Spencer links the latest pronouncements of Bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, Sheikh Rantisi of Hamas, and others not only to such 20th century writers as Hassan al-Banna, Qutb, Mawdudi, and Abdullah Azzam, but to the central texts of Islam: Qur'an and hadith (the sayings and acts of Muhammad). As the "gates of ijtihad (interpretation)" closed more than a millennium ago, these texts, and the tenets they give rise to, cannot be changed or interpreted away. "Moderate" Muslims (often thrusting young academics in the West) who suggest otherwise, are often wilfully misleading. The behavior of those "moderates" who deny central teachings of Islam, and who are not engaged in such wilful deception, may have other explanations -- ignorance, filial piety, or simply embarrassment. In fact, it is the so-called "extremists" who articulate what is mainstream and orthodox Islam, and who would have been so regarded by any Muslim writer of significance in the past, from al-Ghazzali to Ibn Khaldun.

Spencer shows us just where in the Qur'an and hadith (relying on the most authoritative collections of ahadith, such as the Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim), hostility and aggression toward non-Muslims have been expressed, and forever fixed. Whatever else it may be, the Qur'an is also a manual of war, and it gives a great deal of attention to the Unbeliever, his perfidy, his hostility, and what must be done with him. When the founder of the Muslim brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna, wrote that "Islam is to dominate and not to be dominated," he was merely echoing words of Muhammad. When muhajideen invoke deception as a religiously-sanctioned weapon to protect the faith and fight the Infidels (a doctrine known as taqiyyah, or kitman, depending on the branch of Islam involved), they are following Muhammad's declaration that "war is deception." Every remark of Bin Laden is firmly rooted in Islamic teachings; whatever else he may be, neither Bin Laden nor his fellows can be described as renegades, or unorthodox. Orthodoxy is on their side.

In a rightly ordered world, the fate of Spencer's book would be clear: the book would be translated into all major languages; it would be on the shelves and, more importantly, in the minds, of all those whose duty it is to instruct us.

Most of Spencer's attention is on the Jihad. He explains that central to the belief-system of Islam is the doctrine of Jihad, the "struggle" to enlarge the borders of the dar al-Islam (the House, or Abode, or Domain of Islam, where Muslim populations predominate and Muslim rule is established) until it completely swallows up the dar al-Harb (the House, or Abode, or Domain of War, where non-Muslims still remain unsubjugated to Muslim rule). Jihad is a solemn religious duty, and the surest way to Muslim Paradise is not to have a lifetime of good works, of charity and mercy, but to die in the service of Jihad, fighting Infidels. He quotes copiously from the Qur'an and also from the hadith, or Traditions, the sayings and acts of Muhammad, which are equally important in Islamic belief; both Qur'an and hadith gave rise to the shari'a, the Holy Law of Islam, which enshrines Muslim attitudes toward non-Muslim peoples whom early Muslims conquered. It is regrettable that some Western statesmen, such as Blair, appear to believe that a weekend spent reading a paperback Qur'an (sans notes or explanatory material) makes them suitably conversant with Islamic teachings, and they need study no further. Such misinformation is dangerous; if those at the top do not have the time to study the matter, they should ensure that members of their staff study the matter, to put paid to the notion of a "religion of peace and tolerance."

Spencer explains the best-known excerpts routinely invoked by Muslim apologists, and brings to bear both the classical commentators, and what Muslim history reveals about the application of these excerpts to dealings with non-Muslims. Calm, unruffled, humorous, he offers quite a contrast to the humorless hysteria of

January 2004               - 3 -               Outpost