The Losing Battle With Islam

In this comprehensive study of the Islamic revival from 1947 to the present, historian David Selbourne traces in detail the complex causes motivating the rise of Muslim fundamentalism in many countries and the West's largely uncomprehending response to it. He frankly describes the hostilities, cruelties, and errors of judgment on both sides. Writing neither from the "left" nor from the "right," Selbourne pieces together up-to-date information from more numerous sources than in any other work on the subject. He highlights the grotesque role that some sections of the Western media have played and seeks to do justice to the Islamist cause, demonstrating how many of the real issues of the Islamic revival have been evaded. Selbourne argues that whether the "reawakening" of the Islamic and Arab worlds has taken the political form of Arab nationalism, as under the leadership of Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser in the 1950s, or the economic form of the OPEC oil embargo in 1973 and 1974, or the religious form of the Iranian revolution of 1989 and the present al-Qaeda suicide squads, in all its guises it is motivated by a sense of entitlement in Muslims to determine their own destiny free of Western subordination. Selbourne concludes with a warning against the illusions of the West about its superiority and ability to contain a force that is confident of its own moral superiority and certain of its ultimate triumph. Addressed both to general readers and to policy makers, academics, and journalists, The Losing Battle with Islam will stand for some time as one of the most impartial and authoritative accounts of a half century of Western conflict with Islam.

The attacks on 9/11 were part of a 1,400 year Islamic jihad against the non-Islamic world. Since 9/11 there have been over 10,000 additional violent jihads. In addition, there have been thousands of "soft jihads" where Muslims have attempted to replace Western culture with that of Islam. The jihadists are motivated by the core principles of Islam with the goal of converting, killing, or subjugating all non-Muslims. Unfortunately, too many non-Muslims have reverted to a pre-9/11 mentality and do not see the necessity of an offensive war in Iraq or Afghanistan, or of a defensive war at home. Non-Muslims are going to have to decide to fight for their cultures, freedoms, and values or they are going to lose them. Dr. Crandall has been teaching sociology at the college and university level for over 30 years. The focus of some of his other books have been in the area of gerontology, the physiological and psychological consequences of running, and Inuit art. The attacks on 9/11 changed the focus of his research, and he has spent the last seven years researching and writing this book.

Thought-provoking and highly informative, this is a must-read for the millions of people who want to understand how Muslims can defeat radical Islam written by a conservative American Muslim and former U.S. Navy lieutenant.

Islam has been one of the most powerful religious, social and political forces in history. Over the last 1400 years, from origins in Arabia, a succession of Muslim polities and later empires expanded to control territories and peoples that ultimately stretched from southern France to East Africa and South East Asia. Yet many of the contributions of Muslim thinkers, scientists and theologians, not to mention rulers, statesmen and soldiers, have been occluded. This book rescues from oblivion and neglect some of these personalities and institutions while offering the reader a new narrative of this lost Islamic history. The Umayyads, Abbasids, and Ottomans feature in the story, as do Muslim Spain, the savannah kingdoms of West Africa and the Mughal Empire, along with the later European colonization of Muslim lands and the development of modern nation-states in the Muslim world. Throughout, the impact of Islamic belief on scientific advancement, social structures, and cultural development is given due prominence, and the text is complemented by portraits of key personalities, inventions and little known historical nuggets. The history of Islam and of the world's Muslims brings together diverse peoples, geographies and states, all interwoven into one narrative that begins with Muhammad and continues to this day.

"We fail to understand Islam," writes Roger Hardy in the introduction to this book, "and we are paying a high price for our failure." The Muslim Revolt explains, in layman's language, a phenomenon that still seems to madden and perplex both the public and the policy-makers. In setting out to demystify Islamism and the forces that drive it, Hardy suggests that for the last two hundred years Muslims have been in revolt against Western domination--and against the failures and disappointments of modernisation. The book takes the form of a journey. Drawing on his travels and encounters as a journalist over the last thirty years, the author explains the political role of Islam in particular countries and regions--Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, south-east Asia, Europe--while at the same time telling the story of Islamism from its origins in the era of European colonialism to the emergence of Al-Qaeda and the global jihadists of today. In a challenging conclusion, Hardy warns that without a subtler grasp of Islamism and its discontents, the West will lose its much-vaunted battle for Muslim "hearts and minds."

For some, the word "Islam" evokes thoughts of violence, strange clothing, and even stranger rituals. But what is Islam? In True Jihad, take a journey through history and encounter nomadic tribes, caravans, superstitions, and a prophet determined to drag his people out of the fog of antiquity and into the mainstream of Abrahamic faith. An expert in Islamic Studies and Middle Eastern culture, author Mark S. Pfeiffer offers a thorough, concise history of an ancient religion that continues to flourish around the world, including in North America. In addition, he stresses the importance of loving Muslims and sharing the gospel with them despite our differences. Pfeiffer discusses Muslim belief and practice, and addresses some of the questions most commonly on the minds of non-Muslims. He provides a simple, step-by-step guide to befriending Muslims, developing relationships with them, understanding their worldview and theology, and effectively sharing the gospel with them. Timely and honest, True Jihad offers you everything you need to know about Islam and ministry to Muslims. Take a journey that will not only change your view of Muslims, but might change your view of ministry altogether.

Critiquing assumptions on both the left and the right, noted historian of ideas and political theorist David Selbourne stresses the importance of shared community and civic duty. How stable are free societies today? This book argues that they are under threat from "market free-choice" and "moral free-choice," two sides of the same coin which between them, the author warns, threaten to tear civil society apart. Market free-choice is the prevailing economic ideology that gives free reign to market forces, even when they ride roughshod over communities and whole nations. Moral free-choice, the other side of the coin, is the notion of individual rights without any sense of civic responsibility. The result of such ultra-individualism in economic and moral practice is the malaise we find ourselves in today: a lost sense of place, community, and belonging, as well as dismissiveness and unawareness of the lessons of the past. In the wake of these destructive trends, this book reminds us that personal well-being is dependent in large part upon the maintenance of a coherent civic and moral order. A society consisting of isolated individuals focused solely on personal rights with no regard for the foundation of their freedoms will soon see that foundation crumble through neglect. By the same token, a society that routinely sacrifices equality of opportunity and economic fairness to the forces of the global marketplace creates dangerous tensions between the few haves and the many have-nots. Reminding the reader of the aspirations and largely-forgotten writings of America's founding fathers, the book concludes by pointing to the principles of what the author calls the "true commonwealth" as an alternative to today's political, ethical, and social disorders.

Long march of Islam is a reality. The rising crescendo of Jihadi warriors footfalls can be heard across India and many other countries. Religion-based faultline conflicts are growing globally. These are tourbo driven by the exceptionally high rise in Muslims population, both in Islamic and non-Islamic countries. This book is about tomorrow and the day after - an alert about mankind's future imperfect! By 2025 Muslims will comprise 30 percent of the world population. That could destabilize many countries and regions because Islam is a conquest oriented religion. Indian sub-continent is likely to be one of the conflict zones. As envisioned by Pakistan's idealogue, Allama Iqbal, the Islamists hope to restore the lost grandeur of Islam on the strength of sharply rising numbers and the time-tested strategy of Jihad. The author has analysed Pakistan's role in the long march of Islam and identified the regions likely to be worst affected.