Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah, chairman of the Nawawi Foundation in
Chicago, has some very informative articles on the Foundation’s website:
http://www.nawawi.org/courses/index_reading_room.html
He is, Masha Allah, a brilliant scholar and academic and I am sure you will find his writing useful. You may also want to purchase his landmark book on the life of Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb (1846-1916):
Islamopedia 
Absolutely brilliant scholar who I believe can and will help the bridge the divide between Western and Eastern Islam.