The Rise of the Islamic Empire and the Threat to the West [Paperback]

Anthony J. Dennis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1556052677 | ISBN-13: 978-1556052675 | Publication Date: April 1996

A provocative analysis of the Muslim fundamentalist movement. Dennis describes the growing threat to the West and some important things that should be done. Originally written in 1996, this second edition shows the authors outstanding knowledge of Muslim extremists. An updated Foreword is included with comments of the attacks on September 11, 2001.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dennis' contributions in this book to our understanding of the transnational Muslim fundamentalist movement are manifold...[H]e conclusively demonstrates that the Islamic revolution that began on the streets of Teheran in 1979 is far from over...At times, Dennis' book proves eerily prescient as when he predicts in the final chapter the eventual elevation of Erbakan, leader of the then fairly marginal and obscure Turkish fundamentalist movement, to the prime ministership of Turkey, which in fact happened shortly after Dennis' book went to press... Another key insight into the fundamentalist movement, which has been totally overlooked by other writers but which this book provides in abundant detail, is the desire for political unification among many of these fundamentalist groups and regimes...This title is worthy of careful scrutiny for the quality and originality of the author's ideas. -- Houston Herald-Voice, November 19, 1997

The title may sound a bit over the top and in some quarters the author will surely be accused of 'Islamophobia,' but the book has garnered endorsements from influential players in the worlds of foreign policy and defense, and the tone is generally more temperate than the title. Led by Iran, the author contends, militant Muslims press the view that there is a 'third way' between communism and the decadence of Western democracy, and that third way is Islam as a world force that transcends national boundaries. In that worldview, what others call terrorism takes on the appearance of eminently sensible strategy. It is not the purpose of this book, but in the discussion of which it is part there is a responsbility to try to distinguish between Islam as a political movement and Islam as a religion with innumerable adherents who want nothing more than to live in peace. -- A Journal of Religion and Public Life, FIRST THINGS, May, 1998

This book, based on the premise that fundamentalist Islam will, by the end of the 1990s, threaten world peace and 'the very survival of the human species,' discusses the transformation of Islam from a religious to a revolutionary movement..... The author contends that, in its present form, Islam is used by political dictators to justify their quest for power..... The correspondence of these internal and external events leads Dennis to conclude that 'while the Soviet Empire was breaking up and dying worldwide, another empire founded upon another set of ideals was just being born.' Stressing the danger posed by Islamic fundamentalism, Dennis remarks that 'since the early days of the Islamic revolution inside Iran, the threat of fundamentalist Islam to world peace and human progress and advancement has only grown larger. -- Middle East Journal, Vol. 52(1), Winter 1998

About the Author

Anthony J. Dennis is an independent scholar living in the United States and is commonly asked for expert commentary on terrorists activity by the major media. Dennis continues to write and speak about the plight of women and religious minorities in traditional Muslim countries. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Wyndham Hall Pr (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556052677
• ISBN-13: 978-1556052675
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,547,851 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anthony J. Dennis is a lawyer, human rights activist and independent scholar living in the United States. An acknowledged expert on Islamic affairs and widely published author on legal and foreign policy topics, he has appeared as a guest on over one hundred syndicated talk radio and nationally televised programs in the United States.

Profiled in the national media after 9/11, he is credited with predicting a 9/11 style terrorist attack and with warning Americans of the deadly threat posed by Islamic fundamentalism as far back as the early 1990s. His first book, "The Rise of the Islamic Empire and the Threat to the West", was published in April, 1996 and was re-issued with a new Foreword months after the 9/11 attacks in the face of skyrocketing public demand worldwide for the book.

A leader in the burgeoning field of psychobiography, Mr. Dennis was chosen by editors at Oxford University Press to pen a psychological profile of Osama Bin Laden which became a book chapter in the influential textbook "The Handbook of Psychobiography" published by Oxford University Press in 2005.

Mr. Dennis's books have been purchased and used by several defense, intelligence and military agencies to train their personnel, and he continues to be an influential voice on the topics on which he has written.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Anyone still think he's paranoid?, September 28, 2001

By 

Tom C (Irvine, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rise of the Islamic Empire and the Threat to the West (Paperback)

I read this book a couple of years ago, and thought it all sounded plausible, although shocking. I noticed some of the reviewers of his book dismissed him as paranoid, and were insulted by his warnings, taking it as an affront to Islam. After the events of Sept. 11, does anyone want to dismiss him as "alarmist" anymore?

By and large, Muslims are peaceful people, but to quote directly from the Koran, "Fight and slay the unbelievers wherever you find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war." (Surah IX:5) It only takes a small percentage of people to take that to an extreme, and even before the attacks on the WTC and Pentagon, evidence around the world abounds that that small but very destructive group of extremists obviously do.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, provocative analysis of fundamentalist Islam., October 3, 2002

By 

M. D Roberts (Gwent, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rise of the Islamic Empire and the Threat to the West (Paperback)

Anthony Dennis examines fundamentalist Islam and how it has been used in a cynical and calculated fashion by ruthless dictators, politicians and terrorist movements in their own countries and further afield.

The author claims that due to the vacuum left by the death of the worldwide ideology of communism, which had captured so many people, Islam is rising to fill this space. With the building of military, political and economic alliances in the newly independent Central Asian Muslim countries, fundamental Islam has already become the new language of political conflict and control in these and other parts of the world.

The threat that the spread of such fundamentalism presents to the West is examined in some detail. The context of this fundamentalism being on a collision course on so many levels with the Western world, Europe, US and Israel cannot be ignored and such a study as this should be welcomed with open arms. This is not the time for burying one's head in the sand as events will soon pass us by and we could easily be swept away.

The author also examines the Cold War legacy, the history and origins of Islam and their relationship with other religions, together with freedom of expression and women's rights.

The book describes how the Muslim world is arming itself at a faster and more determined pace than the West, and how it has now become the most militarised region on the planet. The motives and agendas behind such a military build up are scrutinized. The writer proceeds to describe how, like it's Muslim predecessors, the Islamic empire of the 21st century also has an appetite for territorial expansion and military conquest. The writer then states that a modern worldwide jihad against non-Muslim populations and societies, complete with nuclear weapons, promises to bring the highest casualty rates in the history of mankind.

When one considers such statements and this study in the context of the present situation relating to US President Bush, the UN and Iraq, the prospect and relevancy is quite chilling. It certainly will open your eyes.

If you are concerned about Western security, be it in the US, Europe, UK or the situation surrounding the Arab hostilities against Israel, then get this book. We all need to be aware of what we are presently on a collision course with. The author has written this book very well indeed. It is presented without any racism, hostility or panic mongering. He bases his statements on established facts and provides a chilling insight into the possibility of future terrorist attacks by extremist Muslim fundamentalists.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Balanced yet passionate account of radical Islamist agenda, August 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rise of the Islamic Empire and the Threat to the West (Paperback)

To write about the fundamentalist Muslim movement (the 'radical fringe' of political Islam) is to touch on a raw and throbbing nerve, as some of the reviews below so aptly demonstrate. The subject is inherently emotional, the battle lines clearly drawn. Westerners immediately trumpet this title as a battle cry to resist "jihad." Some of the reviewers with names indicating a more Arab or Muslim background similarly take the opposite tack and condemn the book (probably without ever reading it) as anti-Muslim. Both types of review are inaccurate to a substantial degree. Dennis does not call for an offensive war against the Muslim world nor does he condemn the entire Muslim world and its political aspirations. Rather, he surprisingly lets some of the radical Muslim leaders speak for themselves and lets them describe their own very troubling (and even violent) political agenda against the non-Muslim world. Like an artful trial lawyer, the author reels his quarry in and lets them indict themselves with their own language of hate. For all that, I thought the book was quite balanced. Dennis, I believe, is not a Jew. He is not an Arab. He doesn't even raise the Arab-Israeli dispute as far as I can tell flipping back through the pages, other than one, brief passing reference to it in an historical chapter. Rather, he speaks as an objective outsider. There is no vitriolic hatred of Muslims or of Islam, only ethical concern for the language of hate which he points out some Middle Eastern leaders have espoused against Westerners and against American civilians. Rather than either condemnning this book or rushing to embrace it like it was some sort of wild-eyed call to counterattack, I think readers - and those whose reviews have been previously posted - would do well to treat and accept the book on its own terms, and not try to use it for propaganda for either side.

Dennis says this about Islam on the very first page of the book: "Islam is one of the great religions of the world. Its tenets of peace, mercy, charity toward those less fortunate, respect for life and longstanding tradition of tolerance toward those of other faiths are qualities to be universally admired. The world would indeed be a better place in many respects if more members of the world community used the Koran...as the touchstone for their public and private actions." Does that sound like hate to you?