Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 9 hours and 30 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Audible.com Release Date: July 30, 2012
Whispersync for Voice: Ready
Language: English
ASIN: B008QWLGKW
Best Sellers Rank: #79 in Books > Audible Audiobooks > Religion & Spirituality > Islam #1872 in Books > Audible Audiobooks > Politics & Current Events #2378 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam
Don't misjudge this book by negative reviews! Those can come from two sources. One is Islamist apologists who insist that Islam is a religion of peace. The other is persons who use their reviews to publicize their personal, typically caustic, view of Islam, Muhammad, and the Qur'an. By contrast, this book should be read by all persons in the West, non-Muslim and Muslim alike. The author, a physician, former U. S. Navy officer, and practicing Muslim, is a lone voice of truth for reforming Islam. This means disentangling the peaceful traditions of Islam from more contemporary efforts by "Islamists" to establish an Islamic world order ruled by their religious leaders. This obviously contrasts sharply with democratic and Constitutional Western governments. Unfortunately, Arabic patriarchal (father as ruler of family) tribal traditions that preceded Muhammad still control shariah (Islamic law) court interpretations, retaining male domination, thwarting gender equality, and opposing as shameful (for the family) all contemporary secular customs and practices. Although social scientists might question the morality of certain modern customs, let's not "throw out the baby with the bathwater." Widespread efforts at multiculturalism and political correctness perpetuate disregard of threats from Islamists as harmless. These two politically-inspired policies are the West's stumbling blocks to upholding each country's pride of heritage and cultural identity. Only as each country realizes its errors of attempted accommodations to Islamists' demands will that country be able to preserve its human rights and religious tolerance guarantees which earlier immigrants had always sought. Read Dr.
Despite my desire to stay away from online debates, having completed this book, I feel compelled to share my thoughts. Dr. Zuhdi Jasser (born 1967) is the founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) and has dedicated his life to three things: helping to heal sick people (he is medical doctor), serving the country he loves (he was a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy), and battling the spokespeople and apologists for the movement he calls Islamism, or political Islam. Jasser is a devout and strictly observant Muslim who prays five times a day, has never in his life consumed alcohol, and who reads from the Qur'an regularly. He is also as staunch an American patriot as they come. Part of his goal in this book is to demonstrate that there ought not be any conflict between his loyalty to Islam and his loyalty to and love of America. But what makes Jasser more unique is his refusal to serve as an apologist for those who advocate a violent or at least separatist interpretation of Islam. The majority of "mainstream" Muslim-American organizations (i.e. the ones sought after by the media and invited to the White House, etc.) are what Jasser calls "Muslim Brotherhood legacy groups." The Muslim Brotherhood gets its inspiration from the writings of Egyptian Sayyid Qutb (died 1966), who advocated a doctrine of Islamic supremacism and, ultimately, violence. Al Qaeda (and its late leader Osama bin Laden) is an ideological child of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) was named by the FBI as an unindicted co-conspirator of the Holy Land Foundation, a group with ties to Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Yet CAIR has become the "voice" of American Islam. At least until Dr. Jasser entered the scene.
The Washington Post has described Zuhdi Jasser as "the most important American Muslim you've never heard of." If that assessment is true, it is probably because Jasser is embraced by leading conservative commentators as a hopeful voice challenging Islamic Jihad while being ignored by mainstream forces of political correctness who appear to be intimidated by any voice challenging the mantra that "Islam is a religion of peace." Jasser is under no illusions. Islam is in crisis mode, and without significant reform it will concretize as yet another totalitarian, violent ideology. Jasser, who served as a medical officer in the United States Navy, is the founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD). His organization attempts to hinder the attraction of young American Muslims to Islamic jihad while advocating the possibility of combining Islamic piety with acceptance of and support of American secular, constitutional law. Jasser likes America, and his love of this country was passed on to him by his father and grandfather, who dreamed of freedom and democracy in their country of origin, Syria--dreams that were never realized. They imparted to Zuhdi an understanding of Islam that has room for reason and an acceptance of government that is not tied to Islam (i.e. Sharia law). He writes of being brought up with an Islam that emphasized kindness, tolerance, and the exercise of reason. He takes issue with the other Islam--that of the Salafi extremists and "Islamists"--which seeks to impose Sharia law on other societies by whatever means necessary, be they violent or more subtle forms of cultural invasion and transformation. He admits that many allegedly "moderate" Muslims are actually activists and revolutionaries who disingenuously pose as "reasonable" and culturally assimilated.
A Battle for the Soul of Islam: An American Muslim Patriot's Fight to Save His Faith ISLAM: For Dummies! History of Islam. Islamic Culture. Beginners Guide (Quran, Allah, Mecca, Muhammad, Ramadan, Women in Islam) The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith Muslim Rap, Halal Soaps, and Revolutionary Theater: Artistic Developments in the Muslim World Modern Muslim Societies (Muslim World) No God but One: Allah or Jesus?: A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity Growing Up Muslim: Understanding the Beliefs and Practices of Islam To Be a Muslim: Islam, Peace, and Democracy Islam and the History of Islamic Terror: Understanding the Role God Plays in a Muslim World Muslim Child: Understanding Islam Through Stories and Poems Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus Study Guide: A Former Muslim Shares the Evidence that Led Him from Islam to Christianity Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight against Muslim Fundamentalism Stephanie Miller: Understanding the Life and Teachings of Stephanie Miller - Actress, Radio Personally, Political Activist, and American Patriot Sitting Bull: The Life and Times of an American Patriot American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company A Question Of Intent: A Great American Battle With A Deadly Industry (Great American Battle with with a Deadly Industry) The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies Jihad of the Soul: Singlehood and the Search for Love in Muslim America The Official Fight Promoter Playbook (The Fight Promoter Series 2) My Fight / Your Fight