Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic lllusion of an Islamic State [Hardcover]

 

 

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I found this book to be well-thought out and educational. I have seen Mr. Fatah on T.V. interviews/discussion boards, and have read his articles in major publications. He is a representative of the Muslim community who is building bridges with all. He is a tireless champion of human rights. Simply put, I admire this author. Personally, I wish he was my neighbour.

I think it is a fair observation of affairs in the Islamic world. My dissatisfaction with this book came in chapter four when Mr. Fatah discusses "Islamic state of Iran". He doesn't know much about the history of Iran as best as he should. May be he could benefit a lot from reading books (such as Eternal Iran by Michael Rubin) other than a biased book like 'All the Shah's men' which he calls a classic, unfortunately. Mr. Kinzer author of that book is supposed to be a prime target of Mr. Fatah's book but here he praises him when he needs a Communist, pro-Jihadi idiot to prove his point. So he lost me there. Mr. Fatah says he wants to awaken the misinformed Western leftists but he quotes one of the worst of them: Stephen Kinzer. And quoting him to prove a point about the history of Iran is just plain wrong and un-academic. I am though with him on the terrible state of affairs in Iran and I praise Mr. Fatah for bringing this up in his book. Iranian people need to be heard and I am glad Mr. Fatah does them justice in this book.

Again, I need to say that Mr. Fatah ignores the facts about Iranian coup of 1953. He doesn't understand that PM Mossadegh was not ELECTED, rather appointed to the job and according to the constitution of Iran at that time, the Shah had the power to dismantle the Parliament and take the Premiership away from Mossadegh and when he did so, Mossadegh refused and resisted. The rest is story of history. One more thing is Mr. Fatah's point that Iran, Turkey and Iraq OCCUPY Kurdistan. Well, that's another point that Mr. Fatah does not appreciate the history of that part of the world. Kurdistan has never been OCCUPIED by Iran as he claims, it has been PART of Iran since the dawn of history. He fails to back his claim up. Kurds consider themselves more Iranian in the Iranian national context than Kurds. Yes, they're proud of their heritage but Iran is not a country like Iraq or Jordan or other ex-British Empire possessions. It's always been independent and never been colonized and parts of the Kurdistan that happen to be in Iran have always been Iran's. Turkish or Iraqi Kurdistan were rather TAKEN AWAY from Iran during the Safavid dynasty. However, no body from the state of Iran did not go and occupy Kurdistan. The case for Kurdistan of Iran is very different. Yes, they are oppressed but they are not occupied... So I don't understand what Mr. Fatah would like to imply that Iran has occupied Kurdistan for 80 years. Kurdish provinces of Iran like Ilam, Kurdistan, Kermanshah and Azerbaijan e Gharbi have been parts of an independent, strong and united Iran since Persia was founded thousands of years ago. I don't know where he got 80 years frorm. World War I didn't take any part of Iran away. The end of the Great War saw the foundation of states like Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and ... etc but it didn't have any territorial impact on Persia/Iran. Mr. Fatah fail to present an evidence to prove his point on that. He just rants there to prove his valild point that Muslims have been silent about their own atrocities.

Moreover, Mr. Fatah doesn't seem to understand the nature of Arab-Israeli conflict. It's not about land or water of nationalism. It's never been. Whenever it has been about land, i.e Egypt's Sinai and Jordan's claims, the parties have managed to come to a peaceful agreement and Israel have given those lands back to those states. Palestinians on the other hand would like to see all Jews driven out of their lands. It's also not historically correct to say that Muslims were peaceful before the death of Muhammed and became violent when he died and the Islamic leadership was also buried with him. Mr. Fatah fails to mention the mass killings of Jews of Bani-Qorayze'e clan or the killings that Muhammedans did when returned triumphant back to Mecca after 13 yrs of exile in Medina. Islam, in its core, is not as peaceful as Mr. Fatah claims it to be. The intolerance has always been part of the culture that embodied and did spread the religion of Islam from Indonesia, Persia to the shores of Spain and France. Again, that's part of history of the world and a matter of discussion. But I would like not to forget the crimes done in the name of Islam from day one.

All in all, this book is an Okay one as it tries to explore new ways of discussion on the possibility of reforming Islam. It is a good work/attempt by a voice of sanity and reason. The impossible task of reforming the religion of Islam will ultimately be done by the likes of Mr. Fatah and hopefully, he'll be able to see the day when his faith is reformed and civilized. I still recommend it to the western readers, with some reservations though.

Clearly Tarek Fatah has a lot of honesty, integrity and courage. He challenges the powers-that-be in Muslim traditionalism, whatever their claims to infallibility or superiority. But what Fatah does should not be considered controversial. He just compares the Quran with the later pronouncements of dictators and clerics. What's so heretical about that?

Fatah and the scholars he cites show that the autocratic power of early caliphs violated the values of social equality and rule by community consultation. Then a long series of clerical pronouncements proceeded to correct the Quran. The sharia law of stoning adulterers violated the Quran's chapter 4 verses 15-16 and 25, plus chapter 24 verses 2-3. The sharia law permitting the killing of apostates violated the Quran's chapter 2, verse 256, chapter 3 verses 88-89, chapter 4 verse 94, and chapter 16 verse 106. During Muhammad's life three Muslims were recorded as renouncing Islam, and none of them faced any death penalty. The sharia law banning women's testimony in legal cases violated the Quran's chapter 24, verses 4 and 11-20. The sharia law allowing Muslim men to pronounce an "instant" divorce on their wives violated chapter 2 verses 228-229 and chapter 65 verses 1-2. The rule that women should "cover your heads" (chapter 24 verse 31) actually said "cover your bosom (gayb)" -- it didn't mention the head (raas).

Fatah explores Islamic history from the death of Muhammad forward. With unblinking honesty he relates the seizures of power, the political murders, the civil wars. To those who see the ancient caliphates as perfect models to which modern Muslims must return, Fatah answers "From the Ridda (Apostacy) Wars of Caliph Abu-Bakr to the humiliating defeat of the Caliph Mustasim, I have not found a single period that I could in all honesty say I would trade for my 21st-century existence as a Muslim living in a secular democratic society. Why Islamists would crave the bloody past is beyond rational explanation, but rationality was a victim of the caliphs."

As the Christian church after Jesus proceeded to add, delete, and correct Jesus' religion almost beyond recognition, so did the rulers and clerics of later Islam. Fatah has the courage to reverse the process. On his own authority he rejects traditions which contradict the Quran. He is concerned to improve human relations for the future, not to defend our brutal past.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic lllusion of an Islamic State
This guy is so full of himself. His book is not worth the paper it is written on. You will just waste your money buying propaganda that is written with no coherence. Read more

Published 6 months ago by dove

2.0 out of 5 stars Unbalanced
I was referred to this book by a friend. My objective was to learn about the specific series of events after the passing away of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) that shaped the next... Read more

Published on Mar 27 2010 by easy rider

5.0 out of 5 stars Divulging deeper secrets of Islamism
A fascinating and thoroughly researched work by Tarek Fattah. He goes right to the beginnings of Muslim thought and their interpretations of their faith. Read more

Published on Dec 4 2009 by Ghulam M. Naeem

1.0 out of 5 stars Terribly Biased
While the author shows a deep understanding of the history of the middle east in some regards, in others (regarding Israel) he is deeply and somewhat comedically biased (or maybe... Read more

Published on Aug 28 2009 by Chris Mann

5.0 out of 5 stars A wake-up call: Islam vs. Islamists
If nothing else, critics of Tarek Fatah (and he admits in the book there are plenty) should go to their nearest bookstore, pick up a copy of "Chasing a Mirage" and read just two... Read more

Published on Jun 8 2008 by Nargis Tapal

4.0 out of 5 stars In the words of Janice Stein, "...a must read for anyone who cares about these issues."
Tarek Fatah has done his community a favor and the reading public a service by highlighting, at great personal risk, the problems he sees with Islamic fanaticism and the... Read more

Published on May 11 2008 by Paul Pakyam

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