Kumar, this is the Moslem's problem.
Islam Unveiled
Spencer, Robert
I saw Mr. Spencer on cspan2 discussing his book and answering many question. This guy seems to me to be exactly like me and seeking truth and understanding. I don't want to believe Islam is evil at it's core. I have requested a copy of this book from the local library. But I expect it will confirm the impression of consternation about what Islam is really all about.
If this book is indeed the reality, Islam does not have a PR problem, it has a reality problem.
This is a description of the book.
thbookservice.com
Terrorism, brutality, polygamy: why it's so easy to "hijack" Islam, the so-called "religion of peace"
Planes crashing into the World Trade Center, bombers blowing themselves up in crowded supermarkets, female genital mutilation, the imprisonment of rape victims, polygamy: the media claims that all these are results of the "hijacking" of Islam, "the religion of peace." But here at last is a book that dares to tell the truth about Islam - and to show you exactly why this religion is so easy to "hijack," and what Islamic authorities really teach about such barbarities!
Exploding dozens of PC myths, Robert Spencer goes beyond the media's shallow distinction between "true" Islam and terrorist Islam to demonstrate - in the words of Muslims themselves - that Islamic fanaticism and terrorism are rooted in the Qur'an and core Islamic traditions. He shows that since Muslim radicalism stems from elements at the religion's heart, Islamic moderates (and cowardly Western multiculturalists) will never convince the Muslim world at large that there is no place for violence in Islam.
Refreshingly free of multiculturalist cant, Islam Unveiled goes straight to Islamic sources to explain why Muslims worldwide take the violent passages in the Qur'an as marching orders for today, while Jews and Christians do not do so with similar passages in the Old Testament. Spencer also forthrightly examines the treatment of women in the Islamic world, tracing the devastating societal effects of Muslim polygamy and Islamic divorce laws.
And, since Muslims worldwide revere Muhammad as the greatest model of human behavior, Spencer explores the tumultuous life of prophet of Islam - squarely facing his violence, bloodlust and Clintonesque sexual appetites (and their unsettling implications for the contemporary international scene).
Spencer also examines the human rights records and political systems of Islamic countries, detailing why democracy has never taken root in Muslim soil - and why it probably never will. He details the titanic hurdles that secularism must overcome in order to gain a secure foothold in the Islamic world, and how Osama bin Laden and other radicals skillfully play on Muslim sensibilities in order to gain a huge following among Muslims.
Spencer's provocative and entertaining articles on Islam and a wide variety of other topics have appeared in Human Events, National Review Online, Chronicles, Crisis, and many other publications. He provides here a desperately needed antidote to the distortions and wishful thinking about Islam that have swamped the media since September 11. No American can afford to ignore the facts he provides here - if he wants to face realistically the ongoing threat from the Muslim world.
Among the startling revelations of Islam Unveiled:
* What Muslim authorities worldwide really said about the September
11, 2001 terrorist attacks
* Suicide bombing: the rationale for this barbaric practice in
Islamic theology
* Muslim "fundamentalists": a radical fringe? Why their message has
such resonance in the Islamic world even among those who will never commit any acts of violence
* Wife-beating: sanctioned by the Qur'an - and by contemporary
Islamic commentators! The shocking details
* Rape in Islam: why, under Islamic law, it's virtually impossible
to prove
* The truth about Aisha, Muhammad's nine-year-old wife (plus the
Muslim world's sorry record of child brides)
* How the prophet of Islam came to marry his daughter-in-law - and
other curious episodes in the life of Muhammad
* "Temporary marriage": the facts about this strange and destructive
Shi'ite Muslim practice
* Jihad: does it really impose an obligation on Muslims to wage war?
The facts
* Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi sect: why it is (contrary to Western
analyses) not the originator of Islamic radicalism or terrorism
* Why jihad won't conclude with the end of the war in Afghanistan,
or even the war on terrorism
* Why converts from Islam in Islamic countries live in fear of their
very lives
* The Muslim journalist who acknowledged that "the Muslim world
today is full of bigotry, fanaticism, hypocrisy and plain ignorance"!
* Human rights: the grim record of Islamic countries - and the roots
causes of this record in basic Muslim beliefs
* Science and high culture: why they virtually died out in the
Muslim world - and why this is a root cause of modern Muslim resentment
* Why Islamic philosophy, which once exercised enormous influence in
the West, declined into insignificance
* Slavery: why it exists today nowhere in the world except in two
Islamic nations, Sudan and Mauritania
* The Crusades: why the Western world has no need to apologize to
the Muslim world
* Islamic tolerance? The whole truth about non-Muslim minorities
under Muslim rule
* The PC straitjacket: evidence that it's easier to tell the truth
about Islam in predominantly Muslim countries than in Europe and the U.S.
* Demographic jihad: how population trends may allow Islam to
conquer Western Europe without the setting off of a single suicide bomb
* Secular Turkey: why the rest of the Muslim world is not following
its example - and the constant pressure it suffers from Islamic radicals
* Can Islam be secularized and incorporated into the West's
multicultural mosaic? The hard facts
"In its own lively style, this book puts down a strong and significant marker to what lies ahead, as Islam and the rest of the world strive to come to terms." - From the Introduction by David Pryce-Jones, senior editor, National Review
"This is a bracing argument that can help Americans think through what might well turn out to be the greatest religious, cultural, and political conflict of this century." - The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, author, The Naked Public Square
"Spencer has explained very ably some of the misconceptions about Islam. The reader will be greatly enriched in understanding Islam and how Muslims act, in the light of the attack on America." - Dr. Anis Shorrosh, author, Islam Revealed
"Robert Spencer's attempt to unveil what most do not want to say about Islam is inspiring and informative. What do Muslims believe, and why they believe as such? Spencer's is the first successful attempt in unveiling this matter." - Daniel Ali, founder and president of the Christian-Islamic Forum |
