Militant Islam Reaches America

by Daniel Pipes

Book Overview

Dividing his work into two subjects, Pipes first defines militant Islam, stressing the large and crucial difference between Islam the faith and the ideology of militant Islam. He then discusses Islam... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393052044
• ISBN13: 9780393052046
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 309 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Extrodinary book

Daniel Pipes presents an incredible story of militant Islam and how it is infecting America. The book is very well written and well documented. Pipes did a great deal of research prior to writing this book. He provides a look at the reality of Islam and the hate that can hide behind it. Pipes is NOT anti-Islam but rather sounding a warning that our political correctness is going to be our undoing.I have read several other books on terrorism and the Middle East since finishing Pipes' book. Many of the books, including ones written by current and former government intelligence officers, reference Mr. Pipes' book as well as confirm many of his facts.In addition to recent books on terrorism, I have also read numerous historical books on the Middle East both by Western authors as well as Muslim authors. Pipes' views and information are consistent with historical texts as well as current intelligence.I noticed that another reviewer denigrates Pipes saying that his information is false and undocumented. This is absolutely not true. That reviewer should provide his/her own references prior to attacking Mr. Pipes.This is an excellent first text for anyone interested in gaining an understanding of the conflict in the Middle East. Mr. Pipes covers many different radical groups as well as the many "charitable organizations" that fund terrorism as well as provide a cover for terrorist's movements. This was probably one of the more disturbing sections as it shows how even truly concerned American citizens can, unwittingly, support global terrorism by giving money to a seemingly legitimate charity.This was worth reading and is an excellent addition to any library. I would strongly recommend owning this rather than borrowing it from a library.

Shari'a Trumps the Constitution

Our nation, founded on the right to open and unfettered exchange of ideas from which we derive much of our greatness, still has one taboo about which it is difficult to speak openly. Not Christianity: Mapplethorpe's defamatory photography is not only tolerated but subsidized. Nor anti-Semitism: so rampant on our campuses, it is constitutionally protected. There is only one religion benefiting from so much deference and hypersensitivity that it can trigger the recall of books, cause the dismissal of teachers, and bring politicians trembling to their knees. This repression of free speech has been long ongoing outside of our borders. An insufficiently respectful British author was rewarded with a contract on his life, and translators of his book were assassinated. Open religious discourse has quite ceased to exist in the Arab world, with intense discrimination against Christians, Jews, and Hindus. Daniel Pipes' work reiterates things we knew but somehow got repressed from our public consciousness, and reveals much else which never made it there in the first place. Fabulously detailed and with a wealth of references, this guide clarifies the ongoing war that culminated on September 11. Pipes makes a wonderfully clear distinction between the religion of Islam and the political ideology called Islamism. Like communism and fascism, Islamism seeks the overthrow of democratic society by individuals who feel excluded from an elite they should be part of. Islamists are typically educated middle-class young men masquerading in religion while indulging in perversely un-Islamic behavior. By Princeton historian Sean Wilentz, terrorism is caused by "money, education, and privilege." Recalling early successes in science, technology, and world domination, Islamists suffer from traumatic frustration ingrained over a thousand years of severe social, political, and ecomonic failure and the inability to improve. Western education only fuels the envy and heightens the sense of impotence. Little else binding them than hatred towards the West, wars between Muslim nations are in fact three times more common than those against infidel nations. Ironically, ignorance obscures the fact that modern Islam actually borrows from Christianity. The Islamist repudiation of the importance of "who you are" for "where you are" copies the Western notions of nation-state and jurisdiction. A rather flimsy and self-contradictory Islamic theory of economics is based on Marxism and fascism. It is no surprise that Islamisation is inevitably followed by severe economic failure and political repression. Far from suffering discrimination, Muslims have a privileged position in the United States and are thriving, ready to complain about any perceived slight, winning fantastic monetary settlements, and inducing employers to provide religious sensiti-i-i-vity training. Even 'Married With Children' is not safe from the Muslim protests after September 11. Middle Eastern academic

Understanding Islamism

In this volume Middle East expert Daniel Pipes looks at the changing world since September 11. While some of the essays here were penned before that tragedy, all deal with the rise of Muslim militancy, and how the West should respond.Pipes begins by arguing that militant Muslims, or Islamists, do not represent all followers of Islam. The good news is they only comprise, at tops, fifteen per cent of the total. The bad news is, with one billion Muslims, 150 million are extremists. It is the Islamists that are the real threat, says Pipes, not traditional Muslims.Pipes provides the historical backdrop for this new militancy. For their first six centuries, Muslims enjoyed huge success. By the 13th century however decline set in, and for the next six centuries they found themselves heading to the bottom of world affairs, as power and wealth slowly ebbed away. The loss of their golden age, and their sense of alienation and frustration resulted in three recent responses. Secularism, the first response, is seen in countries such as Turkey. The second option, reformism, meant trying to live with the West. The third option, Islamism, is the focus of this book. Militant Islam seeks to reclaim its golden age, wants the total imposition of Shari'a law, and rejects completely Western influences.Pipes shows that Islamism is in fact a radical, utopian ideology, of the same mould as Marxism-Leninism or fascism. It is totalitarian in nature, and seeks salvation in political power, not individual religion. Whenever Islamists take power, as in Iran, Sudan and Afghanistan, a bloody tyranny results.Pipes argues that most traditional Muslims disagree with the premises of the Islamists. This is reflected in part by the fact that often traditional Muslims are the main victims of militant Islam. Algeria is a good case in point, with tens of thousands of Algerians killed (compared to some 80 foreigners).Since its ascendancy almost three decades ago, Islamism has become they main threat to freedom and democracy. It seeks global hegemony, just as past ideologies did. Fueled by fanaticism and hatred, militant Islam has become the new focus of evil in the world.There are two main ways in which Islamists can achieve their goal of world dominion: revolution or integration. The latter comes in the form of immigration to the West, high birth rates, and conversion. All three means are resulting in rising Muslim populations in most Western nations.The other option, bloody struggle, is something the West is becoming all too familiar with. Suicide bombers and terrorist cells are active around the world, and this threat is one all Western governments must come to terms with. Indeed, Pipes shows how militant Islam has been targeting Americans well before September 11. Pipes sees some hope, however. Muslim unity has often been seen as an oxymoron, with the Iraq-Iran conflict being but one example. Another issue is how moderate Islam deals with the threat. If modernism is embraced and West

Stimulating Essays That Help Clarify This Vital Issue

This book is a collection of informative and thought clarifying essays about the real issues facing America in our struggle with Islamism. Dr. Pipes makes the very helpful point that Islamism is NOT Islam. It is a political movement, totalitarian and utopian in nature, that drapes itself with Islam. However, he also points out the real danger facing the United States from this movement.The Author also helps us understand the magnitude of the problem. There are a billion Muslims in the world. A few tens of thousands are members of active groups working against the West. But there are another hundred million or so who actively support their goals with up to a half a billion sympathetic to their views. This is a serious issue and Dr. Pipes carefully takes us through a wide range of issues helping us understand this urgent reality.While Dr. Pipes is often attacked personally by critics sympathetic to the Islamist movements, when you take the time to read these essays you will see that he takes Islam seriously and analyzes carefully. Yes, Dr. Pipes supports the west and the United States. Yes, he is advocating political positions and actions that he believes will be best for America to protect its interests. But along with this he is a serious scholar and I believe he has done us a great service by putting out this book.You will know more about the situation we face and its constituent parts after reading this book. And that is a lot. It is certainly more than you get from many books on the middle east that generate a lot more heat than light.

The war is with Militant Islam - NOT Terrorism

Pipe's key contribution in Militant Islam Reaches America is the distinction he makes between Islam the religion and Militant Islam or Islamism the ideology. Militant Islam is comparable to Nazism or Marxism in that it is a radical political ideology that has the stated goal of taking over the world. In light of 9-11, Fukiyama's "end of history" theory - that the West has won and the rest is faits accomplis - is seen as a little pre-mature. And this threat is very real. Unlike the President and others who use confusing and inaccurate labels like "evil doers" and "war on Terrorism", Pipes clearly defines the enemy: Militant Islam. As Pipe so eloquently states: "And if it is true that most Muslims are not Islamist, it is no less true that all Islamists are Muslims.".Pipes does a good job of describing the peaceful - yet insidious groups that use our court system and our ultra-tolerant media to get special treatment and promote their cause - as well as the more visible violent strain of Islamism. Tolerance toward Islam in America allows a double standard - e.g. a sanitized view of Islam is pushed in public schools and the main stream media and negative Islamic views are not tolerated. Contrast that with negative reviews of Christian or Jewish groups that are all too prevalent in schools and our media. Pipes holds out hope that Turkey, as secular moderate Islamic state, can co-exist with the west and be a model for other Islamic states. What is not so hopeful is the fact that virtually all the other Islamic states in the Middle East are moving closer toward Muslim fundamentalism - not closer to Western secularism. Pipes shows us an interesting fact that the core of the Islamist movement is in fact highly educated over-achieving Westernized men (most of the WTC highjackers) - not the underclass in abject poverty that we have been told is behind this radical movement. On the contrary, this is very convincing evidence that indeed ideology - not poverty is the driving force behind Militant Islam. The issue is not that poverty causes radicals. The issue is that intelligent radical ideologues use poverty, intimidation, and brainwashing (Madrasas) to help promote their cause. Pipes devotes a couple of chapters to Jamil Al-Amin - a.k.a Rap Brown and Elijah Mohammed - a.k.a. Elija Pool - and the Nation of Islam and the Black Muslim movement. It is clear that radical Islamists have used these demagogues and their ilk to their advantage. It is important for Black and White and all Americans to understand this phenomenon and realize that NOL and the Black Muslim movement is not just a reaction to racism. As Al-Amin commented in his book Revolution by the Book "..the Constitution of the United States..its main essence it is diametrically opposed to what Allah has commanded". This is a statement of sedition. These people want to take away your constitution and replace it with the Qur'an.For moderate Muslims and the West to win this war, the West