From Library Journal
The director of the Middle East Forum on the growth of Islamic fundamentalism.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
In the introduction to this polemic against political Islam, Pipes stakes out the political territory just to the left of Pat Buchanan and well to the right of almost everyone else. From this "moderate" position, Pipes argues that Islam is not an inherent threat to Western civilization, but that militant Islam, a branch of Islamic piety that seeks to bring the world under control of Islamic law, is the greatest threat since the cold war. He goes on to explore the threats posed to America by an influx of Muslim immigrants, extol the benefits of racial profiling, and argue that the only viable form of Islamic belief is "secularist" Islam, which embraces Western values and eschews traditional Islamic ones. Never mind that Pipes' argument about the inferiority of Islamic values is precisely the same argument that radical Islamists make about Western values. It's controversial and often interesting stuff--but hardly new. Some of the essays collected here are more than 10 years old (although they have been updated to reflect September 11). There's nothing here that hasn't been said by Ann Coulter or Buchanan or their ilk, but Pipes will make appearances on conservative radio and TV shows, which should drum up some attention.
John GreenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
