The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror (Modern Library) 1st Edition by Bernard Lewis (PDF)

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In his first book since What Went Wrong? Bernard Lewis examines the historical roots of the resentments that dominate the Islamic world today and that are increasingly being expressed in acts of terrorism. He looks at the theological origins of political Islam and takes us through the rise of militant Islam in Iran, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, examining the impact of radical Wahhabi proselytizing, and Saudi oil money, on the rest of the Islamic world. The Crisis of Islam ranges widely through thirteen centuries of history, but in particular it charts the key events of the twentieth century leading up to the violent confrontations of today: the creation of the state of Israel, the Cold War, the Iranian Revolution, the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan, the Gulf War, and the September 11th attacks on the United States.While hostility toward the West has a long and varied history in the lands of Islam, its current concentration on America is new. So too is the cult of the suicide bomber. Brilliantly disentangling the crosscurrents of Middle Eastern history from the rhetoric of its manipulators, Bernard Lewis helps us understand the reasons for the increasingly dogmatic rejection of modernity by many in the Muslim world in favor of a return to a sacred past. Based on his George Polk Award–winning article for The New Yorker, The Crisis of Islam is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what Usama bin Ladin represents and why his murderous message resonates so widely in the Islamic world.

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⭐Read also: Khomeni’s book “Islamic Governance” written in 1970. Whoo! Crazy sauce.Islam is… a) Living Spite (97); b) Volatile (101); Inferiority Complex (119)INTRODUCTIONModernity = western (xvii)America’s unquestionable primacy among western allies makes her especially hated (xxxii)CHAPTER 1Islam has a dual meaning:1) Religious faith: akin to “Chritianity”: regnum/sacerdotum balance2) Civilization: akin to “Christendom”: Islam is NOT a western civilization. No laity, nothing secular exists. P.14: anachronistic Islamic identity.CHAPTER 2 JihadJihad means moral striving (early texts)Jihad means military war of conquest over infidels (later Koran) – there can be truces, but islam does not surrender. Jihad is a holy obligation.The hijra is the move from Mecca to Medina (not “flight”) (33)Some consider jihad the equivalent of the crusades, but they are not. The crusades were a late development in Christianity and a departure from traditional teachings. (35) Jihad is an obligation since mohammad invented islam (37). In the koran, “world enlightenment” = imperial conquest and domination (43)CHAPTER 3The Siege of Vienna 1683 – led to soul searching among islam’s thinkers.1) Why had the Ottoman army been vanquished2) How could Islam restore its dominance?In the west, there was rapid, innovative, technological, commercial, and military expansion. Cooperation and competition were the hallmark of this period of western change.1798 – Napoleon takes Egypt. SHOCK and dismay for islam. And THEN, only the British Horatio Nelson could dislodge Napoleon. (55)Islam was not upset at its own imperialism – kindhearted and right-minded lightbringers to the unbelievers. But for the west to conquer and rule islam is a crime and a sin (57).CHAPTER 4Why anti-Americanism? (69)Post-WWII infatuation with socialismThe primary attraction the Nazis and soviets offered islam was anti-westernism, anti-individualism.Islam SHOCKED by America’s pro-Israel stance and America’s promiscuous prosperityIslam sees secularism, westernism as a wholesale threat. Satan is a seducer.CHAPTER 5The Iranian hostage crisis predicated on IMPROVING relationships at the time/improving diplomacy between US and Iran (82-84)America had become the central target for Islamic rageAmerica hoped revolution (1776) would be the model for anti-colonial revolutions in the middle east.BUT – instead of native populations throwing out colonizers, the American revolution represented the ultimate *success* of the colonizers – they no longer needed the help of the mother country against the native population.The Middle east turned to the Soviets, DESPITE imperialistic advances, DESPITE anti-Muslim repressions, and DESPITE military ineffectiveness (88-90)America-Israel alliance is a CONSEQUENCE, not a CAUSE, of soviet-islam partnership (97)CHAPTER 6 The problems with Islamic governance (105)1) Indecent moral foundations; nihilism2) Corruption3) Unchangeable inshallah, fatalism4) Powderkegs of repressed violence: volatileExamples: al-andaluz; the caliphate; the ottomans; post-WWII islamCHAPTER 7 the failure of modernityPoverty + tyranny = islamLow productivity due to nihilism, fatalism, and slave economiesNo curiosity, no productivity, no literacy: grimstatisticsPainful comparison to west (117) in living conditionsCorrupt and tyrannical governmentsPopular anger against rulers AND against west – west to blame for privation and humiliationCHAPTER 8The Saudis/Wahhabis sequence/chronology:1) Saud takeover of peninsula, then Medina and Mecca2) Sauds recognized by Europe, gradually also by islam3) Consolidation of power; custodian of holy places4) Oil contracts5) Wahhabism is the state-enforced doctrine6) Indoctrination of new converts – it’s the only education available7) Immense financial resourcesIslamic reformer parties have always failedMartyrsAccession to power,then complete tyranny (133-134)CHAPTER 9TerrorismDifferentiates from assassinationsSlaughter of innocents is the prime objective (147)There can be truce, but no surrender to the west (150)Evolution of suicide bombers (153) – directly contradicts koranic teachingMY THOUGHTS:Lewis misunderstands socialism and fails to recognize or identify itLikewise, Lewis mischaracterizes a free society as a democratic oneLewis makes MANY questionable claims that are rah-rah for Islam: 4, 25, 28, 40, 51, 78, 107, 141,154, 167He is reflexively anti-America (101, 107)Typical disapproval of Israel 93-94, 98The recipe for islamicization seems to be (21)1) Humiliation at being subjects of the west2) Frustration that socialism/anti-colonialism fails3) Contempt for western decadenceLewis considers fundamentalism to be a threat primarily pointed at “corrupted governments” in Islam (24, 41)Islam needs an enemy (28, 43) and Christians are the primary rivals.Islam needs a patron – Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, weak Europe all have done their part

⭐Princeton Professor Bernard Lewis is a master historian and an authority on the Middle East, particularly Islam. His insights on the Muslim religion and terrorism alone are worth the price of the book. It is well written and relatively easy to read. Through these brief pages, Bernard Lewis traces the history of Islam and some of its important tenets. He does a fantastic job at describing America’s history and involvement against terrorism and Islam’s hostile view against the US. He describes the reasons why Islamic terrorists vehemently despise America and seek her destruction.Quotes from the Qu’ran, Usama Bin Laden, and key terrorist leaders make this an interesting read. Bernard’s grasp of global Islam helps put into perspective why terrorism is such a dominant force in the world today. It’s a clarion call to all Americans, and one that cannot be ignored. This is the number one problem across the globe today. As stated in Bernard’s final sentence, “If the fundamentalists (terrorists) are correct in their calculations and succeed in their war, then a dark future awaits the world.” His words were virtually prophetic. After Lewis penned those words a dozen years ago, the world is a much darker place today because of Islamic terrorists.

⭐Bernard Lewis is one of the most respected Middle East experts, but unlike other writers who can make that claim he is also a noted historian rather than a journalist or retired military officer. His expertise is based on a lifetime of scholarship and is beyond question. Recently, he also hit the best seller list with “What Went Wrong: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response,” a collection of essays that are best appreciated by those with some prior knowledge of Islam and the Middle East. His latest work, “The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror,” is also derived from previous essays and articles, but here Lewis has ably integrated earlier pieces into a single, and very readable, book. The purpose is clearly to provide a post-9/11 source on Islam and the Middle and their relationships with the West, especially the United States, that is accessable to those who are not experts in the study of these issues. Modest in length, this is still a detailed work that speaks with a unique authority. He may not map out possible strategies or policies, though he does have an in as an advisor to the Bush Administration, but he certainly tells us something about the thought processes, and the belief system of a culture that seems so alien to many Americans. In reference to the sources of terrorism that use Islam as justification he concludes that the West has every right to defend itself, but must also seek some “useful” understanding of the “forces” that “drive” these people. “The Crisis of Islam” works quite well in illustrating these “forces.” Actually, Lewis is far more successful in explaining “what went wrong” in this volume than in his more celebrated, earlier work. If this work also becomes a bestseller it will be good news simply because it will mean that an increasing number of people are educating themselves about peoples, cultures, and problems that they know so little about.

⭐This is another fantastic book written by an author who has contributed in the understanding and the failures of Muslims. If people from the Muslim world actually looked in the mirror a little critically then maybe they would be celebrating the potential of what they can achieve. Instead of looking at the “glorious” past the need to consider the future for the sake of peace is now essential.The book tackles some of the short coming of the many thinkers from the last 400 years.

⭐Very valuable background to how the West finds itself at war today with radical Islam

⭐An excellent analysis and informative, but very little bit deviation to the favour of America, Such favour is acceptable and the book is easy to understand and scholarly written as Lewis is particularly a scholar on middle east issue.

⭐The focus of this book is the question, `Why is so much of Islam seemingly antagonistic with the West?’ Lewis attempts to answer this question by tracing the struggles between the Muslim world and the European powers, and later, America, the main object of hatred according to the argument of the book. Lewis argues that the reasons for this hatred are multi-factorial. Factors include the sense of loss and embarrassment because of increasing Western progress; a loathing of Western materialism, and ultimately, America’s meddling in Middle Eastern affairs. Key also are certain individuals such as Sayyid Qutb, who, shocked at the level of American morality (even in churches) wrote powerfully against what he perceived as the `new age of ignorance’ (clearly a powerful issue as Islam was to replace an age of ignorance).Lewis’s book is very well researched and balanced, and the historical material receives full treatment, dispelling many myths along the way. As with other writers, he locates much of today’s problems with the cult of Wahabbism. This book is a clear and excellent introduction towards an understanding of the motivations and aspirations of political Islam, and a thoroughly engaging read.

⭐Interesting

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