Militant Islam Reaches America [Paperback]

 

 

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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 must not appease these neo-fascists hiding behind a head-dress. We must realize that so-called moderate Muslim organization like Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), American Muslim Council (AMC), Muslim American Society, et. al. all defended Al-Amin a convicted murderer as a good Muslim. This is perhaps the least of their sins. These groups could prove to us that they are not supporters of Militant Islam by denouncing the likes of Al-Amin, Ahmad Adna Chaundry (another convicted murderer), Mohammad Salah (accused of financing aid to Hamas). In all cases their silence is deafening.
So what can we do? The first step is to wake up and call the enemy what it is: Militant Islam and understand that it is as insidious and dangerous as any strain of fascism we have witnessed in our lifetime. We should set about not to just defeat the nebulous notion of "global terrorism", it is time to put a face on who the enemy is. Perhaps the Bush administration is using the vague "terrorist" label for diplomatic reasons. I hope that is their reason. But I agree with Pipes and von Clausewitz that "contradictory goals in war is a mistake". And we are at war.
So who exactly is the enemy? The inner core is the likes of Al-Qaeda, Bin Laden, the Taliban and their ilk. Our strike in Afghanistan was a good first pass, but the job is far from over. The second ring is larger population of militant sympathizers in most of the Arab world and other Islamic countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Bosnia. Pipes estimates that as many as 150 million or 15% of the Muslim world fall into this group. And the third ring is non-Militant Muslims, but those infected with Anti-American hate - Saddam and Qadhadhafi fall into this group. So the final toll is about half the Muslim population.
So we must realize that what we have is not what Huntington called the "Clash of Civilizations". I think it makes more sense to call it a class of ideologies. A good example is that fact that militant Muslims do a great job of killing other Muslims that do not go along with the program - as exemplified in 100,000 plus dead Muslims in Algeria, and many times that number in the Iran-Iraq war.
So the answer appears to be an updated version of George Kennan's cold war doctrine that Pipes paraphrases: "a long term patient but firm and vigilant containment of (its) expansive tendencies." And by our fortitude and will we will convince the moderate Muslim world that it is worth fighting for Western tolerance and freedom rather than a world of fascism and chains.

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 Western values are seen as compatible with Islam, then the fanatical arm may be contained. But it is by no means clear in which direction the majority of Muslims will move in the future. It is Muslims themselves, argues Pipes, not the West, who will determine the outcome of this post-Cold War ideological battle.

Pipes also writes about Muslims living in the US. There may be 2 or 3 million of them there. Pipes argues that on every front, the US is doing all it can to be hospitable to Muslims. There is a de facto affirmative action mentality in place, with schools, governments, the media, even the military, all fearful of showing any disrespect for Muslims.

Tolerance and respect of course are in order, argues Pipes, but in many ways Muslims are being given preferential treatment, so much so that the US government has become "a discreet missionary for the faith. Without anyone quite realizing it, the resources of the federal government have been deployed to help Muslims spread their message." Pipes documents numerous examples of just how this is in fact happening.

Pipes argues that if Islamists get their way in Western nations, freedom of speech concerning Islam and militant Islam would all but cease. It is becoming increasingly difficult to say anything which might be regarded as critical of Islam.

Pipes briefly examines the question of whether Islamism and jihad are an integral part of Islam, or a distortion of it. He recognises that Islam, like all great religions, is made up of different schools and is subject to varieties of interpretation, "from the mystical to the militant, from the quietist to the revolutionary. Its most basic ideas have been susceptible of highly contrasting explications."

Thus Pipes sees a battle for the soul of Islam being waged, with moderates and militants competing for dominance. But he sees terroristic jihad against the West as but "one reading of Islam ... not the eternal essence of Islam".

He argues that if half the population of the Muslim world hates America, the other half does not. It is to these more moderate Muslims that the West must work with, along with its own Muslim populations, to see that the radical Islamists do not prevail. The struggle will be long and difficult, says Pipes, but an Islamist victory is by no means certain.

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.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Pipes is a genius!
Militant Islam Reaches America is required reading for any American that want to live and not be a victim of militant Islam murder. Read more

Published on July 15 2004 by Eric Kent

1.0 out of 5 stars An appaling piece of the "Right Wing" corporate media...
This book is nothing but the author's sheer ignorance close to 10 billion muslims living worldwide. Extremism is not something that is ingrained in one religion or faith. Read more

Published on May 1 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading for every American
Most American's think that Muslim's hate America due to its support of Israel. That could not be farther from the truth. Read more

Published on April 27 2004 by Eric Kent

5.0 out of 5 stars Militant Islam Reaches America
A cri de guerre in which the noted scholar (Conspiracy, 1997, etc.) again urges that militant Islam is an enemy and must be treated as such. Read more

Published on April 22 2004 by B. Viberg

1.0 out of 5 stars Pipes never ceases to amaze...
Daniel Pipes never ceases to amaze me. The amount of fiction included in this book which he tries to pass as fact is laughable. Read more

Published on Feb 13 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Daniel Pipes explains the threat of Militant Islam
After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2003, there have been a number of questions that keep coming up. Read more

Published on Dec 19 2003 by Henry Cate III

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must Read" book.
Every literate person, particularly every American, simply MUST read this book. We are "at war!" We need to "know" our enemy. Read more

Published on Oct 27 2003 by Trebor Reyelchs

4.0 out of 5 stars "Slay the disbelievers wherever you find them"
Daniel Pipes is to Islamic Studies what Robert Conquest was to Sovietology: a lone voice of caution in a wilderness of apologetics. Read more

Published on Mar 27 2003 by The Sanity Inspector

2.0 out of 5 stars Political/religious bias discolors content
Political/religious bias discolors conclusions of this book. Pipes is anti democratic and sponsors a bigoted campaign against scholars who disagree with his highly pro Islraeli... Read more

Published on Feb 4 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars 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... Read more

Published on Jan 31 2003 by Ben Hekster

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