Islamism and Islam Hardcover – May 22, 2012

the best book i have

Tibi gives a much needed nuanced picture of Islam. He makes a distinction between the Islamists, the totalitarian version of Islam, the result of the decline of power of Islam in the modern world and the rise of religious fundamnetalism of which islam is not alone in fostering. His use of Hannah Arendt to define totalitarianism and the relationship with anti-smitism, analogous to the Nazi ideology is right on the money. This connection puts the issue in historical context. Islam in Tibi's view is another matter. This is a religion that can accomodate reason and moderation as it tries to accomodate itself to the modern world just as mainline Christianity and Judaism have done. This work by an author with superb academic credentials unlike Pam Geller or Robert Spencer, for example, should get peoples attention as an anecdote to the fear mongering of the the Gellers and Spencers of the world.

A One Man Sleeper CellThe first lie in Bassam Tibi's book, Islamism and Islam is in the fourth sentence of his Preface. It is the lie which has made Tibi's career, at Cornell, Yale, Harvard, and now Stanford. He states, "Islamism emanates from a political interpretation of Islam: it is based not on the religious faith of Islam but on an ideological use of religion within the political realm." Professor Tibi compounds this lie with, "Islamism and Islam are different, not to be confused with each other..."The fact is that a practicing Muslim is an Islamist. The peaceful, pluralistic, tolerant Islam which Professor Tibi describes is the Islam of non-practicing Muslims. All practicing Muslims are required by Islam to wage jihad (holy war). All practicing Muslims are required to forcefully convert or kill nonbelievers, infidels. All practicing Muslims are required to humiliate dhimmi, (infidels who are tolerated in their presence), by extracting jizya, (a tax which permits them to live - temporarily). All practicing Muslims divide the world into two spheres, dar al Islam (the world of Islam), and dar al haarb (the world of war). Only when Muslims have eliminated resistance to Islam throughout the world will there be no more dar al haarb. This is straight out of the Qu'ran, the holy book which all practicing Muslims must memorize.One core feature of Islam that you will never hear from Professor Tibi or any other Muslim is taqiyya, the obligation to deceive infidels. Another you will not find in his work is da'wa, stealthy jihad. Taqiyya is the obligation of every Muslim to soft pedal the ultimate ends of Islam, world domination. Da'wa is a kind of dispensation accorded to jihadis who find themselves in a situation where violence is impractical. Such jihadis are allowed to mingle with dhimmi, to teach at their universities, lobby their governments specifically to weaken their will to resist. This fifth column prepares the way for the bloodthirsty Islamic warriors who will inevitably follow, accompanied by cameramen from the Al Jazeera network.Taqiyya also explains why there is no fatwa on Professor Tibi's head. The Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him, left a crystal clear message. If an infidel were to distort the Prophet's message as blatantly as Professor Tibi does, a fatwa would be issued instantly. Why do Islamic clerics let Professor Tibi pretend that the messages in the Qu'ran, the Hadith, and the Reliance of the Traveler, the Islamic holy sources, are so vulnerable to misinterpretation? No Muslim will admit that there is a modicum of slack in the holy documents. The Qu'ran is a verbatim transcription of Allah's words to the Archangel Gabriel. Muhammad, peace be upon him, was illiterate, thus the need for the angelic scribe. Distorting the Qu'ran's message is in fact a capital offense. Professor Tibi is alive because Islamic clerics recognize the value of his obfuscation. He is pursuing da'wa, pure and simple. Think of Professor Tibi as a one man sleeper cell.Oh, and calling anyone who resists jihad an Islamophobe? Puh-leez! Every infidel should own a Qu'ran and take the time to understand it (particularly Sura 9, the so-called "sword verses"). The Hadith and Reliance, though holy, are voluminous, obtuse, and rambling so both infidels and believers require assistance in navigating them. One thing for certain, you will not learn what you need to know about Islam in Islamism and Islam.Postscript, 9-29-12: All practicing Muslims also believe in replacing man-made law with holy law, sharia. This means getting rid of the Constitution of the United States of America as well as all state laws. Legislators will not be necessary since sharia law comes from Allah. Judges will not be necessary since Muslim clerics will interpret sharia, and civil police will not be necessary because they will be replaced by religious police. Since Americans will not sit idly by as their Government is overthrown, the imposition of sharia will require the violent overthrow of the Government. All practicing Muslims believe that a Muslim Caliphate will ultimately replace all national governments around the world.If a Muslim tells you otherwise (Professor Tibi comes to mind) he is either a non-practicing Muslim, or he's practicing Taqiyya, the obligation to deceive infidels about Islam's methods and objectives.

A clear exposition of the contents of Koran and Koranic Law.l

Not all Muslims are Arabs and not all arabs are terrorists. We need to start making important distinctions. Read this.

Book was damaged when received.

This book, while both insightful at Islamism but not Islam, was a serious disappointment. He brands Islamism as a totalitarian ideology borrowed from communism. This is not correct. While some Islamism may be authoritarian, never has there been evidence for totalitarianism. Also, he says on pg. 16 about the Muslim Brotherhood, "They subscribed to terror and practiced it on all possible levels." Where is his evidence? Then, he goes about saying that just because al-Banna preached martyrdom for Islam, it reflects "suicidal terrorism." Not true, al-Banna was a community activist and never advocated terrorism to justify an end. Lastly, he says that Islamism is NOT part of the greater Islamic revival. What is the revival then? It actually is in that the revival has incorporated political ideology into its doctrine. Clearly, Mr. Tibi is not the right scholar to read. He confuses both facts and opinions.

Es todo sobre islamismo e islam, muy buen escrito aunque algunas veces es un poco complicado entender el autor. (No es por el idioma pero especialmente por los ejemplos de los casos. Si no conocen el mundo de islam, necesitan leer algo antes de comprar este libro)