York and Hong Kong.

WSJ: Ian Bremmer on Pivot States

The report notes that "there is no commonly accepted explanation by criminologists for the fall in violence in many of the world's regions including the US, Western Europe, Eastern and Central Europe, as well as the UK".

BBC: The riddle of peacefulness

Deepak Chopra is the founder of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing in Carlsbad, California, and is acknowledged as one of the master teachers of Eastern philosophy in the Western world.

FORBES: Exclusive: Deepak Chopra Explores the Evolution of God