The rise of Islamic terrorism worldwide is a phenomenon of our age. But it is not the first time that violence in the name of Islam has surged across the world. In Global Jihad, Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo takes an in-depth look at the teachings of Islam, past and present, which form the driving force for Islamic terrorism. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including many Muslim writers, he examines the facets of the Islamic faith which motivate so many men and women of violence. He suggests a number of practical responses which can be adopted by non-Muslims to counter the violence, strategies for winning the long war against Islamic violence. This book is aimed primarily at decision-makers in politics, security, intelligence and the military, but will be of interest to any reader who seeks to understand Islamic violence in the world today.
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About the Author
Canon Patrick Sookhdeo, Ph.D. D.D. is the Director of the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity, which conducts research into Islamic movements and trends in contemporary Islam, especially radical Islam and terrorism. International Director of the Barnabas Fund, a relief and development agency channeling practical help and support to Christian minorities. Author, lecturer, advisor and consultant on issues of war, conflict and society. Visiting Fellow at Cranfield University UK. Senior Visiting Fellow at the Defence Academy,UK. Fellow of the Security Institute UK. EDUCATION * Ph.D. from London University, School of Oriental and African Studies. * D.D. by Western Seminary, Oregon, USA, validated by University of Oregon, for work on Pluralism. * D.D. by Nashotah House, Wisconsin, USA.(Anglican Episcopal) for work on human rights and religious freedom AWARDS * 2001 Coventry Cathedral International Prize for Peace and Reconciliation. * Spring 1990 Templeton UK project trust prize for progress in religion for his caring evangelistic ministry in the east end of London.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Patrick Sookhdeo is well aware of the global terror campaign. But he is also aware that there is much more to this struggle than just suicide bombers. There are theological, political, moral and ideological issues as well. Thus this book is not entitled "Global Terror," for that would give a misleading impression of what this battle is really all about. Terrorism is simply one facet of a multi-lateral approach to achieving Islamic supremacy around the world.
Sookhdeo is eminently qualified to speak on this subject. Indeed, he was born into a Muslim household in South America (although now he is a Christian residing in London). He has spent his life studying Islam and the jihadists. He is more than familiar with Islamic history, theology, culture and practice.
In this substantial volume of nearly 700 pages, Sookhdeo examines how the global Islamic challenge is being manifest, and how it can be withstood. He looks primarily at the theology and beliefs of Islam, and argues that only a major reform of Islam itself can really turn things around.
While many are happy to believe that "Islam is peace," the truth lies elsewhere. In fact, the radical Islamists are not some aberration to Islamic belief and practice, but are really an integral part of it. Many people nonetheless want to distinguish between Islamist terrorism and Islamic terrorism.
"However this is really a meaningless distinction," says Sookhdeo. "Islamism is simply the essence of classical Islam, and violence and terror are found within both of them." Although the major sources of Islam provide the inspiration for terror, that does not mean that all Muslims are terrorists. Most Muslims in fact reject the jihadists.
But if Islamist violence can be justified by, and found within, the main Islamic sources (the Koran, the hadith, the life and teachings of Muhammad, etc.), then only a major reform of Islam, and a new reinterpretation of it, can help to curb the violence.
Thus the war on terror is really just a small part of a much larger war, that is, the 1400-year-long war of Islamic expansionism. The pursuit of Islamic power and hegemony is what jihad is all about. The struggle for Islam includes not just violent military means, but all manner of other means as well.
Islam understands jihad to be a permanent struggle, one which will continue until all of Allah's enemies are subsumed and sharia rules the earth. Until then, there can be no real peace. Sure, temporary peace can be negotiated when Islam is not in a position to achieve complete dominance. But whenever Islam becomes the ruling ideology of a country, then all non-Muslims must submit, or endure dhimmitude.
Dhimmis must submit to the demeaning regulations of Islam, including payment of the jizya (poll tax). Persecution of non-Muslims in Muslim lands is an ever-present reality, and more Christians are being killed today in Islamic lands than anywhere else. And many moderate Muslims are being killed by the Islamists as well.
Sookhdeo here offers extensive documentation and explanation of Islamic jihadist thought and practice. Countless Muslim thinkers, jurists, Imams, commentators and strategists are quoted here. He clearly makes the case that the ideology and aims of jihad are contained in the very heart and soul of Islam.
Meaty chapters explore various issues, such as the life and history of Muhammad; the nature of the Koran, the hadith and sharia; the Islamic understanding of peace; the theology of war and empire-building; and responses to Islamic terrorism.
Consider one chapter, on taqiyya. This is the Arabic term for deception or dissimulation. It has long been held by leading Muslim authorities that Muslims have a right to practice deception with non-Muslims if there is a conflict between faith and expediency.
This practice has especially served well Muslim apologists and evangelists who want to convince gullible Westerners that Islam is really a religion of peace. It is a regular practice of those who "expend much energy to convince non-Muslims that Islam is and has always been peaceful and tolerant". This puts non-Muslims off guard, and prepares them for eventual Muslim rule and domination.
Sookhdeo has penned a number of previous works on Islam, but this is his magnum opus, at least for now. It is a gold mine of information, facts and figures on what is one of the greatest threats facing the free West today. It is only because of ignorance about the contents of this book - and others like it - that we are in such a predicament today.
We can no longer remain unaware about the threat that we face. Ignorance can no longer be an excuse. We must arm ourselves with truth, and with information. We must be aware of the Islamist enemy. As Sookhdeo says, "Ultimately to gain victory over the Islamists will require the exercise of the will and a right understanding of the situation."
This volume certainly provides all the necessary information for understanding the nature of the war we are in. Whether we have the will and the guts to stay in the battle and see it thought to the end is another matter altogether. But Sookhdeo's volume is a must read for everyone - Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
Sookhdeo is eminently qualified to speak on this subject. Indeed, he was born into a Muslim household in South America (although now he is a Christian residing in London). He has spent his life studying Islam and the jihadists. He is more than familiar with Islamic history, theology, culture and practice.
In this substantial volume of nearly 700 pages, Sookhdeo examines how the global Islamic challenge is being manifest, and how it can be withstood. He looks primarily at the theology and beliefs of Islam, and argues that only a major reform of Islam itself can really turn things around.
While many are happy to believe that "Islam is peace," the truth lies elsewhere. In fact, the radical Islamists are not some aberration to Islamic belief and practice, but are really an integral part of it. Many people nonetheless want to distinguish between Islamist terrorism and Islamic terrorism.
"However this is really a meaningless distinction," says Sookhdeo. "Islamism is simply the essence of classical Islam, and violence and terror are found within both of them." Although the major sources of Islam provide the inspiration for terror, that does not mean that all Muslims are terrorists. Most Muslims in fact reject the jihadists.
But if Islamist violence can be justified by, and found within, the main Islamic sources (the Koran, the hadith, the life and teachings of Muhammad, etc.), then only a major reform of Islam, and a new reinterpretation of it, can help to curb the violence.
Thus the war on terror is really just a small part of a much larger war, that is, the 1400-year-long war of Islamic expansionism. The pursuit of Islamic power and hegemony is what jihad is all about. The struggle for Islam includes not just violent military means, but all manner of other means as well.
Islam understands jihad to be a permanent struggle, one which will continue until all of Allah's enemies are subsumed and sharia rules the earth. Until then, there can be no real peace. Sure, temporary peace can be negotiated when Islam is not in a position to achieve complete dominance. But whenever Islam becomes the ruling ideology of a country, then all non-Muslims must submit, or endure dhimmitude.
Dhimmis must submit to the demeaning regulations of Islam, including payment of the jizya (poll tax). Persecution of non-Muslims in Muslim lands is an ever-present reality, and more Christians are being killed today in Islamic lands than anywhere else. And many moderate Muslims are being killed by the Islamists as well.
Sookhdeo here offers extensive documentation and explanation of Islamic jihadist thought and practice. Countless Muslim thinkers, jurists, Imams, commentators and strategists are quoted here. He clearly makes the case that the ideology and aims of jihad are contained in the very heart and soul of Islam.
Meaty chapters explore various issues, such as the life and history of Muhammad; the nature of the Koran, the hadith and sharia; the Islamic understanding of peace; the theology of war and empire-building; and responses to Islamic terrorism.
Consider one chapter, on taqiyya. This is the Arabic term for deception or dissimulation. It has long been held by leading Muslim authorities that Muslims have a right to practice deception with non-Muslims if there is a conflict between faith and expediency.
This practice has especially served well Muslim apologists and evangelists who want to convince gullible Westerners that Islam is really a religion of peace. It is a regular practice of those who "expend much energy to convince non-Muslims that Islam is and has always been peaceful and tolerant". This puts non-Muslims off guard, and prepares them for eventual Muslim rule and domination.
Sookhdeo has penned a number of previous works on Islam, but this is his magnum opus, at least for now. It is a gold mine of information, facts and figures on what is one of the greatest threats facing the free West today. It is only because of ignorance about the contents of this book - and others like it - that we are in such a predicament today.
We can no longer remain unaware about the threat that we face. Ignorance can no longer be an excuse. We must arm ourselves with truth, and with information. We must be aware of the Islamist enemy. As Sookhdeo says, "Ultimately to gain victory over the Islamists will require the exercise of the will and a right understanding of the situation."
This volume certainly provides all the necessary information for understanding the nature of the war we are in. Whether we have the will and the guts to stay in the battle and see it thought to the end is another matter altogether. But Sookhdeo's volume is a must read for everyone - Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
3 of 17 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Terrible book which would only be voted by those who know nothing about this subject
April 8, 2010
By H-L-F
Jihad in Islam is a nuanced subject at the best of times. The fact that the vast majority of this book is an compendium of secondary and tertiary sources is a proof that Sookhdeo either is incapably of going back to the early sources of Islam, perhaps due to the fact that he does not understand the Arabic language, or because he knows that doing so will expose his agenda, which it seems is to demonise Muslims and misrepresent their religion. A case in point is his claim that Muslims demarcate the world into two basic spheres: darul islam (abode of Islam) and darul harb (abode of war). In his 600+ pages, however, he does not once mention the most well known and obvious category, which in reality is the correct opposite of darul Islam, and that is, darul kufr (abode of disbelief). He even mentions some of the more obscure and relatively unknown sub-categories, and yet fails to mention this. Why? The reason is quite obvious: the main thrust of the book is to give the false impression to readers that Islam is a violent religion that inculcates in its adherents a violent and war-like mindset. In showing that in reality Muslims view the world as either abodes of areas of Islam and non-Islam, exposes this. Being a so-called academic, it is unforgivable that he fails to mention this category when all it takes is a simple Google search for any non-academic to come across. There is an excellent refutation of this book by the journalist Hamza Bajwa of The Muslim Weekly at: [...], which I would strongly recommended everyone purchase before wasting their time in reading this third-rate and misrepresentative book.
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