Rating: 
Summary: Contrast and War
Review: Why do Islamic countries hate the West? Is Peace possible between the Islamic community and the West?
Bernanrd Lewis, a noted Islamist, attempts to explain to the American public the thought process of the Arab mind. To do this to a people to whom anything beyond Vietnam is old history, and generally considered irrelevant, is a Herculean task, hardly likely to succeed.
Yet, if there is to be any kind of peace, or of containment of Islamic fundamentalism, and the terror that it carries, an understanding of the historical issues that affect the Arab (and by extension the Muslim) mind is, not only essential, but urgent.
The author explains quite clearly how Western culture corrupts and destroys the very fabric of Islamic family values and society.
Inadvertently, Western values penetrate the Islamic societies. The internet is everywhere, despite the Islamic governments efforts to censor it and limit access. Satellite TV and radio transmissions are heard and seen, within their borders. This is viewed as an invasion. Thus we, the west, become aggressors against their way of life.
The contrast between their values, and ours; religion as the central tenet, and guiding light of the law, versus our secular view, that places religion only as a distant philosophical reference point is as clear as the skies and the black smoke over the towers on that fateful September 11th.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Most American's think that Muslim's hate America due to its support of Israel. That could not be farther from the truth. Even if America were not pro-Israel, they still would have the USA.American's are non-believers and for that, they are infidels. Being an infidel is one of the worst things in Islam. This is a horrifying book since it is so close to home.
The facts are real.
The Arabs don't deny it.
15 of the 19 hijackers of 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia, and they don't even apologize. Every American should read this book, and then write their congressman to take action against the dangers of Islam.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a fair appreciation of islam
Review: Overall is a rather cold and cruel vision of islam. The author is not simpathetic or understanding of it. He describes its problems in the same way a psychiatrist tries to understand the mind of an "insane" person without ever forgeting that the person "is crazy". At the end he does not proposes any substantial solution to the conflict. The question is, how can the arab countries and people can be helped from their pain? Have the western countries really offered their sincere and fraternal friendship, trying to trully help improve those countries? The arab people feel that over the history their culture and dignity have been offended through colonialism and then by globalization that threatens their identity and moral values. What can the western countries do to stop this apparent aggraviation, and offer help, cooperation and legitimate friendship?
Rating:
Summary: Excellent overview of the clash between the West and Islam
Review: Bernard Lewis distills his immense learning into a few short chapters, focusing on why Islamic society is so antagonistic toward modern western society. He shows that Islam feels threatened by--and at the same time attracted to--modernity and this is at the root of the antagonism, at least on the part of many. It's a short, easy read. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Unpleasant Truths, Troubling Possibilities
Review: What drew me to this book is probably what attracts the majority to this subject: finding out more of how terrorism, 9/11, and Islam fit together. I hear about how bin Laden and groups like the Taliban refer to themselves as 'true practitioners of Islam', and I wonder where that belief stems from. Bernard Lewis does an excellent job of shedding light on this perspective. First, an overview of Islam is presented. The Prophet Mohammed, the pillars of the Muslim faith, and the central role the Koran plays in Muslim society is shown. Later, it is shown that despots, dwindling opportunities, less money, the failure of Islamic nationalism, and the inescapable plenty of the West is making the Arab world more and more desperate. Bin Laden offers a solution to all these things via his fundamentalist causes and beliefs. In a hopeless world, people look to the man who says 'I have the answer'. Some follow. This is not a flag-waving, chest-beating book. Lewis does not attack the religion, which is more repect than some here afford the author. His examples are all public record. He is careful to state that not all Muslims are inherently terrorists, nor are they all intolerant radicals. But these do exist, as does the potential for many more. The theme here isn't 'America's the greatest, sucker'. It digs deeper than the Chomsky arguments, suck as the Palestinian/Israel conflict and the unwavering wrongness of America. It was an educational book, and in my opinion even-handed. You will learn more. Also, discovering why we are called "The Great Satan" was really fascinating. Maybe they hate our (sexual) freedoms after all.
Rating:
Summary: True Moslems Should Read This Book!
Review: This slender volune continues the discussion that Mr. Lewis has debated in his earlier writings. In fact the reader will find much sumarized here which has been written by the author already in his numerous other works on Islam. The brief history of Islam will prove useful to the general reader, and perhaps a bit redundant to the more knowledgeable person. The sad fact is that those who should be reading books like this, moderate Islamists and other believers in Islam, most likely aren't. These people would stand to learn most from the balanced views and general history presented within. Despite what Mr. Lewis says that believers in Islam tend to have a greater sense of their own history, it is a knowledge often skewed into various forms of hysterical propaganda. My guess is that most Moslems do not have an objective knowledge of their own history in the same manner that many in the West do of Christianity. That is where much of the root of the problem resides. Islam certainly won't let them get such an education either, because books like this will never get translated into Arabic, and even Islamic Immigirants in the West will not likely read it. So Mr. Lewis is largely preaching to those who already understand these issues, or Westerners who want to learn more about it. While Mr. Lewis has a sweeping knowledge of Middle Eastern History, the reader will often find that he raises more questions than he answers. Mr. Lewis will seldom give a direct yes or no on any subject of Islam he discusses. His approach is calm and rational, and will perhaps frustrate the reader who wants to see clear-cut reasons why radicals in Islam want to kill Westerners. Mr. Lewis will provide many examples and questions, but his own answers are often vague. Still, his books make for enlightening reads, and are certainly worthwhile. His history of the Saudi State of radical Wahabism and its connection with oil explains a lot about how that country must have a love-hate relationship with the West. One of his main point seems to be that Islam, being a younger religion than Christianity, is now going through a radical, violent development. It is our misfortune to have to deal with this problem, and it remains the bigger question how much longer the West shall be willing to be restained in its reponse toward continued terror.
Rating:
Summary: Haven't read this either
Review: But I'd like to respond to a comment made by an earlier reviewer regarding this book. The author is said to have said that suicide is not endorsed in Islam and that the person would have to relive over and over again the manner in which they killed themselves. This is correct, but I wonder at the level of scholarship this author has towards the Qur'an, because even I know that suicide in Islam is one thing and dying whilst killing 'infidels' is another. Islam is not like Christianity in which you believe and are saved. A Muslim has to do many good works to get entry to heaven and they might not even do that. There is only one deed in the Qur'an which guarantees you access to heaven, and that is dying in the process of killing infidels. That more than explains why a) the suicde bombers and SBs in general are so eager to kill themselves and others and b) why SBs are encouraged in the Middle East while the media promises people who commit such acts immediate entry into heaven. Just wanted to clarify 'suicide' and 'suicide bombing.' Big diff... For more info, go to www.faithfreedom.org.
Rating:
Summary: Betrayed
Review: I was looking for something insightful when I spent a lot of money on this book, but I found myself frustrated, manipulated, and misinformed from beginning to end. I could not believe that the author would actually refer to the reader as "us" when he made his profoundly biased claims against Islam. What kind of "academic historian" would use the words "us" when speaking to the public at large on such a divided issue? I also can't believe how many five-star reviews were listed for this book. I'm highly suspicious because the overall distribution of the reviews of this book are unbelievably bimodal. What are the chances? Look for yourselves. Something fishy is going on here. I'm not an academic and I'm not a muslim, but I was deeply annoyed by this author and the disservice he has done to humanity. He's not even a good writer.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent Brief Introduction to the History of Islam
Review: The author presents an excellent introduction to Islam, its history and the reasons it chooses the route it has chosen to overcome other nations and religions. For example, the author explains that to a Muslim, Islam is not only a religion but it is politics. We in the west find this hard to understand because we do (or ideally we should) separate church and state and we do not have a national religion nor does it (or should it) enter into our governmental decisions. I found this book to be a great history of a religion/philosophy which should be understood by all Americans. But it also shows how some European countries such as Germany don't care much for our country; they consider us without culture, arrogant and superficial with no depth. It is interesting to see ourselves as others see us and this book helps us to do that. While I may not agree with their assessment, I appreciate learning what they think of us. Very highly recommended. Susanna K. Hutcheson Owner/Creative Director
Powerwriting.com LLC
Rating:
Summary: A compact and comprehensive treatise
Review: This is a short book that manages to give a comprehensive treatment of its subject by focusing on the key issues. It starts with the history and definition of Islam. In Islam there is no distinction between religion and state or between clergy and laity. (Although in practice this may not be true.) Lewis points out that the Prophet Mohamed started not only a religion but also a state and his successors took the title of Caliph until 1924 when the caliphate was abolished in Turkey. The book discusses Jihad, the armed struggle to spread Islam, and then reviews the historical period from the Crusades to the 20th century when Western powers arrived in the Middle East and the Arabs sought protection first from Germany and then from the Soviet Union. America had been ignored until after World War II. With the collapse of the Soviet Union the United States became the only power in the world and it was natural to become the focus of attention for Moslems and Arabs in particular. Religious conservatives object to the American way of life (too materialistic, too licentious) and the term "Great Satan" means the great seducer. According to the book the big problem is American support for unpopular Arab leaders, which causes the population to transform the hatred of their rulers to hatred of the United States. Lewis points out that the 9/11 highjackers were either Saudis or Egyptians, countries that are considered friendly to the United States. There is a separate chapter devoted to Saudi Arabia and how the huge oil revenue has been used to spread Wahabism, a particularly conservative version of Islam. Several statistics are provided that show that the Arab (and Moslem) countries lag behind Europe, North America, and most Asia in economic development, education, and political freedom. Many of their people see that as a failure of modernity and hope that a return to the sacred past will right the wrongs. This provides support for the fundamentalists and the more oppressive a regime is the more opportunities exist for the religious extremists, since no other form of dissent is allowed. The last chapter of the book is devoted to a discussion of terrorism. While only a small minority of Moslems are terrorists and their practices deviate from mainstream Islam (killing of civilians is forbidden in Jihad) they justify their acts in the name of the religion. Lewis points out that the terrorists pose a threat not only to the United States but, eventually, also to Europe and such countries as Russia, China, and India. The book illuminates the deep roots of the current problems in the Moslem world and Middle East. Lewis sees the best hope in Western support of democratic opposition against oppressive rulers.
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