History Books

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)

Robert Spencer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 500 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Smithy's take 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I was so gripped reading this book that I couldn't put it down.He exposes the fact that when we see our Presidents and Prime Ministers calling Islam "a religion of peace" that they don't know what they're talking about.The contrasts between Muhammad and Jesus in every chapter are very telling.The terrorists aren't fanatics but merely those who take their Qurans seriously and all non muslims should know it.I'm also glad that he sets the record straight about the crusades and Islamic expansionism.It's a very useful read and one I heartily recommend.

An insightful read but not everything about it is correct 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I enjoyed this book enormously. It was very insightful. It certainly changes our misconceptions regarding history and how things are connected. Although it is something that people are not used to hearing, it is necessary read, and has evidence to back up its claim. With the war on terror showing no signs of abating and as the terrorists strike all who are not in accord with their cause, this book not only provide an insight into the problem from a historical point of view, it also shows how easily Islam's distortion came about. This book changes many misconceptions. The idea of jihad is the center of it all, something that ought to be criticized or rejected for the world to be at peace.

A quote in The Union Moujik, says that the jihadists are the quasi-faithful. "they kill for the sake of reasoning, a reasoning that distorts faith..........they are even worst than the atheists who got lost in their noble intentions because they lacked faith.....Tomorrow you will find them slitting one another's throats. These quasi-faithful are the curse of our children's age." Overall, THE POLITICALY INCORRECT GUIDE TO ISLAM is a book to read.

Editorial Review:

Islam expert Robert Spencer reveals Islam's ongoing, unshakable quest for global conquest and why the West today faces the same threat as the Crusaders did--and what we can learn from their experience.

The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion

Robert Spencer

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Total reviews: 300 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Boring and poorly researched. 1 out of 5 stars.
4 of 13 people found this review helpful.

Spencer may be known for writing relatively useless tabloids, but he clearly is not inept to author books as complicated as this. First of all, "The Truth about Muhammad" is simply a personal criticism and lacks any concrete evidence. The author has done a poor job researching the topic; furthermore, some of the authors sources can be classified as racist hate-literature.

Also, the book was poorly written and very boring. Only a white-supremacist would find this book worthwhile.

The Hypocrisy of Muslim Apologists is Showing . . . 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Until the publication of Robert Spencer's, "The Truth About Muhammad," most people in the west have had no easy access to an understanding of the basic constructs of the Koran or the origins of Muslim faith. Spencer provides a singularly useful primer for the uninformed. He not only offers a concise overview of key elements of the Muslim holy book but provides context through a variety of other sources, including Muslim history and Muhammad's biography. While Spencer's detractors offer a variety of other writings offering quotes suggesting that Muhammad was a man of peace and compassion, the strong contradictory evidence which emerges from Spencer's research shows that Muhammad was a misogynist, thug and brutal warlord who advocated death or dhimmitude as the only acceptable alternatives to his beliefs. A few "moderate" Muslim organizations have come out with milk-toast condemnations of jihad and misogyny but actions speak much louder than words. Until the majority of the world's 1.9 billion "peaceful" Muslim faithful protest in the streets against the violence done to kafirs, apostates, women and innocent Muslims in the name of Allah, Spencer cannot modify his conclusions. The death sentence pronounced against Spencer and other authors needs to be lifted. In addition, a general fatwa proclaimed by the highest Sunni and Shiite authorities, advocating free speech in all its forms, is necessary before the rest of the world can consider the idea that Spencer is wrong when he states, "The words and deeds of Muhammad have been moving Muslims to commit acts of violence for fourteen hundred years now. They are not going to disappear in our lifetimes; nor can they be negotiated away." "The Truth About Muhammad" convinces me that only Muslims can bring an end to the continuation of their centuries of violence by re-interpreting and condemning some of their most basic and violent beliefs.

Editorial Review:

In this startling new book, New York Times bestselling author Robert Spencer, provides a warts-and-all portrait of the Prophet of Islam and draws out what his life implies for reforming Islam and repulsing Islamic terrorists. Spencer relies solely on primary sources considered reliable by Muslims and evaluates modern biographies to show how Muhammad has been changed for Western audiences, lulling them into consoling but false conclusions.

No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam

Reza Aslan

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Total reviews: 107 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Though it is the fastest-growing religion in the world, Islam remains shrouded in ignorance and fear for much of the West. In No god but God, Reza Aslan, an internationally acclaimed scholar of religions, explains this faith in all its beauty and complexity. Beginning with a vivid account of the social and religious milieu in which the Prophet Muhammad forged his message, Aslan paints a portrait of the first Muslim community as a radical experiment in religious pluralism and social egalitarianism. He demonstrates how, after the Prophet’s death, his successors attempted to interpret his message for future generations–an overwhelming task that fractured the Muslim community into competing sects. Finally, Aslan examines how, in the shadow of European colonialism, Muslims developed conflicting strategies to reconcile traditional Islamic values with the realities of the modern world, thus launching what Aslan terms the Islamic Reformation. Timely and persuasive, No god but God is an elegantly written account of a magnificent yet misunderstood faith.

The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future

Vali Nasr

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Total reviews: 91 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The New York Times bestseller: "Historically incisive, geographically broad-reaching, and brimming with illuminating anecdotes."—Max Rodenbeck, New York Review of Books

Profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, Iranian-born scholar Vali Nasr has become one of America's leading commentators on current events in the Middle East, admired and welcomed by both media and government for his "concise and coherent" analysis (Wall Street Journal). In this "smart, clear and timely" book (Washington Post), Nasr brilliantly dissects the political and theological antagonisms within Islam. He provides a unique and objective understanding of the 1,400-year bitter struggle between Shias and Sunnis, and sheds crucial light on its modern-day consequences—from the nuclear posturing of Iran's President Ahmadinejad to the recent U.S.-enabled shift toward Shia power in Iraq and Hezbollah's continued dominance in Lebanon. This paperback edition features a new foreword for 2007.

Islam: A Short History (Modern Library Chronicles)

Karen Armstrong

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Total reviews: 140 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The picture of Islam as a violent, backward, and insular tradition should be laid to rest, says Karen Armstrong, bestselling author of Muhammad and A History of God. Delving deep into Islamic history, Armstrong sketches the arc of a story that begins with the stirring of revelation in an Arab businessman named Muhammad. His concern with the poor who were being left behind in the blush of his society's new prosperity sets the tone for the tale of a culture that values community as a manifestation of God. Muhammad's ideas catch fire, quickly blossoming into a political empire. As the empire expands and the once fractured Arabs subdue and overtake the vast Persian domain, the story of a community becomes a panoramic drama. With great dexterity, Armstrong narrates the Sunni-Shi'ite schism, the rise of Persian influence, the clashes with Western crusaders and Mongolian conquerors, and the spiritual explorations that traced the route to God. Armstrong brings us through the debacle of European colonialism right up to the present day, putting Islamic fundamentalism into context as part of a worldwide phenomenon. Islam: A Short History, like Bruce Lawrence's Shattering the Myth and Mark Huband's Warriors of the Prophet, introduces us to a faith that beckons like a minaret to those who dare to venture beyond the headlines. --Brian Bruya

The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror

Bernard Lewis

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Total reviews: 138 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, many Americans yearned to understand why Muslim extremists felt such passionate animosity toward the Western world, particularly the United States. Since that historic attack there have been many books and discussions about this very question, but few of them offer such a readable and relevant response as this excellent offering by renowned historian Bernard Lewis (What Went Wrong?). For modern Westerners, Islam is an especially foreign religion and culture to understand. For instance, Westerners typically dismiss things as unimportant when using the expression "that’s history." But for those raised in Muslim households, history—even ancient history—is just as important (if not more important) as the present. And to better understand the hostilities rooted in this history—one could start with recognizing the long-standing resentment the Islamic community harbors from having its homelands torn apart and re-packaged into random political states by occupying Europeans (Westerners). Or stretch back in time to the brutality of the Crusades. Or go straight to the U.S. political meddling in the region throughout the latter 20th century.

This is not a pity fest for Muslims. Lewis even-handedly explores the sources of Islamic antagonism toward the West while also explaining how a supposedly peace-worshipping religion could be so distorted by violent extremism. He notes that the American way of life—especially that of fulfillment through material gain and sexual freedom—is a direct threat to Islamic values (which is why night clubs—places where men and women publicly touch one another—are targets of bombings). But it is basic Western democracy that especially threatens Islamic extremists, notes Lewis, because within its own community more and more Muslims are coming to value the freedom that political democracy allows. For anyone wanting an intelligent and accessible primer on the Islamic-Western conflict, this is an excellent place to begin. Gail Hudson

The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In

Hugh Kennedy

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Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

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Today’s Arab world was created at breathtaking speed. In just over one hundred years following the death of Mohammed in 632, Arabs had subjugated a territory with an east-west expanse greater than the Roman Empire, and they did it in about one-half the time. By the mid-eighth century, Arab armies had conquered the thousand-year-old Persian Empire, reduced the Byzantine Empire to little more than a city-state based around Constantinople, and destroyed the Visigoth kingdom of Spain. The cultural and linguistic effects of this early Islamic expansion reverberate today. This is the first popular English-language account in many years of this astonishing remaking of the political and religious map of the world. Hugh Kennedy’s sweeping narrative reveals how the Arab armies conquered almost everything in their path, and brings to light the unique characteristics of Islamic rule. One of the few academic historians with a genuine talent for story telling, Kennedy offers a compelling mix of larger-than-life characters, fierce battles, and the great clash of civilizations and religions.

The Siege of Mecca: The 1979 Uprising at Islam's Holiest Shrine

Yaroslav Trofimov

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Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

On not judging a book by its cover 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I was prepared to dislike this book, suspecting an "action pack thriller", full of loopy historical inaccuracies, if not outright fantasy - all because of the jarring black and red cover. Instead I found a lean, scholarly, and almost certainly dispassionately accurate account of one of the more important and not very well understood events in the last quarter of the 20th Century. It is written in a fast-paced action style, flipping back and forth among the major actors in this drama, but that enhances and does not hinder his story. Ramifications of this siege are affecting us today.

Mr. Trofimov knows his subject well, amazingly well. He deftly describes the numerous disparate historical antecedents to the taking of the mosque by Islamic fanatics, and the reactions of the major actors. The Ikhwan, the religious brotherhood which was instrumental in Abdul Aziz's conquest and consolidation of what would be the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and his decision that they overstepped their limits, and so he had to mow them down with borrowed British machine guns in the early `30's, leading to a sense of martyrdom in the remnants of the defeated communities. America was tired of "foreign adventures," Vietnam being the prime reason, and therefore the CIA was severely constrained, with the coups it directed in Chile and Iran very much in mind. There was the Kingdom itself, being overwhelmed by the "future shock" of oil revenues, and the attendant rapid "modernization," with its own ills, inevitably leaving some people behind

As with many events of this magnitude, ironies abound; they are described but not overplayed. The Royal Family must obtain a ruling from the Ulema, the chief religious body, that force can be used to remove the rebels, yet philosophically, the Ulema is in large measure in agreement with the complaints of the rebels. For days virtually no one knows the exact identify of the people who seized the mosque, so the United States insists it was Iran, and the Shiites; meanwhile Iran is insisting it is the United States and the infidels. Perhaps the best trained Arab force that could assist the Saudis is the Hashemite Jordanians, but they can not be used since they were once rulers in the Hejaz, were defeated by Abdul Aziz, and if they returned, "may not leave." Eventually the Saudis turned to the French, "because they were discreet and could keep a secret," which also proved false.

I found the section of the French involvement particularly fascinating, since it dispelled the rumors that had dominated this topic, and described in an authoritative manner the exact nature of the fairly limited intervention (3 men, and supplies). Characteristically of Trofimov's account, he states the facts which he could ascertain, but does not speculate whether Barril, one of the three Frenchmen, actually entered Mecca.

Equally important was the depiction of the immediate ramifications throughout the Muslim world, who blamed the United States, in large part because of Khomeini. US Embassies in Libya and Pakistan were burned, with loss of American life.

John Burgess, on his CrossRoads Arabia website, pointed out some (relatively minor) flaws in Trofimov's book, citing the reason that the Bedouin were settled was not, as Trofimov contends, to better perform their ablutions, but rather to stop their raiding. I'd add a couple of my own: the Nejd would never be described as the "central Arabian highlands" (p14), and, of course, 1400 is not the first year of new century, 1401 is.

On a personal note, I traveled by road in the Asir, from Abha to Taif, one week prior to the taking of the mosque, and may very well have passed some of the participants. On that trip, at a police checkpoint, was the only time in my 20 years in the Kingdom, that a Muslim did not give the proper response to my "As-Salaam Alikum" greeting; the followers of Juhayman believe(d) that a Muslim should not respond to an infidel when he gave the traditional greeting.

In Trofimov's summing up, he correctly identifies Juhayman's deed as only one of the currents which lead to the formation of Al Qaeda. He also points out a second one, arriving from Egypt, in the person of Ayman Al Zawahir (who had been inspired by the execution of his hero, Sayyid Qutb). Of course, a third could easily be postulated: the unintended consequences, a/k/a "blowback" in CIA jargon, of America and Saudi Arabia funding and arming Islamic fundamentalist to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. And a fourth: the CIA coup against the democratically elected government of Iran in 1953.

Epilogues can be used to examine some of the "what ifs" of an event. One of the rumors concerning Juhayman's capture stated that he had asked: "But where are the armies of the north"? Trofimov does not cover this, and only alludes to the self-delusional nature of individuals who succumb to millennial dogmas; the alleged Mahdi believes that he is "bullet proof," with the attendant fatal consequences. How many of my fellow citizens believe in the "rapture," the postulated end of the world when Christ returns, and would actually like to hasten the date? And "what if" they took concrete actions to accomplish this goal? Our own Juhayman...

Trofimov account is almost certainly the best account we will ever have on the seizure of the mosque in Mecca in 1979, and is highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

In The Siege of Mecca, acclaimed journalist Yaroslav Trofimov pulls back the curtain on a thrilling, pivotal, and overlooked episode of modern history, examining its repercussions on the Middle East and the world.

On November 20, 1979, worldwide attention was focused on Tehran, where the Iranian hostage crisis was entering its third week. That same morning, gunmen stunned the world by seizing the Grand Mosque in Mecca, creating a siege that trapped 100,000 people and lasted two weeks, inflaming Muslim rage against the United States and causing hundreds of deaths. But in the days before CNN and Al Jazeera, the press barely took notice. Trofimov interviews for the first time scores of direct participants in the siege, and draws upon hundreds of newly declassified documents. With the pacing, detail, and suspense of a real-life thriller, The Siege of Mecca reveals the long-lasting aftereffects of the uprising and its influence on the world today.

What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur'an - A History of Islam & the United States

William, J Federer

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

You will be fascinated by this fast-paced, objective history of the world from a perspective you have never imagined. Current events will come into focus in the back drop of 1,400 years of inconceivable yet true events and conflicts. Thousands of books, documents and articles have been researched over several years in preparation for this book. In 2006, Keith Ellison became the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress. He swore in on a Qur'an. Most Americans know little about the Qur'an, who wrote it and how it spread. Mohammed, who had 15 wives, fought in scores of raids and battles, even cutting off the heads of 700 Jews. Within one hundred years of his death, his followers conquered North Africa, the Holy Land, Persia, Spain - from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. Read how Sultan Mehmet II conquered the 1000 year old Byzantine capital of Constantinople - How Jefferson sent Marines to capture the Muslim Barbary pirate port of Tripoli - Woodrow Wilson tried to save millions of Armenian Christians killed in Turkey. You will not be the same after you have learned what every American needs to know about the Qur'an.

The Garden of Truth: The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam's Mystical Tradition

Seyyed Hossein Nasr

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Editorial Review:

The headlines are filled with the politics of Islam, but there is another side to the world's fastest-growing religion. Sufism is the poetry and mysticism of Islam. This mystical movement from the early ninth century rejects worship motivated by the desire for heavenly reward or the fear of punishment, insisting rather on the love of God as the only valid form of adoration. Sufism has made significant contributions to Islamic civilization in music and philosophy, dance and literature. The Sufi poet Rumi is the bestselling poet in America. But in recent centuries Sufism has been a target for some extremist Islamic movements as well as many modernists. The Garden of Truth presents the beliefs and vision of the mystical heart of Islam, along with a history of Sufi saints and schools of thought.

In a world threatened by religious wars, depleting natural resources, a crumbling ecosystem, and alienation and isolation, what has happened to our humanity? Who are we and what are we doing here? The Sufi path offers a journey toward truth, to a knowledge that transcends our mundane concerns, selfish desires, and fears. In Sufism we find a wisdom that brings peace and a relationship with God that nurtures the best in us and in others.

Noted scholar Seyyed Hossein Nasr helps you learn the secret wisdom tradition of Islam and enter what the ancient mystics call the "garden of truth." Here, liberate your mind, experience peace, discover your purpose, fall in love with the Divine, and find your true, best self.