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The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (And the Crusades)
Encyclopedia
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (And the Crusades) is a controversial book by Robert Spencer, the director of Jihad Watch
. It is part of The Politically Incorrect Guide
series by Regnery Publishing
.
as militant and oppressive, and provides a historical perspective of the Crusades
arguing that they were a late response of Europe
an civilization to centuries of invasion and occupation which had begun at the turn of the 8th century in the Iberian Peninsula
, Italy
, Sicily
, France
, and the majority of Eastern Europe
. The author attributes the civilizational clash between Islam and the West
in the 21st century to a continuation of a 14 century long jihad
began at the inception of Islam and discusses the difficulties of treating this topic in the current political climate.
Jihad Watch
Jihad Watch is a blog affiliated with the David Horowitz Freedom Center, which is run independently by American author Robert Spencer. It is considered an important platform for the counterjihad movement....
. It is part of The Politically Incorrect Guide
The Politically Incorrect Guide
The Politically Incorrect Guide is a book series by Regnery Publishing presenting conservative or what the publishers of the books consider, politically incorrect beliefs on various topics. Each book is written by a different author and generally presents a conservative or libertarian viewpoint on...
series by Regnery Publishing
Regnery Publishing
Regnery Publishing in Washington, D.C., is a publisher which specializes in conservative books characterized on their website as "contrary to those of 'mainstream' publishers in New York." Since 1993, Regnery Publishing has been a division of Eagle Publishing, which also owns the weekly magazine...
.
Content
The book criticizes IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
as militant and oppressive, and provides a historical perspective of the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
arguing that they were a late response of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an civilization to centuries of invasion and occupation which had begun at the turn of the 8th century in the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and the majority of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. The author attributes the civilizational clash between Islam and the West
West
West is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of east and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the left side of a map is west....
in the 21st century to a continuation of a 14 century long jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
began at the inception of Islam and discusses the difficulties of treating this topic in the current political climate.
Public reception in the United States
The book has spent 15 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list page, although it stayed in the "Also Selling" section for most of the time, and made it to the list proper only once.Critics
- Karen ArmstrongKaren ArmstrongKaren Armstrong FRSL , is a British author and commentator who is the author of twelve books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic nun, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and mystical faith...
criticizes the book saying:Like any book written in hatred, his new work is a depressing read. Spencer makes no attempt to explain the historical, political, economic and spiritual circumstances of 7th-century Arabia, without which it is impossible to understand the complexities of Muhammad
MuhammadMuhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
’s life. Consequently he makes basic and bad mistakes of fact. Even more damaging, he deliberately manipulates the evidence.
Praisers
- Andrew C. McCarthy wrote in National Review Online:
This is not a book for the faint of heart. Nonetheless, it is well done and extremely important [...] In this highly accessible, well-researched, quick-paced read, Robert Spencer dares to bring that critical thought to the equation.
- Steven Stalinsky of the conservative journal Middle East QuarterlyMiddle East QuarterlyMiddle East Quarterly is a peer reviewed quarterly journal, a publication of the American conservative think tank Middle East Forum founded by Daniel Pipes in 1994. It is devoted to subjects relating to the Middle East and Islam and analyzes the region "explicitly from the viewpoint of American...
says about the book:
In providing readers an exposé of Islam that "won't be taught in school" or "heard on the evening news," Spencer paints the religion in a broadly negative light[...]He offers "a few modest proposals," excluding the role Muslim reformists/moderates must play for he worries that their theological foundations are weak. Still, the war on terrorWar on TerrorThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
can finally be won only if allies within the Muslim world are supported; these reformists and moderates can create an environment in which it is possible to challenge the ideology of hate that fuels the very jihadJihadJihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
that Spencer identifies.
External links
- Islam without camouflage - Book review of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam, Andrew G. Bostom, American Thinker.
- Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (online full text)