The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror

This book was written in 2003, but that doesn’t matter because the events it talks about have happened over a millennia or so.

This is a discussion of the “problems” that Islam has with the West: why terrorism and anger toward the West are on the rise all over the world. In the end, the list wasn’t that surprising to me:

• Historically, the Crusades are a pretty big reason. There’s just this looming history of Christendom riding into Muslim lands and trying to take them away. Many Muslims view imperialism simple as a continuation of the Crusades by another name (of note: right up until this death, Osama Bin Laden referred to his enemies as “The Crusaders”) However, the author argues that the Crusades themselves were really just an attempt to take back what had been taken from Judaism and Christendom.

• Islam has no separation of church and state. Religion and government are the same thing. If religions are at war, then so are countries.

• “Jihad” is called for in the Quran, though opinions differ on whether it refers to general religious struggle, or more explicitly, to war and violence.

• Several prominent Muslims throughout history have framed the United States as a degenerate, self-indulgent culture that separates people from God.

• The United States has supported Israel and other anti-Muslim regimes. The author claims this is partially due to a desire to prevent Soviet influence (the Soviets had a tendency to cozy up to Muslim leaders, up until they invaded Afghanistan) and prevent a hegemony over Middle Eastern oil (having no one in charge is more economically advantageous than the alternative).

• Significant negative influence flowed in from Europe and the Soviet Union. At varying times, Muslim nations have been on good terms with those regions, and they have both been critical of the United States.

• The Muslim world is relatively impoverished, and it’s easy to stoke the anger of the poor

More viscerally and simplistically, the author relays a seven-point list of demands published by Hamas on September 13, 2001 (just two days post-9/11). In the letter, Hamas explains what they want the United States to do (these are paraphrased):

1. Embrace Islam
2. Stop oppressing other countries
3. Admit to having to no principles or morals
4. Stop supporting anti-Muslim nations like Israel
5. Leave all Muslim countries
6. Stop supporting corrupt dictators in Muslim countries
7. Deal fairly with Muslims in the future

Again, none of this was particularly surprising to me.

That said, the book is well-researched and well-written.

(Note that I was cautiously looking for some evidence of bias. Given when the book was written, I was concerned it was part of an anti-Muslim publishing spike. I didn’t detect anything – it seemed quit neutral and factual – but it’s worth mentioning that the author was born into a Jewish family, and has been considered anti-Muslim by some.)

Book Info