false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170651993m/66485.jpg 66485 7 After the terrorist attacks of September 11, many Americans yearned to understand why Muslim extremists felt such passionate animosity toward the Western world, particularly the United States. Since that historic attack there have been many books and discussions about this very question, but few of them offer such a readable and relevant response as this excellent offering by renowned historian Bernard Lewis (<I>What Went Wrong?</I>). For modern Westerners, Islam is an especially foreign religion and culture to understand. For instance, Westerners typically dismiss things as unimportant when using the expression "that's history." But for those raised in Muslim households, history&#151;even ancient history&#151;is just as important (if not more important) as the present. And to better understand the hostilities rooted in this history&#151;one could start with recognizing the long-standing resentment the Islamic community harbors from having its homelands torn apart and re-packaged into random political states by occupying Europeans (Westerners). Or stretch back in time to the brutality of the Crusades. Or go straight to the U.S. political meddling in the region throughout the latter 20th century. </p> This is not a pity fest for Muslims. Lewis even-handedly explores the sources of Islamic antagonism toward the West while also explaining how a supposedly peace-worshipping religion could be so distorted by violent extremism. He notes that the American way of life&#151;especially that of fulfillment through material gain and sexual freedom&#151;is a direct threat to Islamic values (which is why night clubs&#151;places where men and women publicly touch one another&#151;are targets of bombings). But it is basic Western democracy that especially threatens Islamic extremists, notes Lewis, because within its own community more and more Muslims are coming to value the freedom that political democracy allows. For anyone wanting an intelligent and accessible primer on the Islamic-Western conflict, this is an excellent place to begin. <I>Gail Hudson</I> 64470 2003 The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror total:322|5:66|4:117|3:105|2:25|1:9| 322 1172 472 49 4 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 02 12:13:17 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 07 13:17:29 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Mon Jun 23 13:45:28 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 23 13:50:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Jul 22 11:41:12 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 08 16:35:34 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Mar 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 16:10:06 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 16:15:07 -0700 2009 4 1 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 13 16:04:09 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 13 17:54:46 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 28 15:45:47 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 03 19:46:03 -0800 2008 5 1 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Jan 11 06:26:07 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 11 06:26:35 -0800 2008 5 1 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Nov 03 18:08:44 -0700 2007 Sat Nov 03 18:11:32 -0700 2007 4 1 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon May 14 18:32:25 -0700 2007 Sat Aug 18 15:38:36 -0700 2007 5 1 false false Mon May 12 10:35:04 -0700 2008 Mon May 12 10:36:23 -0700 2008 4 1 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Jul 13 09:23:52 -0700 2007 Fri Jul 13 09:30:36 -0700 2007 4 1 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 02 19:27:06 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 05 12:43:04 -0700 2007 4 1 false false Sat Jun 16 08:38:12 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 16 08:40:33 -0700 2007 0 1 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Apr 30 14:00:29 -0700 2007 Wed May 02 08:13:04 -0700 2007 5 1 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Sep 28 08:18:46 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 28 08:19:46 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Sat Jul 26 11:06:49 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 26 11:08:14 -0700 2008
General Thesis: Islam was brought up different from Christianity and Judaism. Latter two were established under downtrodd...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 22 16:35:37 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 22 16:44:52 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 08 10:31:12 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 08 11:17:33 -0700 2007 The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror after making it through Oren’s much lengthier (and much better) tome. Lewis’ work is an amplification of a magazine article for The New Yorker, and it reads like one. There are few references and the cohesive...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Aug 09 18:33:53 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 18:37:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Fri Jan 09 17:25:25 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 17:30:56 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=66485