In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • The Last Crusade: Americanism and the Islamic Reformation, and: Unmodern Men in the Modern World: Radical Islam, Terrorism, and the War on Modernity
  • David M. Witty
The Last Crusade: Americanism and the Islamic Reformation. By Michael A. Palmer. Dulles, Va.: Potomac Books, 2007. ISBN 978-1-59797-165-2. Bibliography. Index. Pp. x, 272. $17.95.
Unmodern Men in the Modern World: Radical Islam, Terrorism, and the War on Modernity. By Michael J. Mazarr. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-521-71291-0. Notes. Index. Pp. xiv, 290. $19.99.

These two books address the impact of modernity on Islam and the sources of conflict with the West, and both draw different conclusions and recommendations. Palmer's The Last Crusade surveys and critiques Islamic civilization, focusing on its flaws and interactions with the West. Islam has renounced rationality, democracy, and modern innovations, subjugated non-Muslims, maintained a feudalistic economy, and rejected modernity. Islam is unable to accept modernity because it would lead to secularization, which might destroy Islam, a holistic way of life that integrates faith and politics. It is "an all-embracing prescription for a medieval way of life" (p. 236) and the last bastion against modernism and Americanism. The present sorry state of the Islamic world cannot be explained by Western transgressions, although Muslims [End Page 693] continue to view themselves as victims of the West. Modernity's siege of Islam has resulted in an Islamic Reformation, as typified by Osama bin Laden, which aims to restore Islam to its original pristine state and to establish a global Caliphate.

The extreme interpretations of Islam are discussed, particularly those of Sayyid Qutb, the jihadi theorist who was executed by the Egyptian government. While these interpretations are not universally accepted, they are as valid as others. Islam was not hijacked by radicals - its current behavior is its nature. The West must confront Islam with a "politically focused crusade" (p. 225) to bring modernity and Western values. The invasion of Iraq was a part of this "Last Crusade." The West will eventually win the struggle because Islam is a religion of martyrdom, while the West's "will to live is superior to the will to die" (p. 245). America must quickly realize the threat of Islam or it will eventually have to take extreme measures, perhaps even a war of genocide against Muslims as it did against the American Indians.

The Last Crusade is a call for war on Islam and a severe critique. Traditionally, Islam was noted for its religious tolerance which prohibits forced conversion. In the twentieth century alone, far more Jews were killed in Europe than in the Middle East, and the persecution of Christians in the Middle East amounts to only a fraction of Muslims persecuted in the Balkans. Palmer questions why Arabs regard a century of Western imperialism as more significant than a millennium of Turkish domination. The answer is that the Turks were Muslims and ruled the Arabs as part of an Islamic Caliphate, while the West occupied Arab lands as non-believers, which the Qur'an states must be resisted. Western powers created states, borders, and installed rulers in the Middle East, and through the mid-twentieth century, occupied most of the region. Palmer misses the significance of events which influenced views of the West, such as the CIA coup against Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.

There are harsh verses in the Qur'an, but it also states that proportionality should be followed in war and that hostilities should not be initiated unless Muslims are threatened. Bin Laden has never said that he wants to destroy America, rather he has repeatedly stated that he wants to change U.S. policies towards the Islamic world: the occupation of Muslim lands, the bombings and sanctions against Iraq after 1991, and the unquestioned support to Israel and tyrannical Arab regimes. Only a fraction of Muslims adhere to bin Laden's ideology; most do not want to live in a Caliphate but rather support Western principles such as elected government and universal education. Many, however, sympathize with the causes that bin Laden advocates, because they offer an alternative to Western policies. I cannot...

pdf

Share