The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims

By: Spencer, Robert

Book Overview

This collection of essays by some of the world's leading authorities on Islamic social history focuses on the juridical and cultural oppression of non-Muslims in Islamic societies. The authors of these in-depth but accessible articles explode the widely diffused myth, promulgated by Muslim advocacy groups, of a largely tolerant, pluralistic Islam. In fact, the contributors lay bare the oppressive legal superstructure that has treated non-Muslims in Muslim societies as oppressed and humiliated tributaries, and they show the devastating effects of these discriminatory attitudes and practices in both past and contemporary global conflicts.Besides original articles, primary source documents here presented also elucidate how the legally mandated subjugation of non-Muslims under Islamic law stems from the Muslim concept of jihad -- the spread of Islam through conquest. Historically, the Arab-Muslim conquerors overran vast territories containing diverse non-Muslim populations. Many of these conquered people surrendered to Muslim domination under a special treaty called dhimma in Arabic. As such these non-Muslim indigenous populations, mainly Christians and Jews, were then classified under Islamic law as dhimmis (meaning "protected"). Although protected status may sound benign, this classification in fact referred to "protection" from the resumption of the jihad against non-Muslims, pending their adherence to a system of legal and financial oppression, as well as social isolation. The authors maintain that underlying this religious caste system is a culturally ingrained contempt for outsiders that still characterizes much of the Islamic world today and is a primary impetus for jihad terrorism.Also discussed is the poll tax (Arabic jizya) levied on non-Muslims; the Islamic critique of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the use of jihad ideology by twentieth-century radical Muslim theorists; and other provocative topics usually ignored by Muslim apologists.This hard-hitting and absorbing critique of Islamic teachings and practices regarding non-Muslim minorities exposes a significant human rights scandal that rarely receives any mention either in academic circles or in the mainstream press.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591022495
• ISBN13: 9781591022497
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 593 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.4" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

Revealing, informative and often disturbing. Essential reading.

Having recently acquired Robert Spencer's most recent work entitled "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam ..." in addition to his study "Islam Unveiled ...", I was hesitant as to whether this book would be able to provide me with any more relevant information upon Islam. However, having accessed the vast amount of information contained in this book I am personally glad that I took the time to make this additional purchase. As already described by others, much of this study consists of a considerable array of articles/essays by a number of knowledgeable and learned people with much experience of Islam and it's many facets. A knowledge that emanates from the text of this well written and extremely easy to read investigation. Rather than taking the personal opinions of the authors at face value, where possible I have personally taken the time to measure the context of the quotes from the Koran and their context, against those illustrated in the commentaries provided. My prime concerns being the subjects of Islamic "tolerance" of non-Muslims as specified in the title, and it's parallel issue of being a "peaceful" religion. I found the results of my analysis to be both informative and illuminating. The book proceeds to cover many aspects such as the alleged "oppression of Middle East Christians", the "persecution of Jews and Christians under Islam", "Jihad and human rights", the strength of "Islamism" at the United Nations and an article labelled "Judeophobia Today = Anti-Judaism/Anti-Zionism/Anti-Semitism; A growing culture of hate". The latter issue, for example, alleges that under an increasing "Judeophobia" and the purported guise of "anti-Zionism", a "culture of hate" is seeping into Europe and the West. (For those interested in a further study on this particular issue I would respectfully recommend the book entitled "Eurabia; The Euro-Arab Axis" by Bat Ye'or.) An article is even provided which addresses the establishment of CAIR (Council of American-Islamic Relations) and their described agenda of "promoting a positive image of Islam and Muslims in America". The latter being cited as necessary due to the perception that "misrepresentations of Islam are most often the result of ignorance" by non-Muslims. This subject is addressed in some depth and makes interesting reading. Attention is also paid to how alleged Islamic "intolerance" and fundamental beliefs allegedly underlie the Arab-Israeli conflict itself, where it is emphasised herein that solving the conflict in the Middle East does not depend upon the "cession of land". The underlying "hostility" pertaining to the Jews is cited as being "appalling" and being described as a reflection of the ideology engendered by Jihad throughout the ancient Muslim conquests of lands populated by Christians and Jews on the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. Reference also being made to the historic treatment of these populations under Islamic rule. Indeed, the variety and numb

The legacy of dhimmitude

"A thing without a name escapes understanding," warns preeminent Islamic scholar Bat Ye'or of jihad and dhimmitude-the Islamic institutions of, respectively, war and perpetual servitude imposed on conquered non-Muslim peoples. Both, Ye'or notes in an essay entitled "Historical Amnesia," are in the process of globalization. This is not the benign economic globalization that most Westerners laud. Islamic jihad and dhimmitude trade in every available means-military, political, technological and intellectual. And if the towering collection of 63 essays (including Ye'or's) contained in this new book is to be believed, these specific Islamic processes are globalizing at a disturbingly rapid pace. The book, courageously assembled by Robert Spencer, provides historical and contemporary profiles of jihad and dhimmitude. In six sections, the book delineates how Islamic ideology has affected non-Muslims both historically and in the contemporary world. The first three sections cover the myth vs. historical realities and Islamic law and practice regarding non-Muslims. The last three sections cover how the myth of Islamic tolerance has affected contemporary geopolitics, power politics at the United Nations and, finally, academic and public discourse. It is Ibn Warraq's forward and the latter 400 pages in which this book really shines. He explains: Islam is a totalitarian ideology that aims to control the religious, social and political life of mankind in all its aspects; the life of its followers without qualification; and the life of those who follow the so-called tolerated religions to a degree that prevents their activities from getting in the way of Islam in any way. And I mean Islam, I do not accept some spurious distinction between Islam and 'Islamic fundamentalism' or Islamic terrorism'. The September 11, 2001 murderers acted canonically. They followed Sharia, a collection of theoretical laws and ideals "that apply in any ideal Muslim community." This body of regulations, based on divine authority, according to devout Muslims "must be accepted without criticism, without doubts and questions." It sacrifices the individual's desires and good to those of the community. That apostasy is not today mentioned in the legal codes of most Islamic countries, Warraq notes, hardly implies freedom of religion for Muslims in those states; their penal codes are filled with Islamic laws. The myth of Islamic tolerance is defied by the massacre and extermination of the Zoroastrians in Iran; the million Armenians in Turkey; the Buddhists and Hindus in India; the more than six thousand Jews in Fez, Morocco, in 1033; hundreds of Jews killed in Cordoba between 1010 and 1013; the entire Jewish community of Granada in 1066; the Jews in Marrakesh in 1232; the Jews of Tetuan, Morocco in 1790; the Jews of Baghdad in 1828; and so on ad nauseum. Ironically, despite Islam's immutability, the myth evolved through the Western propensity to criticize its civilization. In 98 C

The mainstream media doesn't get it --- this book does

I'm an expatriate American. My wife and I live in a Muslim neighborhood in the southern part of Thailand. We ourselves have never experienced a scintilla of censure or even tension from our Muslim neighbors -- among whom we shop and with whom we interact every day, on the friendliest of terms. But from our house we can hear the daily sermons broadcast fom the local mosque (in the Thai language --- very few Muslims speak the Arabic of the Q'uran) and what we hear is very disturbing. Local Muslims are told that all of Thailand (which is 75% Bhuddist) should become an Islamic state, and that loyalty to the King and/or Prime Minister is disloyaly to Allah. This does not happen every day --- but it happens too often to ignore. After the tsunami we found that several Muslim groups had used the disaster to evict Bhuddist beach vendors, preventing them from rebuilding their businesses. The Muslims are organized around and encouraged by firebrands from the mosque --- the Bhuddists have no such support organization, so are easy prey. I have read nearly all of Robert Spencer's books and articles. I have followed his detailed arguments online with Muslim scholars --- he is clear, reasoned, and precise. His books are more understated and balanced than his websites, which are ardent --- sometimes strident. Overall, his writings have encouraged me to do a little research of my own -- and I believe he knows what he is talking about. Read this book if you want to know what kind of future Islam has in mind for your children.

This needs to be required reading in some college classes

This is a fascinating book. Robert Spencer, Bat Ye'or, David Littman, Ibn Warraq, and the others who contributed the 58 articles in it are to be congratulated. Ibn Warraq begins by explaining that "Islam is a totalitarian ideology that aims to control the religious, social, and political life of mankind in all its aspects," and "the life of its followers without qualification." There is a myth of Islamic tolerance generated by various Europeans, and Ibn Warraq gives Thomas Carlyle as an example of a 19th-century European apologist for Islam. Other articles show more recent examples of disinformation about Islam. By the way, there is no question about what Islam is like today. There is plenty of variety among Muslims and among Muslim leaders. And there is a wide variety of literature that can be found in Muslim bookstores. But anyone who so desires can look over what is in those bookstores and see if it is at all consistent with what Muslim apologists are saying is there. My ancestors abandoned Islam, so I find the book fascinating. I think that those who are overly uncritical of Islamic totalitarianism are doing no one any favors. That is especially true of university professors. Professors are doing us all a service when they defend freedom of speech, but they are being counterproductive if they extend this to defending sedition. And they are also being counterproductive if they discourage the teaching of material such as what we see in this book. This book discusses the consequences of blasphemy and apostasy, the status of dhimmis, the jizya tax, the lack of freedom and rights for non-Muslims, and the culture of hate that we are witnessing today. We see how Muslim apologists often label as "racist" the liberation of people from Muslim servitude. And we read about the 2001 Durban Conference "against" racism, which rehabilitated rather than condemned the culture of hatred. There is a section on "human rights and human wrongs at the United Nations." The UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights is quite properly praised; it will be interesting to see if Islamist attacks on it succeed. Bat Ye'or has a superb section where she explains the origin of the Arab-Israeli conflict, which is mainly the result of the trauma inflicted upon Arabs by the emancipation of Jews from their former status as dhimmis. And she continues with a very thoughtful discussion of Euro-Arab anti-Zionism. Those who find this topic interesting should consider reading her book "Eurabia" as well. The book includes Ibn Warraq's excellent critique of the infamous and intellectually dishonest Ed Said, who "taught an entire generation of Arabs the art of self-pity." The example of a taunting untruth that impressed me most was that by Arafat at the UN in 1983. Arafat said that Jesus Christ was the first Arab "militant fedayin who carried his sword on the path" that Arafat's gang was then on. Now, I admit that it is interesting to see Jesus depicted as a t

Much Needed Insight On A Very Topical Subject

This timely volume arrives when Western Europe is struggling to cope with the spectre of Islamic intolerance within it's own borders. In Holland , Dutch artist Theo Van Gogh was murdered by an islamic extremist for making a film deemed by muslims to be insulting of their religion. Dutch politicians who are critical of islam find themselves on muslim hitlists. The dutch are puzzled because for years the multi-culturalists told them that Islam was like all other religions i.e. tolerant of other beliefs. Now the Dutch are finding out the truth the hard way. And so at the perfect time arrives a book which shows that Islamic tolerance is reserved only for those who believe in Islam. Robert Spencer has done a wonderful job in bringing together several top experts on Islam (including former muslims)who all contribute interesting chapters on the way Islam has treated non-believers over the ages. If you ever wondered why Salman Rushdie faced an islamic death threat just for writing a book, why crosses are banned in Saudi Arabia and why muslims who convert to Christianity in Pakistan have been murdered then this is THE book to read. A must read for anyone with an enquiring mind and a vital addition to the ongoing debate about religious freedom.