Customer Reviews

Martyrs: Innocence, Vengeance and Despair in the Middle East

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Ms. Davis (no relation to the reviewer) starts out with a highly readable opening about her church after Sep 11. She concludes the book with a questionable comment about Muslims, Jews, and Christians being able to agree on at least one thing. You will have to read that paragraph to know what that one thing is.
Unfortunately the rest of the book does not flow particularly well and is a bit tedious. In Ms. Davis' attempt to show the motivation of those who choose terrorism, she can, at times, seem as if she is an apologist for their behavior. I would imagine that her attempt at fair-mindedness in her report will open her up to criticism from quite a few windows. After all, many people find Israel's actions objectionable, but few feel compelled to commit murder or inflict massive property damage in response to that behavior. Likewise, she seems to postulate that there is a large "moderate" Muslim population. It is difficult to share that observation based on her book. Indeed, while the last two chapters are the best chapters in the book, it is challenging to see a logical linkage between the first seven chapters, fact filled as they are, and Ms Davis' conclusions. This is not to say that Ms Davis' research and conclusions are not valid, only that this reader had difficulty understanding how the two related.
In conclusion, I think the last two chapters are a good read because of the recommendations. The rest of the book, while filled with interesting background and facts, does not flow as well or even seem to tie into the conclusions. Perhaps Ms Davis felt compelled to paint a more sanguine picture then reality would otherwise suggest.

Joyce Davis does say that moderate Muslims need our support to defeat the fanatics that are dying to kill Americans, Israelis, and others. That is fair and reasonable. But she should have let her facts speak for themselves. Instead, she implies that the terrorists are at least as reasonable as those who oppose them.

She does mention Baruch Goldstein. This person was a doctor who committed a terrible and counterproductive crime. He murdered over three dozen Muslims who were at prayer in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. I think we can all understand that this crime did no one any good. And that had someone stopped Goldstein from doing it at the last moment, it is likely that Goldstein would have been very grateful for having been stopped. I think we can understand that it is proper to call such acts both criminal and crazy. I think we would be quite properly affronted were we to read sober-sounding apologies for such crimes, perhaps explaining that the Muslims were about to go on a pogrom against Hebron's Jews.

I think we ought not have to put up with similar apologies for crimes by Muslims.

In this book, it all seems so equal. Muslims want to kill Jews. That offends Jews. Jews want to live. That offends Muslims. Both sides are fanatical. Arabs want 100% of all Jewish land in the Middle East. Jews want somewhere between 8,000 and 11,000 square miles of land for the more than 5 million Jews of the Levant (in a Middle East where the Arabs have millions of square miles). Again, it is all so equal!

But it isn't equal. The two sides are trying to do very different things. And the author obscures this fact.

When Arabs attack Jews and children get killed in the battles, the author is proud to show how equal it is. Both sides are exploiting children to try to gain an unfair advantage. But that is nonsense. As even the author shows, the terrorists are targeting children intentionally. Israel is trying to avoid civilian deaths, for obvious reasons: not only would such murders be immoral, but they would not help Israel. On the contrary, a policy of targeting Arab children would be suicidal.

Davis talks about Mohammed al-Dirrah, a 12-year old Arab who we are told was killed during the 2000 intifada. Well, he's a great example of Arab propaganda. But isn't Davis part of the problem? She has to be aware of the fact that al-Dirrah was almost certainly not killed by the Israelis. Isn't she aware that the entire incident as shown may well have been staged? And that quite a few Arab propaganda photos are simply staged? Why is she so matter-of-fact about it all being equal when we can all see that it isn't?

Yes, she does interview some terrorists. And she reports what they say in a matter-of-fact manner. But that's not unbiased reporting. And we all know it. We can see that like Goldstein, these terrorists are involved in crazy felonies. We can't deal with this problem unless we can face this reality and avoid blaming ourselves for the craziness of others. Criminals love to blame their victims. We ought to resist giving much credence to their claims.

Davis does mention Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Let's see. Sharon was a member of the Israeli cabinet who was instrumental in having Israel attack Arafat's terrorist group in Lebanon. And Sharon did manage to get Arafat and most of his gang expelled from Lebanon. But there was a slaughter of Arabs at the Sabra and Shatilla camps, and hundreds of people were killed, many of them civilians. Sharon and the other cabinet members did not realize that this was about to happen and failed to prevent it. Davis mentions that some Arabs don't exactly have fond feelings for the murderers, who were Lebanese Christians. Anyway, Davis talks some Arabs who see Sharon as being responsible for the slaughter. And Davis in no way disagrees with this conclusion. But I think she ought to! It is part of the same craziness: the Arab terrorists do not completely ignore the actual killers at Sabra and Shatilla, but they make sure to put most of the blame on those whose rights they wish to take away.

The author pulls the same stunt when she comes to the 2000 intifada. When a terrorist explains that Sharon, by setting foot on the Temple Mount (Judaism's holy site, which happens to be in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel), "stepped on holy ground" and caused the intifada, that raises a good question. What if some non-Muslim fanatic explained that he had decided to murder Muslims because a Muslim leader visited the Kaaba? We'd at once dismiss this as crazy. Davis instead seems to treat such nonsense with respect, implying that murder was at worst an overreaction to Jews visiting the holiest Jewish site (something Jews had been doing on a regular basis, actually).

We do want to know about terrorism. But we don't need folks pretending that terrorists are being reasonable, or implying that their acts are a predictable reaction to the real crime, namely the existence of their victims.

Joyce M. Davis courageously offers unvarnished, uncomfortable and, at time, disturbing coverage of Islamic terrorism and its underlying factors (pg. 9). Davis helps her American audience better understand Islamic militants and their rationale in order to develop policies that could lead to the militants ultimate defeat (pg. 22).

Terrorism finds a favorable breeding ground in the swamps of cultural deprivation, misery and hopelessness (pg. 26). The rampant human suffering in the Middle East can turn some Muslims into economically, emotionally, and/or spiritually vulnerable targets for terrorist headhunters (16, 104, 119, 131-133, 152-154). Many moderate Muslim scholars consider that suicide bombers who kill and maim the innocent are not justified according to the Quran (pg. 5, 20, 94, 110-111, 141, 202). The concepts of terrorism and martyrdom are not exclusive to Islam and the Middle East (pg. 23-24, 192).

At the same time, however, there is widespread understanding of suicide bombers and their actions among many moderate Muslim leaders and citizens across classes in the Middle East (pg. 10, 182, 194, 202). Many Muslims think that the U.S. is to be blamed for blindly supporting Israel and having double standards at their expense. The U.S., they argue, garners international support against Islamic countries like Iraq and Iran at the U.N. while conveniently ignoring U.N. resolutions against Israel (pg. 36-37, 109, 122, 143, 159). Furthermore, many Muslims criticize the U.S for propping up their undemocratic, unaccountable governments both financially and militarily (pg. 5, 12, 90, 165, 169, 192-193). The regimes in control have marginalized their secular opponents and have been unable to eliminate the religious-based opposition groups or the underground militants (pg. 11-12, 165-166, 170).

Although Islamic militants are not closer to their goals than they were at the birth of Israel in May 1948, they still cling to the hope that they can achieve them militarily (pg. 14, 43-44, 148). Islamic militants want to make clear to every settler that they have no future in Palestinian territories (pg. 102, 157). Islamic militants remind that Israelis unilaterally withdrew from the South of Lebanon under repetitive attacks by Hezbollah (pg. 70-71, 157). Similarly, the Israeli government is convinced that diplomacy and negotiations lead almost nowhere, and that the military option is the only one to deliver results (pg. 167, 171-172). Some analysts underline that Prime Minister Ariel Sharons tactics have not stopped the violence against Israelis and are actually encouraging terrorism (pg. 167-171).

The security fence, also called wall, that Israel is building along or close to the green line is an implicit recognition that the military option alone and Jewish settlements policy in the West Bank and Gaza are to a large extent sub-optimal (pg. 168-169, 172). Many critics say a wall will not keep terrorists out of Israel totally (pg. 172). One knows from personal experience gained over thirteen years ago that walls do not protect against a terrorist attack. Furthermore, the fence could lead some Israelis to grow complacent about their own security as most French did about their Maginot Line before the launch of the blitzkrieg in the West in May 1940. A surprise suicide WMD attack in Israel that some terrorists are rumored to plot could drive the point home very hard (pg. 160). Furthermore, Iran could one day become a nuclear power and step up the pressure on Israel to pull out of the occupied territories (pg. 61-62, 64). Hopefully, a nuclear Verdun will not be necessary before a just peace can be achieved.

Terrorism cannot be eradicated without also draining the swamps that feed it (pg. 26). The road map for peace in the Middle East should aim at:

1. Gradual transformation of monarchies and one-party States in the region into respectively constitutional monarchies and Western democracies to avoid chaos (pg. 118). The U.S. should continue to prod these regimes into action to go beyond current democratic cosmetic changes to significantly expand the legitimacy of their authority (pg. 182-184). Fighting the Coalition in Iraq will slow down the advent of a more representative Islamic society. For all their flaws, Turkey and Israel are currently the only working democracies in the region.
2. Metamorphosis of the Gulf Cooperation Council into an Islamic Economic Community, precursor of an Islamic Economic Union, that has Islam, democracy and liberalism as its three founding pillars. The IMF and World Bank could give the region financial assistance to smooth the transition from a mainly bankrupt socialist economy into a working market economy. Otherwise, the peace dividend will remain illusory in the Middle East (pg. 12, 185).
3. Unconditional recognition of a viable Palestinian State that encompasses the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital (pg. 66). Territory swaps and/or compensation could be considered on a case-by-case basis to deal with the issue of Jewish settlements in occupied territories. No responsible Muslim leader will ever recognize a Palestinian state without sovereignty on Haram al Sharif (pg. 65-66, 99-100, 149). Israelis should get superimposed sovereignty on the underlying remains of Solomons Temple for a similar reason (pg. 149). The acknowledged but not exercised right of former Palestinian owners to return should be compensated financially (pg. 149).
4. Unconditional recognition of the existence of the State of Israel. Islamic extremists feed only the anxiety of Israelis to be driven into the sea (pg. 22). There cannot be a Munich Agreement at the expense of Israel for the sake of making peace with Islamic countries. Jews do not forget how their ancestors were persecuted and slaughtered by millions under the widely indifferent eye of the international community in the previous centuries.
5. Separation of Mosque and State to avoid any embarrassment detrimental to the spiritual leadership and guidance of the Islamic clerics (pg. 46, 54-55).

Very persistent men and women of goodwill should be able to bring a just peace to a region that still has a promising future (pg. 26).

Ms. Davis (no relation to the reviewer) starts out with a highly readable opening about her church after Sep 11. She concludes the book with a questionable comment about Muslims, Jews, and Christians being able to agree on at least one thing. You will have to read that paragraph to know what that one thing is.
Unfortunately the rest of the book does not flow particularly well and is a bit tedious. In Ms. Davis' attempt to show the motivation of those who choose terrorism, she can, at times, seem as if she is an apologist for their behavior. I would imagine that her attempt at fair-mindedness in her report will open her up to criticism from quite a few windows. After all, many people find Israel's actions objectionable, but few feel compelled to commit murder or inflict massive property damage in response to that behavior. Likewise, she seems to postulate that there is a large "moderate" Muslim population. It is difficult to share that observation based on her book. Indeed, while the last two chapters are the best chapters in the book, it is challenging to see a logical linkage between the first seven chapters, fact filled as they are, and Ms Davis' conclusions. This is not to say that Ms Davis' research and conclusions are not valid, only that this reader had difficulty understanding how the two related.
In conclusion, I think the last two chapters are a good read because of the recommendations. The rest of the book, while filled with interesting background and facts, does not flow as well or even seem to tie into the conclusions. Perhaps Ms Davis felt compelled to paint a more sanguine picture then reality would otherwise suggest.

I bought this book after seeing the author on television. She does a good job of explaining the motivations behind suicide bombers and the book makes it clear that this is a real danger for the US because the people who do this are not going to be stopped by large scale military actions, they are not united into one army that can be defeated. They are ready to give their lives to make a statement and to make their case known. We need to be aware of this.