While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within

Book Description

The struggle for the soul of Europe today is every bit as dire and consequential as it was in the 1930s. Then, in Weimar, Germany, the center did not hold, and the light of civilization nearly went out. Today, the continent has entered yet another “Weimar moment.” Will Europeans rise to the challenge posed by radical Islam, or will they cave in once again to the extremists?

As an American living in Europe since 1998, Bruce Bawer has seen this problem up close. Across the continent—in Amsterdam, Oslo, Copenhagen, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, and Stockholm—he encountered large, rapidly expanding Muslim enclaves in which women were oppressed and abused, homosexuals persecuted and killed, “infidels” threatened and vilified, Jews demonized and attacked, barbaric traditions (such as honor killing and forced marriage) widely practiced, and freedom of speech and religion firmly repudiated.

The European political and media establishment turned a blind eye to all this, selling out women, Jews, gays, and democratic principles generally—even criminalizing free speech—in order to pacify the radical Islamists and preserve the illusion of multicultural harmony. The few heroic figures who dared to criticize Muslim extremists and speak up for true liberal values were systematically slandered as fascist bigots. Witnessing the disgraceful reaction of Europe’s elites to 9/11, to the terrorist attacks on Madrid, Beslan, and London, and to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bawer concluded that Europe was heading inexorably down a path to cultural suicide.

Europe's Muslim communities are powder kegs, brimming with an alienation born of the immigrants’ deep antagonism toward an infidel society that rejects them and compounded by misguided immigration policies that enforce their segregation and empower the extremists in their midst. The mounting crisis produced by these deeply perverse and irresponsible policies finally burst onto our television screens in October 2005, as Paris and other European cities erupted in flames.

WHILE EUROPE SLEPT is the story of one American’s experience in Europe before and after 9/11, and of his many arguments with Europeans about the dangers of militant Islam and America’s role in combating it. This brave and invaluable book—with its riveting combination of eye-opening reportage and blunt, incisive analysis—is essential reading for anyone concerned about the fate of Europe and what it portends for the United States.

Customer Reviews:

a little honesty.......2007-10-08

Given that Zionism has hijecked US policy, how ironic, but expected, it is that a book on 'Islam' would come out to suggest that it is Islam that is destroying the West from within? Rather, Zionism is a theory that would steal land from a group of people on a moribund 2000 year old claim and say that group's rights don't matter - Please explain why should the Palestinians be Zionists?

Serious Eye Opener.......2007-09-26

Having read a number of books about Islam and its role in the world, I didn't expect to find much I didn't know in this book. I was astonished at how much I learned!

The author takes a variety of social aspects - education, immigration, media, legislation and law enforcement to name a few - and pulls them all together to give a clear picture of what life on the streets of Europe is like for the burgeoning Muslim population and the rest of us.

Although I wasn't expecting or appreciative of the author's homosexual-rights bias, there was no denying the truth of his words or the accuracy of his information.

Every American should have to read this book, and our legislators need to take it's warnings to heart if we want to avoid the disaster that Europe now faces.

IN REALITY, AN OLD PROBLEM IN A NEW FORM.......2007-09-21

I'll break my review into several parts:

1). In the Fall of 1989, I served as a Fulbright Senior Research Fellow at the Vrije Unviersity of AMsterdam. Everything Bawer describes about European values, attitudes,society, their elites, etc., is absolutely correct. I saw it first hand. Because of the demise of patriotism and a value system, Dutch (and much of European) society has become one where social standards have evaporated. Thus, lacking a moral and ethical compass, an understanding of what is right and wrong, and a devotion to a coddling welfare state, they have created a vacuum that the Jihadists are only too willing and eager to fill. They created their own mess.

However, what he describes is ingrained in the Euroopean system throughout their history. I know. I immigrated from there as a child. Just the players have changed.

2). What Bawer did not disclose. WHile In the Netherlands, I discovered that Dutch corporations preferentially recruit workers from the military to staff the assembly line to the Board room. Many of these former military types "yearn to be of public service" and run for their parliament. Close to 55% of elected Dutch officials have a military background.

In 1989, I asked someone in the US Embassy what would happen if an economic turn down occurred. Would these ex-miltiary elected officials say "Ya, right, let's take over and run ze country like za military to fix ze problems" and would this lead to the re-emergence of militaristic fascism? I was made to understand this was a major concern. Bawer is correct in raising the issue of re-emerging fascism in response to the rising tide of Islamistc fascism in Europe, but he understated it. Likely, that will be the outcome to counter the Jihadists when crunch-time comes.

As my father once told me "beware of the man on a white horse." European hsitory is a continuiong saga of leaders on white horses, and becsue history repeats, it is likely to happen again.

Bawer also did not mention the following. European countries with former empires have only themselves to blame. When they gave up their empire, they still considered former residents (including native/ethnic people) of their "colonies" to be be citizens of the "Empire" and gave them British and French and Dtuch passports for openers. Many used these passports to immigrate to the UK, the Netherlands, and France. In 1960 when visiting London, I was astounded at the number of Pakistanis working as bus ticket collectors, street sweepers, and garbage men because British workers didn't want to do those job and instead collect welfare. Those Pakistanis saved their money, opened businesses, imported their wives and proceeded to multiply at a high rate, while establishing mosques and then importing immans.

3). What are the solutions?: Bawer really didn't have many. So here are some. First, if it is true that immigrants are tearing up their ID's and flushing them down the toilet on airplanes on the way to Europe and then claiming asylum, European governments COULD require that all ID's be turned over at check in, taken on board in a sealed container, and returned to the incoming passengers on landing at the immigration counter in the presence of a European immigration officer. That might slow things down with regard to fake asylum.

Second, European government should start shipping out ALL radical Muslim immans and radical Islmaic sympathizers (including those born in Europe) back to the country of their heritage.

Third, European governments should require that all children born in their country of foreign parents must attend school in Europe, and not be shipped at age 3 back to the Islamic world for an education, only to reappear later as adults. All subsidies for such children should be stopped if they leave the country. The only exception would be if the parents leave the country permanently too.

Fourth, Eruopean governments MUST stop subsidizing all religious schools, denominations, and institutions if they truly want to separate Church and State. Clearly, the failure to do so has been misunderstood, abused and corrupted.

Fifth, require all incoming "fetch brides" to be screened by embassies around the world before giving them visas. Use a system like the US uses in such circumstances.

Sixth, place a limit on the number of children the government will subsidize to three children. If a family has more than three children, no subsidies for the new ones. (Works in China to a point?)

If Bawer has sized up European attitudes correctly, and I believe he has, don't expect this to happen. But these proposals would help contain the problem in part.

Last, I have a question for Bawer? Why does he still chose to live in Europe? When I left the Netherlands in 1989 after living there six months, I vowed never to return and I haven't. It was bad then, and has become worse now.

RECOMMENDATION: Buy this book. It could happen in the USA and there are signs that in some parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states some of this is developing.

Bawer's Jeremiad against Europe.......2007-09-15

I saw Bruce Bawer on Bill Moyers and thought the idea of his book was fascinating. I had been watching news stories about the Muslim underclass in Europe and figured that there was a powder keg in the making, and I thought this book would enlighten me. In the first part of this book he states his central thesis, which is that the liberalism of European states will be the very thing that does them in, vis-a-vis their Muslim populations. He makes good points about Europeans not really understanding the meaning of true integration, about their romantic notions of other "exotic" cultures, and political correctness continuing to allow - if not condone - the worst practices of Muslim religious fanaticism.

Up until the middle of the book I was with him. Then, with the second part of the three-part book, he lets loose about every niggling little thing that any random European might have done or said to him that got under his skin. He clearly has lived in Europe too long. He proceeds to whine about how anti-American all Europeans are, how wonderful American-style capitalism is and just about deifies Ronald Reagan, who, he implies, singlehandedly brought down the Berlin Wall. He accuses liberals such as Michael Moore of lying about how bad the health system is in the US, questions how really "poor" Hurricane Katrina victims were and spends an inordinate amount of time dissecting the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Huh? This is NOT why I bought the book.

I realized that this book was less about how European nations were dealing with their immigration problems and more about how homesick he was for the US - and, how Europe's social economy was just way, way too "liberal" for him.

He's a facile writer, and when he wasn't blowing his stack about Europe and praising the US I rather enjoyed the read. But I just felt that the book used the European immigration situation as a thin ruse for the real topic of the book...bashing Europe. Had I known that, I wouldn't have bought it.

Europe's nightmare; America's bad dream.......2007-09-11

Bruce Bawer provides a vivid depiction of Europe's culture, something that is lacking in other works of this genre. He has spent a number of years living in a number of European countries, and he has a gimlet eye for meaningful details and events. He contrasts European and American culture as a person deeply familiar with both variants.

Politically, Social-democracy (or, socialism with a soupçon of capitalism) is the only ideology that is deemed acceptable in Europe. European media degrade America and Israel, idealize the UN and EU, and sanitize fundamentalist Islam. A fuzzy-minded multi-culturalism, egalitarianism and political correctness make up the Zeitgeist of modern Europe.

But "Europe's social harmony is increasingly being eroded and its affluence endangered by shrinking native populations and a growing immigrant population that's draining billions out in benefits." Bawer provides the exponential demographics, which show the eventual and certain occupation of all Europe by Islam. France will disappear first, within a few generations. As for the rest of Europe, it's not a question of if, but when.

The book has three principal sections, which occasionally overlap and interlock. Bawer eschews scholarly trappings and incorporates his sources into his text as part of the exposition.

The first part of the book describes the European ethos of multi-culturalism, it's history and present influence. The middle section lists a litany of horrors practiced by Muslims in Europe - rape, honor killings, beatings - all documented by media accounts. Those who commit these crimes claim they were driven to it by Western oppression. If they had been permitted to solve their problems within their own Islamic culture and Sharia law (on Western soil no less!) they would not have been driven to such measures. (Bawer does a good job of explaining the twisted logic of the Muslim "victim.")

In contradiction to Bawer's findings, geopolitical thinker Ralph Peters believes that Muslims will not take over Europe, but that the Europeans will either expel or kill them. The only reason Peters' provides for this is that Europeans have been the most vicious peoples of the modern era. He cites WWI and WWII as proof of his theory.

But this flies in the face of Bawer's carefully constructed case that the present generation in Europe is not made of the same stuff as the war I and II generations. In fact the multi-culturalism, socialism, and timidity that are the hall-marks of European culture, grew out of, and in contrast to, the war era that Peters describes.

The last section explores the question: what can be done to hold back the rising tide of this anti-Western and anti-Modern culture and peoples? Bawer's final arguments are persuasive. His straightforward analysis provides convincing evidence to support his final conclusion: the awful truth is that "Europe is steadily committing suicide, and perhaps all we can do is look on in horror."

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(RAW Rating: 4.5) - What is happening to black men?
Why Are So Many Black Men In Prison? A Comprehensive Account Of How And Why The Prison Industry Has Become A Predatory Entity In
A Must Read
Why are so many Black Men in Prison?
Why are so many blacks in prison?

Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison?
Demico Boothe
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Kill Them Before They Grow: The Misdiagnosis of African American Boys in America's Classrooms
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ASIN: 1425713971

Customer Reviews:

(RAW Rating: 4.5) - What is happening to black men?.......2007-08-04

Demico Boothe has explored the reasons so many black men are indeed in prison in, WHY ARE SO MANY BLACK MEN IN PRISON? He begins with his own story of a shaky upbringing and his subsequent dabbling in drug dealing. He was caught with a few grams of crack cocaine but because it was the dreaded crack, he was given 10 years in prison. When he left prison after serving his time, he was actually railroaded back into prison by a crooked justice system. He delves deeply into our justice system and the motives behind all the new prisons that are being built. He gives succinct and reasonable views of exactly what is happening now in the United States and how the past has played a role in the present. He uses persuasive statistics regarding the number of black men in prison as compared to the number of white men who are incarcerated.

Demico Boothe has done an excellent job of researching his subject and it is a plus, if unfortunate for him, that he has actually experienced first hand what he's talking about. I knew I was hearing the real story rather than just statistics from an intellectual who had no real idea of what the prison system is really like. I would have liked for Boothe to search a little deeper into the Haiti, Aristide and USA question, maybe even reading Randall Robinson's take on the situation, and then he might see it a bit differently. Otherwise, it is a good book and one every one in America should read. We indeed, have a crisis going on.

Reviewed by Alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Why Are So Many Black Men In Prison? A Comprehensive Account Of How And Why The Prison Industry Has Become A Predatory Entity In.......2007-06-09

The book was very interesting. I learned soooo much about the government and the prison industry. I did some searching independantly to check on the things reported in the book and they are very true. Great Read!! Buy the book.

A Must Read.......2007-05-25

Mr. Demico's book is a must-read for anyone concerned about young African American men. Although I did not agree with every conclusion he reached, Demico's main premises are convincing. As a white woman who teaches mainly students of color, I am always impressed, and often in awe, of those young men who reach college with so much going against them. Demico's books lays bare not only the horrible inequalities of our society, but also the racist attitudes of our political system - - Democrats, Republicans, and most everyone in between.

Why are so many Black Men in Prison?.......2007-05-13

I is a well put together book. He really goes into a lot of detail of how our society is really set up.

Why are so many blacks in prison?.......2007-05-12

I found this book very interesting. As a white devil myself, I had no idea that I was responsible for forcing blacks into committing crimes and then subsequently clogging up the whole "Prison Industrial Complex"(tm). I will try to stop causing this, as I am sure it is creating a LOT of trouble for everyone! Sorry!

It is probably also my fault that young black men dressed in XXXXL clothes overtly threaten me and my family members routinely. Can anyone tell me what I should do to make this not happen?

I imagine it's also my fault that black on white violent crime is WAY higher than white on black violent crime, even though blacks constitute about 12.5% of the population, and whites are about 70%. But since it is impossible for a black to commit a hate crime according to our criminal justice system (since blacks are not under any circumstances racist), statistically, there are more white on black hate crimes. Boothe notes a statistic regarding hate crimes, but he skips the one about interracial violence in general.

In sum, Boothe notes that just about everything blacks do is actually MY fault, because my skin is white. Boothe, I've got a word for you.

Introspection.

Allah's Bomb: The Islamic Quest for Nuclear Weapons

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Endorese Venter's work!

Allah's Bomb: The Islamic Quest for Nuclear Weapons
Al J. Venter
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Customer Reviews:

Endorese Venter's work!.......2007-05-10

Reviewed by William E. Cooper for Reader Views (4/07)

I am a retired Chief of Police who was on the job on the morning of September 11, 2001. As with most local law enforcement organizations, we had little to no experience with international terrorism. Over the past five years I've not only studied terrorism, attended many seminars on the subject, and investigated terrorism cases, I now speak to government and private sector organizations, as well as civic groups on the reality of terrorism and the implications for the United States. Given that background I quickly asked for the opportunity to read and review "Allah's Bomb," authored by Al J. Venter.

Having read the book, I may safely say that Mr. Venter has written a book that is an absolute must read for every American. The book belongs in every home, every library, every government and private sector agency, and certainly in every educational institution. Mr. Venter's extensive experience as an international correspondent and his association with the widely respected Jane's organization certainly qualify him to write this book.

International terrorism is the defining issue of this generation and the risks associated with it grow at an ever-accelerating pace. As our country grows ever more polarized on the Global War on Terror, and the information presented continues to be inadequate to the problem, the need for Americans to understand what we are dealing with grows proportionally. Never has our country faced an enemy that has so clearly stated its hostile intentions towards us. Those intentions include the use of nuclear weapons, which Osama bin Laden has authorized. Mr. Venter makes a compelling case for America to be not only aware, but engage in significant levels of preparedness. Finally, Mr. Venter makes the case of additional risk die to other countries attempting to produce nuclear weapons.

I endorse Mr. Venter's work and give "Allah's Bomb" a very high rating. Well done sir!

Integrating Islam: Political And Religious Challenges in Contemporary France

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A Balanced And Well-Informed Survey--Don't Judge It On The Book Cover
A book to be grateful for

Integrating Islam: Political And Religious Challenges in Contemporary France
Jonathan Laurence , and Justin Vaisse
Manufacturer: Brookings Institution Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0815751516

Book Description

France is home to nearly 5 million Muslims, roughly half of whom are French citizens. While the nation has successfully integrated waves of immigrants in the past, this new influx poses a variety of daunting challenges, particularly when viewed against the backdrop of growing Islamic fundamentalism worldwide. Because of the size of its Muslim population and its universalist definition of citizenship, France provides a good test case for the encounter between Islam and the West. Peaceful and successful integration of Muslims into Western societies is more critical than ever before. In this book, Jonathan Laurence and Justin Vaisse offer extensive and original insights into how such integration can be fostered in a diverse, secular democracy.

Many in France view the growing role of Muslims in their society with a jaundiced eye, as do others elsewhere, suspecting that new Muslim political and religious networks are a threat to European rule of law and the French way of life. Not surprisingly, however, the reality of the situation is far too complicated to be captured by slogans and slurs. Integrating Islam examines the complex reality of Muslim integration in France-its successes, failures, and future challenges.

Laurence and Vaisse paint a comprehensive and nuanced portrait of the French Muslim experience, from intermarriage rates to socioeconomic benchmarks. They pay special attention to public policies enacted by recent French governments to encourage integration and discourage extremism--for example the controversial 2004 banning of headscarves in public schools and the establishment of the new French Council of the Muslim Religion. Despite the serious problems that exist, the authors foresee the emergence of a religion and a population that feel at home in, and at peace with, French society--a "French Islam" to replace "Islam in France."

Customer Reviews:

A Balanced And Well-Informed Survey--Don't Judge It On The Book Cover.......2006-12-30

Any book that bears the title "Integrating Islam" in the context of French politics is bound to elicit strong reactions. It is therefore important to dispel any misperceptions that these two words might elicit. First, this book is neither an apology nor a criticism of Islam. In fact, it is not a book about Islam as such, and the authors distance themselves from an approach that would treat Islam as a global issue within the context of a clash of civilizations. Although Laurence and Vaisse make reference to what they call "globalized Islam", they focus on the situation of Muslims in France and emphasize their diversity in terms of national origin, cultural values, social norms, secular orientation or voting patterns. For them, Islam is not an abstract notion, hanging in the air like a crescent shining over the Parisian sky (as the unfortunate book cover would suggest.) Islam is what people make of it --Muslims and non-Muslims, proponents and critics alike.

Second, the word "integrating" in the book's title is as much a description of what Muslims are doing as it is of the political imperative guiding French policymakers in recent years. Integration is sometimes understood as an injunction addressed to Muslims to leave their cultural identity at the door and conform to French mores. This notion of integration is now rejected by a significant number of French Muslims, who expect to be recognized as full citizens. As the brother of Zacarias Moussaoui (himself a moderate Muslim and by no means a terrorist) puts it in his book quoted by the authors: "Throughout our childhood, our ears were beaten with this word. At first, we just didn't understand what it was about. We were born here, on this land, in this country. We've grown up there. So what then is the meaning of our `integration'?"

Let me state at the outset that I appreciated this book. I recommend it to any reader interested by the political and social situation in Europe and that wants to have access to a comprehensive survey on the place of Islam in contemporary France. Considering the bias and misperceptions on the issue in the American media, this publication is a very welcome event and certainly deserves a large echo. In particular, the authors set the record straight on some issues that have received a large press coverage in the US: the French response to terrorism, the urban riots of November 2005, the ban on headscarves in schools, anti-Semitism among French Muslims, the courting of the Muslim vote by French politicians, etc. On each of these issues, they take a balanced perspective, correcting the most egregious misperceptions and prejudices about France and its Muslim population without shying away from pointing shortcomings and contradictions in French policies toward Islam.

The minor squibbles that I have with this book should therefore not be seen as a criticism of the authors' achievement, but rather as a measure of the subjective distance between the actual book and the imaginary one which I would have liked to read, or better to write. I guess most of the following remarks boil down to the fact that the book is about politics and have its backing in political science, whereas I am more interested by the sociological side and wish a similar survey could be written from an anthropological perspective.

First, I found the human dimension missing, as the book largely leaves aside the trajectories and life events experienced by Muslims in France. How does it feel growing up a Muslim in contemporary French society? What leads some French people to convert to Islam, and how do their friends and family react to such decision? Why do some second- or third-generation immigrants raised in a secular environment revert to the faith of their ancestors, and how does their Islam differ from the one practiced in their country of origin? How do their experience and beliefs compare to the ones of born-again Christians or orthodox Jews? How do women who take on the veil frame their decision, and how do they explain it to those who might object to such demeanor? How was the public gaze and opinion of the French citizenry affected by events such as the 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States or the French urban riots of November 2005? These questions find only limited answers in the book, and it is a pity that the only life stories of Muslims rendered in detail are those of French Jihadists, hardly representative cases as the authors themselves point out.

Second, the knowledge base exploited by the authors is rather thin. This is due in part to the underdevelopment of social science in France and to the taboo that has long prevented French researchers to gather data on specific communities or ethnic groups. As a result, the surveys that do exist on attitude and behaviors of French Muslims are quoted extensively by the authors, without any note of caution about their methodological limitations. On the other hand, broadening the scope of relevant sources could have compensated for the paucity of statistical studies addressing the issue, and there is a trove of first-hand materials such as novels and testimonies or anthropological studies that the authors could have used to their advantage. Indeed, the authors show a bit of complacency when they praise the quality of the expertise on the Muslim world in French academia. It could be argued that the underdevelopment of ethnic studies in France owes a large part to the limitations imposed by French academics who did not keep abreast of developments in French society.

Third, the reader sometimes wishes that the authors would take a stand on some contemporary debates. In many cases, the authors present the different sides of the argument, pinpoint discrepancies or contradictions, but fall short of drawing their reasoning to its logical conclusion. To be true, issues such as the ban on headscarves in public schools or the creation of a representative council dealing with practical issues associated with the Islamic faith are hotly debated issues, in France and abroad, and one of the merit of the book is to show that there are no easy answers. This is where a comparative perspective is especially helpful, as the challenges confronted by France find echoes in many other European countries. But addressing the broader European challenge may be the subject of another volume.

A book to be grateful for.......2006-08-31

Laurence and Vaisse have written a very sane set of analyses of Islam in France. The book is rigorously based on solid data and well conceived historical research. They also support their work with interviews with important participants in the processes they describe. Absolutely every one interested in the integration of Islam into Europe would do well to read this fine work.

Now I want to reserve the reviewer's prerogatives of a side note. The first part of the book presents of French Muslims based on survey research and an analysis of secondary material compiled by the governments of France and the US. The body of the work is largely attuned to the evolution of French institutions, both of the government and of the Muslim communities. Now someone needs to find a way to apply the same rigour and rationality to the problem placing the subaltern populations of the banlieu in the framework of French life a bit more fully than I believe is now possible. That will be another book written in another day. Whatever it looks like, it will surely build on the base established here by Laurence and Vaisse.

New Media in the Muslim World: The Emerging Public Sphere (Middle East Studies)

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Enjoyable and informative

New Media in the Muslim World: The Emerging Public Sphere (Middle East Studies)

Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Fresh insights on the extent to which today's new media--from fax machines and the Internet to pulp fiction and video cassettes--have transcended local and state boundaries and worked to reform notions of gender, authority, justice and politics in Muslim societies emerge from this provocative book.

Customer Reviews:

Enjoyable and informative.......2000-07-31

I most enjoyed reading New Media in the Muslim World. This bookexamines the recent introduction of mass education and theavailability of new media (including: fax machines, private and satellite Television channels, internet, desktop publishing as well as video tapes and telephone) in the Muslim World. These new media challenge existing modes of governmental and religious authority and creates new discursive spaces for the articulation of ethnic and religious identities.

This work starts with three theoretically oriented chapters and continues with ethnographies. All case study presented in the collection are immensely relevant to new media researchers, although only one of them deals specifically with the Internet.

Other themes consist of: the continuity between old and new in popular culture (Armbrust), interactions between technology and culture in the new "communication ecology" (White), how new communication networks have de-centered debates on the construction of ethnic identity to Europe (Yavuz), the narrowing gap between broadcast production and audiences and the intellectualization of Islamic discourse (both by Eickelman), the discovery of the civil society as a topic for debate in the Muslim world (Norton), etc.

One of the book's strengths is that no simplistic causal link is assumed between new communication technologies and their social impact. The essays are informed by a rich ethnographical context and an understanding of larger social and political.

Book Description

If Westerners know a single Islamic term, it is likely to be jihad, the Arabic word for "holy war." The image of Islam as an inherently aggressive and xenophobic religion has long prevailed in the West and can at times appear to be substantiated by current events. L. Carl Brown challenges this conventional wisdom with a fascinating historical overview of the relationship between religious and political life in the Muslim world ranging from Islam's early centuries to the present day.

Religion and State examines the commonplace notion -- held by both radical Muslim ideologues and various Western observers alike -- that in Islam there is no separation between religion and politics. By placing this assertion in a broad historical context, the book reveals both the continuities between premodern and modern Islamic political thought as well as the distinctive dimensions of modern Muslim experiences. Brown shows that both the modern-day fundamentalists and their critics have it wrong when they posit an eternally militant, unchanging Islam outside of history. "They are conflating theology and history. They are confusing the oughtand the is," he writes. As the historical record shows, mainstream Muslim political thought in premodern times tended toward political quietism.

Brown maintains that we can better understand present-day politics among Muslims by accepting the reality of their historical diversity while at the same time seeking to identify what may be distinctive in Muslim thought and action. In order to illuminate the distinguishing characteristics of Islam in relation to politics, Brown compares this religion with its two Semitic sisters, Judaism and Christianity, drawing striking comparisons between Islam today and Christianity during the Reformation. With a wealth of evidence, he recreates a tradition of Islamic diversity every bit as rich as that of Judaism and Christianity.

Fighting Poverty: The Development-Employment Link

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Fighting Poverty: The Development-Employment Link

Manufacturer: Lynne Rienner Publishers
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1588263967

Sufi City: Urban Design and Archetypes in Touba (Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora) (Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora)

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Sufi City: Urban Design and Archetypes in Touba (Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora) (Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora)
Eric S. Ross
Manufacturer: University of Rochester Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1580462170

Book Description

Sufi City: Urban Design and Archetypes in Touba is a geographical study of the modern Muslim holy city of Touba in Senegal, capital of the Mouride Sufi order. Touba was founded in 1887 by a Sufi shaykh in a moment of mystic illumination. Since the death of the founder in 1927, the Mouride order has designed and built the entire city. Touba is named for Tûbâ, the "Tree of Paradise" of Islamic tradition. This archetypal tree articulates Islamic conceptions of righteous life on earth, divine judgment, and access to the Hereafter; the city of Touba actualizes this spiritual construct. Important aspects of its configuration, such as the vertical and horizontal alignment of its monumental central shrine complex, its radiating avenues and encircling ring roads, and the actual trees that mark its landscape relate directly to the archetypal tree of Sufi theosophy. The relationship between the spiritual archetype and its earthly actualization as a city is explained by recourse to Sufi methodology. The book employs a semiotic analysis of urban form, cartography, hermeneutics, field investigation and analysis of satellite imagery in order to relate contemporary urban design issues to overarching metaphysical concepts. Sufi City also explores the history of urban networks in Senegal since the emergence of autonomous Muslim towns in the seventeenth century. Finally, the layout of Senegal's modern Sufi cities is related to the monumental palaver trees that marked that country's historic settlements. Eric S. Ross is a cultural and urban geographer who holds a degree in Islamic Studies. Since 1998 he has been assistant professor of Geography at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. Apart from research on Sufi orders and Muslim towns in Senegal, he has studied cultural tourism and urban planning in Morocco.

Politics of Language in the Ex-Soviet Muslim States: Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazahhstan, Kyrgystan, Turmenistan, Tajikistan

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Politics of Language in the Ex-Soviet Muslim States: Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazahhstan, Kyrgystan, Turmenistan, Tajikistan
Jacob M. Landau , and Barbara Kellner-Heinkele
Manufacturer: Hurst & Co Ltd
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Binding: Hardcover

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Islam in Malaysian Foreign Policy (Politics in Asia Series))

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Islam in Malaysian Foreign Policy (Politics in Asia Series))
Shanti Nair
Manufacturer: Routledge
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Binding: Hardcover

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Islam in Malaysian Foreign Policy is concerned with Malaysian foreign policy and how the policy is shaped by an domestic Islamic agenda. The author draws specific connections between the direction and intent of the country's foreign policy towards other Muslim Countries and the politics of Islam within the domestic scene. She examines the relationship between Islam, development and economic growth, the `problem' of extremism and relations with other countries such as Libya and Iran, the significance of the modern-day pilgrimage to Mecca, the issue of Muslim minorities, and the Malaysian attitude towards such global problems as the issues of Palestine, Afghanistan, the Gulf War and Bosnia. The book also addresses the real and imagined significance of Islam as a force in contemporary global politics.

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