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Religious Book Store > Religious books beginning with N
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The New Crusades: Constructing the Muslim Enemy |
Author:
Published: 2003-11-05 |
List price: $29.50
Our price: $26.55
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As of: January 05th, 2009 10:22:58 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 A must-read
As someone who is sick of the likes of Robert Spencer peddling fearmongering propaganda, this book is a breath of fresh air. If you have even a passing interest in Islam and its relationship with the West, read this book.
Nice Muslims
Muslims is nice. Don't smite me, please. I am good on Islam, yes? I vote 5 stars for this nice nice book!
 An average book
The book is ok. Its well written, and raises some valid points, however the issue is presented almost totally in an 'America-vs-Islam' context. The main conflicts Qureshi deals with involve post 9-11 America v certain parts of the Middle East and Israel-Palestine.
Qureshi has missed a major oppertunity to investigate other conflicts which involve Islam. Why does he not discuss Kashmir, Chechnya, Southern Thailand, Timor, Ughur/Western China? All of these conflicts have a religous dimension to them, and all of them are often talked about by Radical Jihadists, yet none of them really involve the US or Israel. His lack of attention to this means his book has just become another generic study which simplifies the whole issue.
Overall it is an ok book, and from an academic point of view it does provide an alternative to Huntingdon's theory. But sadly it has a narrow scope and leaves too many crucial questions unanswered.
An impressive achievement
Distinguished intellectuals offer in this extremely important not to mention timely book a much needed analysis of islamophobia and its lingering implications for international peace and security. These leading political commentators explain why hatred towards Islam still pervades Western societies. Nowhere is overgeneralization so evident as when it comes to Islam. Muslims are frequently portrayed by mass media as intransigent extremists whose values are completely incompatible with those of the westerners. One of those who strongly assert that Islam poses a grave threat to the West is Harvard Professor Samuel Huntington, presumably best known for his "Clash of Civilizations" thesis. Huntington suggests in his book that a peaceful co-existence between the West and the Arab world is an impossibility. By describing Muslims as a homogenous entity, Huntington's analysis becomes seriously flawed because he fails to take into account a number of important factors such as the fact that there are over 1 billion Muslims worldwide who have different cultures and speak different languages. Needless to say, failing to even consider these factors is indicative of spurious scholarship. One of the principal objectives of this book is to offer a rebuttal of Huntington's thesis. Edward Said's contribution in this book is a devestating critique of Huntington's assertions. Unfortunately, as has frequently been the case in the past, there is a tendency in the West to award writers who defame and misrepresent the true messages of Islam, as in the case of Ivo Andric who was awarded Nobel Prize for his book The Bridge on the Drina. Andric depicted Bosnian Muslims as atavistic people and treacherous converts who did not belong in Bosnia. Clearly oblivious to the fact that the majority of Bosnian Muslims were secularized individuals for whom religion played a rather insignificant role in social life, I can corroborate that from personal experience, Andric claimed that Bosnian Muslims were a serious threat to Christianity. In point of fact, Bosnian Muslims were and still are much less religious than their Serb and Croat counterparts. Paradoxically, many western experts spoke of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Bosnia and displayed a flagrant disregard for extremely well documented Serb nationalism and mythology which subsequently enabled the genocide of Bosnian Muslims. According to Michael Sells' and Norman Cigar's brilliant analyses, Serb mythology played a pivotal role in the extermination of Bosnian Muslims and yet no one talked of the Orthodox Christian fundamentalism and the other adjectives commonly employed for describing Muslims only. Christians who commit abhorrent crimes are rarely if ever referred to as Christian extremists but rather as lunatics in need of psychiatric care. Nonetheless, when a few extremely unstable individuals knowingly misinterpret the Quaran, they are immediately labelled religious fanatics. Note that the careless (in my view deliberate) use of the word Islam such as in the "Islamic fundamentalism" implicitly suggests that Islam condones terrorism and unjustifiable killing of innocent civilians. This unwarranted and unjustified use of the word Islam in similar contexts helps foster islamophobia in the West. There is and there always will be extremism on all sides but as long as we keep focusing on one side only, there will never be justice. I recommend this extremely well argued and extraordinarily well written masterpiece to all who believe that justice must apply to all. This is irrefutably one of the most important books ever published.
Necessary antidote for reading on Islam or the US "Crusade"
Serious readers about Islam and US policy should reflect on most of the essays in this book. It is a necessary antidote to all the simplifications and hidden agendas in the press, policy, and publications by "popular" writers on Islam who so often seem driven by hate, profits, or noteriety. Read here to reconsider the "Huntington Thesis" and it Lewis 'roots'. Reflect on the implications for Bush's "Crusade". The essay on Christian Serb terrorism and the manipulation of hatred is valuable for its general lessons as well. How think tanks and best sellers sway policy among those with limited depth of knowlege is worth considering -- especially when there seems to be an intellectual "Gresham's Law" of punditry. The continued importance of history and memory is highlighted. A variety of authors with considerable knowlege and depth offer valuable insights into where we are and how we got there - about myths and reality that are central to the what has been dubbed "the war on terror" and is often seen by Muslims with some justification as a "war on Islam" -- a Crusade.
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