Foehammer’s Anvil

I would rank The Crisis of Islam by Bernard Lewis as must reading. This goes for anyone that cares about getting real perspective on Islam and why we do not understand them and they do not understand us — although I think the West is starting to definitely turn that tide. The opposite, unfortunately, is not the case.

Here’s what the book does: in just 164 pages it shows how all the major historical points of Islam have lead it to this destination. Fascinating and definitely a book I will be adding to my permanent library ASAP. It puts things on the table that clearly define how the Crusade was actually nothing more than a weak, irresolute and long overdue retaliatory strike against the Middle East for hundreds of years of previous Islamic Imperialism. How convenient that if you hear from most Muslims, they do not even seem to remember that part of the historical story.

An excerpt from Chapter 2, The House of War:

“Jihad is sometimes presented as the Muslim equivalent of the Crusade, and the two are seen as more or less equivalent. In a sense this is true — both were proclaimed and waged as holy wars for the true faith against an infidel enemy. But there is a difference. The Crusade is a late development in Christian history and, in a sense, marks a radical departure from the basic Christian values as expressed in the Gospels. Christendom had been under attack since the seventh century, and had lost vast territories to Muslim rule; the concept of a holy war, more commonly, a just war, was familiar since antiquity. Yet in the long struggle between Islam and Christendom, the Crusade was late, limited, and of relatively brief duration. Jihad is present from the beginning of Islamic history — in scripture, in the life of the Prophet, and in the actions of his companions and immediate successors. It has continued throughout Islamic history and retains its appeal to the present day. The word crusade derives of course from the cross and originally denoted a holy war for Christianity. But in the Christian world it has long since lost that meaning and is used in the general sense of morally driven campaign for a good cause. One may wage a crusade for the environment, for clean water, for better social services, for women’s rights, and for a whole range of other causes. The one context in which the word crusade is not used nowadays is precisely the original religious one. Jihad too is used in a variety of senses, but unlike crusade it has retained its original, primary meaning.”

The takeover of Spain and the push toward Western Europe long after the Crusades by the Ottoman Empire…Yes, it’s all in there.

How Imperial European power caught the Muslims off-balance when the first great British Man-o-Wars sailed into Egyptian harbors and Napoleon invaded and was subsequently ousted not by the hapless Muslim armies but by Great Britain!

Is it any wonder that the 7th century Islamic nations are finally understanding how far along they need to catch up on the timetable of nations?

Will it be the doctrines of a barbaric fascist religion that earns them mastery over the West in the modern era? Will it be outright by terrorist murder and the financial ruin of the United States, or by subversion through a slow and steady trickle of Islam into all the Western world, until it is too late to stop our own judges from one day proclaiming “No Islamophobia” a new law in Massachusetts….

Get the book. You’ll be able to use it often to reference points and to open eyes, believe me. It is a consummate example of how history can truly transform the future, if only we have enough wisdom to remember.

A link to more reviews is available in the Books & Media section of this site.

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