Jihad in the West: Muslim Conquests from the 7th to the 21st Centuries (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Jihad is back, says Paul Fregosi, but this current incarnation has a long history behind it. From the start, Islamic fundamentalism has intended to expand the Muslim religion to encompass the entire world through conversion, or, in many instances, violence. Yet until now it has lacked a general historical narrative: "The jihad has been the most unrecorded and disregarded major event of history," writes Fregosi. Jihad in the West attempts to describe the history of Islamic and European conflict over 1,500 years, including moments such as the climactic battle at Tours (if the Moors had won it in 732, much of Europe might be Muslim today), the sieges of Vienna, and the Barbary Corsairs (the battle U.S. Marines refer to when they sing about "the shores of Tripoli"). Such a sweep necessarily sacrifices detail for breadth, yet it still provides a helpful backdrop to understanding a religious movement that has played a prominent role in late-20th-century terrorism. Many Muslims will quarrel with Fregosi when he compares jihad to a Christian sacrament, and the book would benefit from footnotes. Jihad in the West nevertheless is a good introduction to an often-ignored topic. --John J. Miller

From Booklist

Although not The Satanic Verses, this book is sure to raise much of the same issues and ire, and come into demand simply because of its notoriety. It is a look at the darker side of the Islamic religion, from its inception with Muhammad up through the first half of this century, lightly touching on recent decades. Fregosi shows that jihad, or holy war, did not come about as a reaction to the Crusades but has been a continually integral part of Islam. While not excusing the barbarities of Christianity, he highlights how Islam has been particularly ruthless in its acquisition of lands and wealth and in dealing with those who have stood in its path. Although most of this history is well documented and factually indisputable, the author will likely generate considerable umbrage with his interpretation of many of Muhammad's actions and suryas (teachings) as manifesting a self-serving nature. This title is a highly recommended, if problematic, historical perspective, suitable for most libraries. Eric Robbins

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 442 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books; 2nd Printing edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573922471
• ISBN-13: 978-1573922470
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #212,278 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Europe's imperial cousin, April 29, 2002

By	timothy hilliard (usa) - See all my reviews

If you think Christianity has been the biggest bogeyman for millennia then you might want to check out this big book on imperialism of a different name.For 1,300 years Islam has been every bit as ruthless,insatiable for land and loot and ready for war as any force imaginable.This fact has been largely forgotten and mythologized(Orientalized)in the last 100-150 years,and Westerners(intellectuals mainly),uneasy over European-American dominance,have indulged in every guilt-mongering,apologetic, and hairshirt wearing antic imaginable to apologize for our contemporary dominance.The self-bashing of the West may at last be coming to its end precisely because the quaint cultures of old Islam that were so long patronized and cartoonized are suddenly real and spreading again...and they are far from quaint and cute and noble.This book would be best read by those who take a far too myopic,European view of history;people who think that religious intolerance,slavery,warmongering and every evil under the sun are strictly European specialties.

197 of 216 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant and dangerous book! Worth every minute!, October 5, 1999

By A Customer

This book is brilliant and the first one of its kind that I encountered in my reading experience. It is one of those unique books that hold such an antagonistic and seemingly biased tone, and yet this element of extremely strong and vivid personal opinion hardly interferes with this book's facts, credibility, and two-sided analysis. In any case, the subject of Jihad is probably the only subject in history in which an objective argument fails in eliminating persistent biased tones, especially tones of anger and disgust. Why? Because the extremity of historical truth in this matter is self-evident.

This book is probably bound, at first,to discourage most objective people with no bias towards Islam, from continuing to read it; it's definitely going to have Imams and sheiks shrieking for blood and to have devout Muslims, fanatics and moderates alike, insulted to a large degree, but a persistent reader who can ignore for a while the apparent hostility in this book, may slowly find out that this work rests its claims on many reliable sources that can be found in a rich bibliography and is an accurate portrayal of long-hidden historical facts that have been shrugged off by many as hogwash or kept in the closet by those too intimidated by the Muslim World in exposing as apparent truths the base and unequaled crimes committed by the Muslim World throughout its long forgotten history.

This book even goes so far as to critique Muslim teachings and the prophet's life itself, the very core of Islam, thus crushing the common argument that the Muslim World's actions (or rather today's fundamentalists') were never in concord with its inherent religion or its prophet. From a man who has lived all his life in the Arab world with Muslims, I can tell you that this book mentions and very effectively addresses most of the common Muslim cliches that are used in defense of this religion's barbaric history, most notably that the Crusades began the whole mess between Islam and the West, a totally false and ludicrous claim. Fregosi also focuses on the lives of Muhammad and the caliphs, the period of the Jihad from beginning to its unresolved present, the conditions of the conquered peoples' lives in most regions of the Muslim World, and on many informative primary sources. He also gives his own personal insight on the connection between the terrorists of today and the historical Jihad.

I strongly oppose any reviewers who think this book is just another work taken from the batch of rhetorical, uncredible, and evidence-lacking anti-Islamic trash. Yes, I did think so at first, and yes, Paul Fregosi does have a hostile view and expresses that quite strongly, but, he does this as a result of objective analysis where he doesn't fail to make concessions and to criticize (sometimes with the same sarcastic tone) every non-Islamic side for its faults throughout various periods of history. Neither does he cringe at mentioning the few benevolent and noble exceptions among the Islamic rulers. His notable final remarks are not consistent to those of a crusading fanatic. And rightfully, he discovers that his objective analysis and recognition of virtuous figures in Islam fail in changing the conclusion that Islam and its Empire were and still are as ruthless as he portrays them.

I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in a credible source for the Jihad; however, I warn biased readers who are looking to analyze this information objectively not to get carried away by Fregosi's attitude and "romance", and I strongly urge objective readers to look past it and concentrate on the facts and take Fregosi's conclusion seriously, no matter how stereotypical it may seem. However, any El Cid or Song of Roland admirer or lamenting Greek who simply wants to chuck the facts aside and wishes to basically indulge his hate or grief for the Muslims' "rape" of Spain or for the fall of Constantinople or the like will enjoy reading this book with its dramatic facts mixed in with the author's emotions (the fall of Constantinople is a must-read!).

This brilliant book is a wake up call and should have been out long ago, and as an "Arab" Catholic, I recommend it above all to those "Arab Christians" who still, after centuries of Muslim brainwashing, live with the delusion that they had lived peacefully with Muslims throughout their history, except under the Ottomans, and that Islam is a religion of peace that is similar to Christianity, when in truth it is a vile religion that had persecuted native Christians for centuries (by Arabs even more than by the Turks) and that, in effect had stolen their various languages and cultures, thus assimilating them and instilling in them the myth that they are and have been Arabs for centuries and that that all the Middle East had been Arabic since before Christ.

The events Fregosi reveals to us in his book reflect on the Middle East today, where Islam's brainwashing propaganda upon Christians and even Muslims,its restrictions upon the freedom of the Churches to even publicly teach the faithful their simple doctrinal rejection of Islam as a religion or to inform them of their past history of sufferings from the Muslims as well as the Muslims' preventing them evangelizing to produce future willing Muslim converts to Christianity have sunk to such low levels of degradation that I myself have heard people of my faith asking their priests, "Father, could Muhammad possibly be a prophet as well?" This book would surely answer that question and enlighten such lost people.

This book should not be ignored by anyone interested in medieval history or in discovering the motives behind Muslim propaganda. Its "zealotry" does require patience but one can learn a lot from its candidness. I dare say that I personally would consider Paul Fregosi worthy of a place among the well known and leading anti-Islamic polemics of our time

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VIVIDLY WRITTEN AND WELL SOURCED WORK OF HISTORY, June 11, 2001

By A Customer

I finished reading Paul Fregosi's book two nights ago and am still thinking about it. This was a memorable and engaging work of history, vividly written. I thought Fregosi's work was well documented and well "sourced" from an historian's and academician's standpoint. I also thought his was an original contribution (and counterbalance) to the existing literature. The early Islamists were the original imperialists. Centuries before Spain began its empire in the New World or the Hapsburg's ruled theirs, the Arabic Empire under the Umayyads and the Abbasids had already subjected (and even forcibly enslaved) entire peoples across North Africa, southern Europe, Italy, Sicily and the Middle East at the point (literally) of the sword. The imperialist facets of early Islam are a fact. When viewed from the perspective of the Islamic conquests of Europe in the 7th-12th centuries, the Christian Crusades are revealed to be what they always were - a counter-jihad or counter-crusade. These were responses to the highly successful Jihad of the Muslims. Pope Urban lifted a page from the Muslim playbook and came up with the Crusade idea. This is detailed in the book with appropriate cites.

For all that, I thought Fregosi was fair, dispassionate and hard on both sides of these wars. At not several but MANY points in the book he condemns violence committed by both sides. I think he goes to some pains to indicate he is not anti-Muslim by sticking to the facts and by equally condemning all violence. Smart thing too, since some Muslims can display a tendency to violently react to anyone who criticizes or asks uncomfortably honest questions about their culture, faith, past military history, warrior-mentality, etcetera. Salman Rushdie is just the most famous victim of this reflex to condemn those who write or say things people of the Islamic faith don't like. Taslima Nasrin of Bangledesh is another example of a writer who has felt Islam's wrath. There are others languishing in jails who are less known to us in the West who did not tow the right Islamic line. So, Fregosi displayed some courage to write so eloquently on this type of subject.

Fregosi's humanism, compassion, his passionate hope for a better and less violent future come through in his dedication (read it to see what I mean) and his final chapter, among other places. Fregosi can be tart, humorous, yes - a bit sarcastic too, but always, always, there is a caring, deeply morally concerned human being writing the story who mourns the deaths of so many. At some, more subliminal level, there is a deep sadness that permeates this book. Fregosi is by no means a "happy warrior" out to "get Islam." He mourns the torture, death, violence and enslavement of so many. He mourns the human rights abuses and abuse of women by the Arab empire and the Ottoman empire. He mourns the genocide committed by these regimes. I suspect he must have been under some psychological duress when he wrote his book given the seriousness of the subject matter. That too comes through. But there are also WONDERFUL real life heroes and leaders of wisdom, vision and compassion on both sides. And he happily discusses those individuals as well. I met some wonderful people in this book and they deserve to be remembered by us today.

...I can honestly recommend it.