The Third Choice: Islam, dhimmitude and freedom

by Mark Durie (Author), Bat Ye'or (Foreword)

75 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-1926800004

ISBN-10: 1926800001

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The Third Choice provides a compelling introduction to Islam on the basis of its primary sources, the Qur'an and the life of Muhammad. Topics covered include the sharia; interpretation of the Qur'an; abrogation; women's rights (including female genital mutilation); lawful deception (taqiyya); Muhammad's responses to opposition; Islamic antisemitism; religious freedom; and prospects for reforming Islam.

After this critical introduction of Islam, there follows an explanation and critique of Islam's policy for non-Muslims living under Islamic conditions. The doctrine of the three choices (conversion, the sword, or the dhimma pact of surrender to Islam) is explained, including an analysis of the meaning of tribute payments (jizya) made by non-Muslims (dhimmis) to their Muslim conquerors. Durie describes the impact of dhimmitude on the human rights of non-Muslims in Islamic contexts around the world today, in the light of global Islamic resurgence and advancing Islamization, including pressure being exerted through the United Nations for states to conform to sharia restrictions on freedom of speech.

The Third Choice offers indispensable keys for understanding current trends in global politics, including the widening impact of sharia revival, deterioration of human rights in Islamic societies, jihad terrorism, recurring patterns of Western appeasement, interfaith dialogue initiatives, and the increasingly fraught relationship between migrant Muslim communities in the West and their host societies.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Durie in The Third Choice has produced a remarkably lucid, compact, well annotated, comprehensive and enduring book. --Jerry Gordon, New English Review (edited by author)

I salute the courage of Mark Durie and the scholarship exhibited in The Third Choice, which offers solutions to difficult problems hindering the peaceful co-existence of two major world religions. --Archbishop Peter Akinola (added by author)

In The Third Choice Mark Durie examines the most crucial challenges of this new century. In clear language, free from political correctness, and backed by an impressive scholarly knowledge, he unfolds step-by-step the basic foundations of Islam and exposes their inner correlations with jihad and dhimmitude, two theological and legal Islamic institutions that shape traditional Muslim behaviour toward non-Muslims. --Bat Ye'or (added by author)

This extraordinary book stands as a vital wake-up call for an increasingly drowsy Free World. --Robert Spencer (added by author)

To say something worth reading about the relationship of Islam to other faiths an author needs a huge and broad amount of knowledge in different fields of expertise, needs to know how to integrate research findings from religion, sociology and humanities, and needs to be brave, politically incorrect and peace-minded all at the same time. Few people can offer all of this, but, as all of this is true for Mark Durie, I can recommend The Third Choice to everyone interested in the future of world politics. --Professor Thomas Schirrmacher (added by author)

About the Author

Mark Durie is a theologian, human rights activist and pastor of an Anglican church. He has published many articles and books on the language and culture of the Acehnese, Christian-Muslim relations, and religious freedom. He is a graduate of the Australian National University (BA Hons, PhD) and the Australian College of Theology (DipTh, BTh Hons). After holding visiting appointments at the University of Leiden, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and the University of California at Los Angeles and Santa Cruz, he became Head of the Department of Linguistics and Language Studies at the University of Melbourne, was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1992, and awarded an Australian Bicentennial Medal in 2001 for contributions to research. (added by author)

Product details

Publisher : DEROR BOOKS (February 1, 2010)
Language : English
Paperback : 288 pages
ISBN-10 : 1926800001
ISBN-13 : 978-1926800004
Item Weight : 1.15 pounds
Dimensions : 9.02 x 0.65 x 5.98 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #7,438,872 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,584 in Islam (Books)
- #3,864 in History of Islam
- #4,928 in War & Peace (Books)

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Outstanding If You Really Want to Know

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2019

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This is my first book by Mark Durie and it is outstanding. If you're interested in learning about Islam here is a book. The Author is very careful to show things as unbiased as possible. He is not a right-wing, anti-Islam nut case. He is very measured in his writing, his assessment and leaves the conclusions to you the reader. I have read a lot on Islam from many different angles and this one is unique in its approach. It has the background, the detail and is laid out to understand. It is not a quick read but a thorough one.

3 people found this helpful

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art lewis

Easily the best available introduction to Islam

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2011

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This man knows how to write. His sentences are transparently clear and sometimes distilled to an almost magical purity of meaning. It's not a long book and it's easy enough for people with no knowledge of Islam, yet experts will probably be able to learn a lot from it too, because of the author's outstanding mastery of his material. The book manages the feat of combining tremendous readability with great scholarly thoroughness. It also manages the feat of being both more hard-hitting and yet more compassionate than any other book out there on Islam.

The Third Choice should be a top contender for best single introduction to Islam and also to the Islamic textual and historical basis of "dhimmitude." Dhimmitude means turning non-Muslims into second class citizens subject to various kinds of legal and social discrimination. The institution is reminiscent of Jim Crow era segregation or South African apartheid, but dhimmitude is based on religious rather than racial discrimination, and is often considered by Muslims eternal and unchangeable till the end of time, because sourced in the eternal word of Allah in the Qur'an, and in the example of Muhammad in the canonical Islamic traditions about Muhammad's life.

The Third Choice employs Durie's conscientious and insightful style to make a powerful case that Islam and creeping dhimmitude pose growing dangers to civil liberties and open societies. He makes the case through a consideration of core Islamic texts, Islamic history, modern media reports, and his own experience living in Indonesia. Durie evinces a profound knowledge of the core Islamic texts and what those texts direct Muslims to do about unbelievers. Despite the book's relative brevity, it's almost miraculously comprehensive and thorough, pulls no punches, and reveals the darkest underbelly of Islam with unmatched effectiveness and yet with genuine compassion. A work of genius.

32 people found this helpful

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Philip Barrington

Important and Apposite

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2015

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This book is important and apposite. Our lounge rooms day by day are filled with stories that leave us agog. We can not rely of the media for any explanation that will bore down into the issues. Part of that is because the media is committed to a secular understanding of all of history. What is happening in our world today is not explained by a Marxist analysis of history. Much of it is about creed and confession. When you read the Third Choice, which is written from the standpoint of a believing Christian, you will gain an understanding of what is driving these forces, and hopefully you will gain a much richer understanding of what is happening.

3 people found this helpful

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David Cashin

Another excellent book to add to your understand of Islam

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2011

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I finished reading Rev. Durie's book in a single day. Very impressive, erudite and yet highly readable. He has a special knack for explaining the background and reasons for such issues as the nature of jizya, why non-Muslims living in Muslim countries never speak ill of Islam and the degree of dissimulation that even scholars like Bernard Lewis (whom I have great respect for) engage in. His analogy of "British art in India" is a classic illustration of how distorted our thinking has become about the "achievements of Islam". Most importantly he superbly illustrates the double-standards in modern scholarship that allows Islamic law to escape the title which it so richly deserves; religious apartheid!, the separate and unequal treatment of people based on their religious beliefs. This is the tragedy of Islam! An ideology that condemns non-Muslims to silence and servitude cannot emerge from a medieval mindset. Once the non-Muslims have been strangulated then the downward spiral of mindless legalism must eventually begin to eat its own children. But I am hopeful; the screams of "Takfir" raging across the Muslim world are ripping the fabric of the Islamic prison apart and for the first time in history, Muslims in large numbers are escaping from the Sharia penitentiary. Iran is the place to watch for it is here that the Islamic revolution is unravelling in an unprecedented way.

19 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

ManFriday

Great book. Should be a bestseller if there is ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2017

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Great book. Should be a bestseller if there is any justice. It is concise, compassionate, but relentlessly gets to the heart of the issue. This is the first stage to looking at the range of solutions. Mr Durie's perspective and rigorous scholarship adds huge weight to the discussion and screams for people to engage with this debate, both the past indicators and present direction, in order to shape the future. If you ignore this book, it would be a regrettable decision.

2 people found this helpful

MR L R POTTER

Exposing the bleak ideology of Islam

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 16, 2015

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I've just finished reading this book. It takes a somewhat academic approach, so it may not be for everyone. On the other hand it attempts to be a dispassionate study of the beliefs and practices of Islam, and its religious and political implications, especially for people who are not Muslims. It uses original documentation and sources as far as possible.

The author's intention is to enlighten non-Muslims of the reality about Islam, and of its inherently violent attitude towards unbelievers. This is not extremism within the Islam worldview, but has its basis in the perfect example and teaching of Muhammad. Durie shows how historically in Islamic states, Islam offered unbelievers either two or three choices, depending on their religious adherence. Jews and Christians, as 'People of the Book', were called either to submit to Islam, pay the jizyah tax of protection (to accept dhimmitude and second-class status), or die. Others, the 'polytheists', did not not have the option of dhimmitude - it was either convert or die. He shows the jizyah was a tax imposed only on dhimmies, not Muslims, often at extortionate levels designed to keep dhimmies in a mental attitude of submission, accepting the superiority of Islam, and being grateful for the 'protection' which Islam afforded them. This protection wasn't primarily from people or groups beyond the Islamic state, but from the Moslems themselves. Jizyah payment had to be made in person, and in an attitude of humble gratitude for being tolerated within the Islamic state. Durie shows that jizyah was basically protection money paid for being allowed to live rather than convert or die. The Mafia uses the same logic of protection payments - pay up or you die. He cites Usama Bin Ladin, that these three options are not in fact purely historical, but correct practice which ought to be applied in all Sharia-governed states today. Although Durie himself makes no mention of this, the recent activities of IS in Iraq and Syria and of Boko Haram in Nigeria, atrocities in western eyes, are, within Islam, only the application of the jihadic principles of Muhammad updated.

In the final two chapters, Durie shows how Islam is now exerting its influence to force western liberal nations into accommodating its beliefs, giving Islam preferential treatment over other religions out of fear of upsetting the Islamic community. He cites the statements of several world politicians and leaders, showing how they have, unwittingly, adopted the submissive, subservient and groveling attitude of the dhimmi mindset. Read Douglas Murray's e-book, "Islamophilia", for more examples. If Islam is a religion of peace, why do people fear it so much? Charlie Hebdo, that's why.

The Third Choice is an intermediate level academic book. I very much appreciated it. A deeper book of published research in this area is Bat Ye'or's "Understanding Dhimmitude". Or if you prefer an easier read, try Peter Townsend's "Questioning Islam". Their subject matter is highly important. The political leaders and people of the West mostly do not understand the truth about Islam, or are in denial of it. Islam is not just a religion, but a whole life system encompassing religion, behaviour and politics, and profoundly affects the culture of the lands it dominates. If the west fails to appreciate the all-encompassing changes which Islam and Sharia seek to impose (by fear, if persuasion fails, or violence if fear fails) upon the west, and resist its advances, mosques will replace churches, hijabs will replace blouses, all pubs will be closed, madrassas will replace schools, and there will be only one tv channel. Islam does not seek individual freedom choice, or tolerance of other religions, or equality for men and women. It's purely a call for submission to Allah and Islam's prophet. Or else.

5 people found this helpful

Marty42

Very informative

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 30, 2013

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When Islamic rulers conquered the lands of unbelievers, those unbelievers, if Jews and Christians, were given a choice - death, conversion to Islam or acceptance of a subservient (dhimmi) status. The primary focus of the book is the discussion of that subservient status (the dhimmitude).
1)The book begins by introducing Islam, the difference in the world view of Christianity and Islam, the development of the Islamic Prophet's ideas, the core beliefs of the religion and the sources for authority.
2)It then describes the doctrine and history of the dhimma explaining that it is rooted in the belief of the supremacy of believers and the need to discriminate against unbelievers. Non-Muslims are to be tolerated but only as inferior to Muslims. Durie explains that dhimmi status involved not just paying an annual poll tax but the acceptance of a whole set of regulations about dress and behaviour designed to emphasise the inferiority of the dhimmi. Payment of the tax had to be made in person and in conditions designed to degrade the dhimmi. He might be struck on the neck after making the payment.
3)The third element of the book is a commentary on the behaviour of the West. Durie argues that the West is exhibiting dhimmi status towards Islam. It is reluctant to understand and if necessary to confront the less palatable elements. Just like the dhimmi in the Ottoman Empire it hopes that by paying tribute (foreign-aid) and not criticising Islam it will avoid problems. Durie argues that this subservient attitude will not work.
I thought this the best book I've read on Islam. It is very clear and easy to understand whilst the supporting sources seem impressive. He is optimistic about the possibility of Islam and the West coexisting but argues that coexistence needs to be based on a deep understanding of the nature and history of the religion.

12 people found this helpful

Emjay See

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2015

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Very thought driven!

B C Livingstone

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2014

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The clearest, fairest and most informative account of Islam I have yet read.

One person found this helpful

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