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52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A handy resource that would be even better without the sarcasm, September 27, 2006
This review is from: The Secrets of the Koran: Revealing Insights into Islam's Holy Bible (Paperback)
Richardson's volume is a handy resource for those who have no knowledge about Mohammed, the Koran, or the founding of Islam. It is hardly a comprehensive history, but the author doesn't claim it to be so; in fact, what he wants is for readers to consult other resources (and he lists many suggested resources) and to test the veracity of the claims found in his book. Richardson himself consulted seven different English translations of the Koran: some by Muslims, some by non-Muslims, some by objective translators, and some by Islamic apologists. I know that Muslims claim the Koran can only be read, understood, and appreciated in Arabic, but this claim is absurd. Certainly there are always certain nuances that are lost when a book is translated from one language into another, but the meaning can be clearly retained. If the Koran doesn't make sense in English it is because, as Richardson points out, it doesn't make much sense in Arabic either.
For the uninformed, who have been bamboozled by the liberal media into believing that Islam is a "peaceful religion," this should be a great wake-up call. The silence of so-called moderate Muslims every time that there is a terrorist attack by radicals is a clear indicator of the validity of many of Richardson's arguments concerning the history and ultimate goals of those who follow Islam. The fact that Muslims resort to emotional blackmail every time that they are offended by "the West" also supports much of what Richardson has to say in terms of the differences between Christianity and Islam and the threat that the latter poses to the civilization of the former. When Muslims are offended, whether by comments from the pope or Danish cartoons, they riot and threaten to kill (a threat on which some follow through). When Christians are offended by blasphemies such as those found in "The Da Vinci Code", they attempt to engage in intelligent dialogue (as is evidenced by the many books and video programs that addressed the claims found in Dan Brown's novel). There is obviously a great difference in the two approaches, and it is unfortunate that the Muslim approach seems to be the more effective one right now (witness the pope's current trip to Turkey, which is an obvious attempt to calm Muslim opinion about his previous comments on Islam).
The only problem with Richardson's book, as I see it, is his often sarcastic tone. He makes his points quite clearly, so I see no need for him to add so many sarcastic commentaries at the end of many points. I think the sarcasm is more likely to create a spirit of hostility toward Muslims. While Richardson obviously is issuing a warning to Western Civilization that if we don't start to defend and protect our Christian heritage then we will lose it, I don't think he is trying to stir up antagonism against Muslims. Since he is a man of God, I know that he desires the gospel of Jesus Christ to be spread throughout the Islamic world. The trouble with accomplishing that, however, is also highlighted in Richardson's book.
The bottom line, as Richardson makes clear, is that true Christians should attempt to reach Muslims with the gospel of Christ, but that they should also take steps to defend themselves by calling on their leaders to stop allowing Islam to influence public policy through its methods of fear and intimidation through violence (terrorism), emotional blackmail (the "we're offended, so let's riot" attitude mentioned previously), and flat-out lies about the so-called 'truths' found in the Koran.
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108 of 119 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unvarnished...?, April 15, 2005
This review is from: The Secrets of the Koran: Revealing Insights into Islam's Holy Bible (Paperback)
I'm not sure if these hostile reviewers have actually read this book. If so, I would be interested to read some substantive rebuttal of the book's contents if they had any. I have read other, more friendly books on Islam. But this book reports some alarming facts and raises some pointed questions.
For example: why is it that there are no vital democracies among the Muslim nations (with the possible exception of Turkey)? Why is it that on human rights lists, the Muslim nations are consistently among the worst? Which type of Muslim is living by what the Koran says; the moderate peace-loving Muslim, or the radical militant? (You might be surprised by the answer to that question!) And if the radicals are the ones most faithful to the Koran, what does that mean for Western nations who have growing populations of resident Muslims?
If you are interested in a critical assessment of Islam, especially at its foundations - the Koran itself and the person of Mohammed - then read this book. You'll get a more sympathetic treatment from the popular media, but this side of the story in unfortunately harder to find. Consider yourself a juror and read a book like Karen Armstrong's _Muhammed_. There you'll get the case for the defense form a Westerner's perspective. Then read Richardson's book and hear the case from the prosecution. Decide for yourself who is telling the truth.
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76 of 88 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insights from the author, January 16, 2003
Readers of my most recent book, Secrets of the Koran, should expect to be startled by what it reveals. I was startled by my own research, because I had read authors who were quite positive on the Koran but--like many other authors I have since discovered--I found my study was leading me to views that stand in polar opposition to the views of authors favoring the Koran. A major concern today is the Koran's war, plunder and enslavement verses, verses that command Muslims to kill, ravage, maraud, enslave and oppress 'infidels' (those who reject Islam). Even torture is commanded ("Chop off their fingertips!"). Again and again I heard apologists for Islam claim in television interviews that the Koran contains very few such verses. I decided to count and found 109! One out of 55 verses in the Koran advocates violence. Again and again I heard apologists warn against taking the Koran's "very few" war verses "out of context." Heeding the warning, I very carefully drew from Muslim sources, linking verses with their context. By the way, those contexts do not show, as Muslims always claim, that Mohammed used bloodshed only for "justifiable self defense." He very definitely was the aggressor! Muslims frequently quote war verses from early Old Testament books to justify
Mohammed's attempt to return us all to late Bronze Age violence in the 600s AD. They overlook the new ruling God ordained in I Chronicles 22:7-9. King David was the last writer of Scripture who was permitted to use the sword in God's name. Beginning with Solomon and his writings--Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon--all the way to Malachi and his book of prophecy, there are no more Old Testament war verses. Israel's kings (perceived from that time on as primarily secular, not religious) still waged war and God still punished from heaven. But no servant of God mentioned in Scripture was permitted in all those centuries to wield the sword in God's name. Of course the New Testament follows suit with not one single war verse among its 7992 components. Anyone who did subsequently claim any part of the Bible as justification for violence was violating the Bible. My book explains all this, yet some still accuse me of overlooking war verses in the Old Testament (as if such verses do indeed justify a horrendous outbreak of Muslim religious violence in the 600s AD.) I firmly believe that a critical mass of readers of my book will carefully check the facts before reaching a conclusion. My bibliography lists 19 other authors, many of them secularists such as the former Muslim Ibn Warraq, who have also published recent criticisms of various aspects of Islam. I am far from alone. We must let Muslims know that as surely as they bring their religion to America,-and most Muslims in America are clearly nonviolent, decent people-they must expect it to be critiqued freely and thoroughly, because that is what Americans do! There needs to be an open debate, but not violence or hate in either direction. That is one of the things that makes us a great people. It is also our main line of defense against tyranny, fraud and error.
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