The War for Muslim Minds: Islam and the West

Rating:
Summary: An Illustration of the Complexities of the "War on Terror"
Review: Gilles Kepel has produced a significant book that wonderfully addresses the complexities the world currently faces in trying to figure which way Muslims will turn; whether towards violent Jihad or an Islamic Democracy.

Kepel deals with many subjects pertaining to this issue. However, he spends a great deal of time comparing the goals of the neoconservative movement in the U.S. with al Qaeda and its intellectual prognosticators. On the one hand are the neocons. The neocons have clear goals in mind: securing the world's oil supply for the west; protecting and securing Israel; ensuring the continued dominance of the U.S., especially in military terms. However, they have deluded themselves into following fantastical policies that end up exacerbating problems (i.e. the invasion of Iraq and the blind support for Ariel Sharon) rather than improving the situation.

On the other hand are al Qaeda and its fellow travelers. Kepel explores this complex phenomenon by traveling through the history of Islamist thinking. He follows the development of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and beyond. He also spends a great deal of time explaining the development of religious authority in Saudi Arabia, including the state sponsored Salafi movement that was more inward looking, and the violent jihadist movement, more political and overt in its aims.

These two ideologies running into each other has been a contributing factor of much of the terror and insecurity in the world. Kepel sees as the best hope for a future Islamic democracy lying in Europe, where different states have taken divergent measures to respond to the challenge of new cultures. But the ends in each of the states of Western Europe are the same: to imbue in the Muslims in their society a respect for pluralism and democracy. Kepel sees the potential for the inculcation of democratic values in European Muslims having far reaching implications, for example by creating a respect for democratic institutions and the possibility of those Muslim supporters of democracy exporting their ideas back to their home countries. Either way, democracy can't be imported by foreigners, especially by force.

Kepel has written an important book. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in confronting one of the most important challenges of our time.

Rating:
Summary: An involving survey and history charts the ongoing `war'
Review: Gilles Kepel is a professor of Middle East Studies at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris, and is the perfect author for WAR FOR MUSLIM MINDS: ISLAM AND THE WEST: his background succeeds in synthesizing the wealth of detail charting the breakdown of Middle East/Western relations. Chapters provide both a history and analysis of the breakdown of communications between East and West, pinpointing changing policies and party lines on both sides and analyzing the effects of terrorism on the peace process. An involving survey and history charts the ongoing `war'.


Rating:
Summary: Indispenable
Review: Kepel's new book is indispensable for anyone who wants to get a comprehensive, thorough, and balanced understanding of the threat posed by Islamic radicals today and of the logic/illogic behind the US response to that threat. Kepel's book focuses on three basic subjects. First, he provides a precis of the fuller description of Islamic radicalism that he gave in his earlier (excellent) book, Jihad. Second, he traces the neoconservative lineage of President Bush's approach to meeting the Islamic threat-- unsucessfully, so far. Notably, Kepel says almost nothing about Europe's response/attitude, perhaps because Europe seems to be waiting on the sidelines of history to see who will win, the US or the radicals. Finally, Kepel expresses hope that the Muslims who live in infidel Europe will prove to be a source of reconciliation and progress in the Muslim world at large, exporters of western liberalism as it were. With regard to this last point I can only say, "from his mouth to God's ear," although I personally see no reason for even guarded optimism. This is the best book on the subject by far.

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Summary: Utopic. Islamic Insurrection is not imploding.
Review: The author develops an original argument that the Islamic insurrection is imploding on its own. In other words, Osama bin Laden's Jihad is viewed as intolerable terror against innocent civilians by a majority of Muslims. Over time, the Muslim peace lovers will progressively dwarf the ranks of the Jihadists.

In the author's mind, this is especially true if the U.S. gets out of the way and stop waging an ill fated War on Terror that keeps throwing oil on the fire of the Jihad movement. He makes a case that the U.S. ongoing backing of Israel and its invasion of Iraq have strongly boosted Al Qaeda's ranks.

The author belongs to the camp that believe that the Islamic insurrection is almost solely a counter reaction to U.S. foreign policy. It certainly is a factor, but how can it be the main driver? 9/11 was totally unsolicited. Also, prior act of terrorism were more often than not caused by the U.S. government becoming friendlier towards various Middle Eastern ones rather than the opposite. Thus, whether the U.S. supports or attacks a Middle Eastern state, it appears as justification for act of Islamic terrorism. What kind of rational is that.

The Pew Global Attitudes surveys and current events don't support any of the author's original arguments. Osama bin Laden's aura is ever increasing. Islam is becoming increasingly fundamentalist and violent throughout the Middle East and Africa. Wherever it overlaps with Christian population bloodshed results more often than not executed by the Muslims and suffered by the Christians such as in Somalia, Rwanda, and Sudan.

So, the main thesis of letting Islam extremism implode on its own just does not hold well to any reality check. Right now it is picking up steam big time.

Instead, I recommend a far more prescient book on the subject: Samuel Huntington's "The Clash of Civilizations." He has a far better understanding of Islam's extremism from a geopolitical and demographic standpoints.

Rating:
Summary: Good but lacking depth
Review: This book is a good start and makes a few good points while at the same time falling into huge pitfalls. First this book gives a good introduction to morphing of Islamic terror and the rise of hatred for the `West" and particularly America.

Little insight is given into history. For instance how does one square the rise of fundamentalism with the rise of Arab nationalism? Are they not two sides of the same coin? The Muslims determination to confront the west and having seen the total failure of Nasserism, not embraces Fundamentalism. Where is he context of the war inside the Muslim world between Seculars and Radicals? What of the fact that every terrorist who created 9/11 was schooled in Europe and learned his hate from European finances and Saudi financed Imams?

This book presents the fundamental flaw that America should be wasting its time `winning the hearts and minds of Muslims". This book doesn't understand that the present conflict has nothing to do with winning hearts and minds, the very idea is in fact imperialistic. Did America try to win the hearts and minds of Communists? Did America succeed in Winning the hearts and minds of the Nazis? This book puts the blame on the `neo-conservatives soldiers blaming their obsession with `Israel' and `Oil'. But is it not true that Sept 11 was planned long before the neo-con rise to power? How does one square that incongruous argument? The main failure of this book is its lack of historical depth and its lack of realizing that Islamic fundamentalist/Islamism is simply the logical outgrowth of society, a natural phenomenon, like the rise of Communism or Fascism, that takes place from time to time in a society where people perceive themselves as victims.

Seth J. Frantzman


Rating:
Summary: A Litany of Missteps
Review: This is an excellent overview of how the United States got into a situation from which there seems to be no satisfactory exit. Gilles Keppel concisely and clearly explains the history of the Muslim movement as well as the numerous missteps made by the United States in the Middle East, particularly since 1945. He shows that both Democratic and Republican administrations have made moves that can at best be described as pragmatic rather than prescient and right in the long run. Keppel's insight into how the rest of the people in the world and Muslims might accommodate each other is less than convincing, but, in sum, this is an important book that well deserves careful reading.