Product Description
Mark Gabriel, an ex-Muslim and former professor of Islamic history at Al-Azhar Univeristy in Cairo, Egypt, the most prestigious Islamic school in the world, explains why terrorists do what they do. Hi
Product Details
| Publisher | Charisma House |
| ISBN | 0884198847 |
| Features |
|
| Format | Paperback |
| Author | Mark A. Gabriel |
| EAN | 9780884198840 |
| Label | Charisma House |
| Dewey Decimal Number | 297.272 |
| Studio | Charisma House |
| Number Of Pages | 256 |
| Title | Islam And Terrorism |
| Publication Date | 2002-03-12 |
| Manufacturer | Charisma House |
Customer Reviews
Very Informative!Review by Debra A. Kelly, 2010-06-12
I am still reading this book, but I have to say anyone who has any questions at all about who is really behind the terrorist and it's not the Muslims, they are the victims; should educate themselves by reading this. I think it is always wise to know how the enemy thinks! I occasionally run across Muslims who are clearly blinded by the teachings of the Quran. This book points out how very contradicting the Quran is. The author gives passages (if that is the correct term) and numbers in the Quran in his book. On two occasions now I have dealt with Muslims who have tried to "convert" me to their belief! I have used this book numerous times to point out to them the lies they have been deceived by and compare it to the teachings of our Bible and God's words. The difference is no doubt like night and day. In a world where the Jihad's final revelation is to Conquer the World we need to know what this book clearly uncovers.
Mark Gabriel, an ex-Muslim and former professor of Islamic history at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, the most prestigious Islamic school in the world, explains why terrorist do what they do. His message is graphic. At the age of 12 he he was able to quote the entire Quran. His family has disowned him since his conversion to Christianity and angry Muslims tried to kill him several times. Great Book!!!
Profiting from Islamophobia
Review by Jeff Siddiqui, 2010-03-08
The book (219 pages plus reference pages) is published by a Christian evangelist (I assume) organization called Charisma House out of Florida. It appears that the publishing house (Strang Communications Company) is associated with Florida Christian University.
In his forward, J. Lee Grady, the Editor of Charisma Magazine clearly states that Islam is the overwhelming evil at loose in the world. He is also clear about his views that while the 9-11 tragedy was perpetrated by nineteen people, the criminal is Islam. I tried to keep an open mind about the book before and during the time I was reading it, but I soon found it hard to do so. Beginning with the title of the book which gave a strong indication of the direction where it was heading, to the pages that followed, it was a non-stop force-feeding of Islamophobia and misleading writing; I stopped reading after 95 pages.
On one hand people like the editor Grady and the author Gabriel claim to be Christians and decry Islam because they state that Christianity is ALL about love and forgiveness. On the other hand they seem to stand front and center in judging and condemning Islam; in being parties to spreading hate and falsehoods about Islam and Muslims.
The author, Dr. Mark Gabriel, PhD., claims to be a scholar of Islam; he says he has taught Islam and discussed it with many other scholars. As such, his information should be impeccably accurate however, there are so many fallacies and distortions in his work that one is forced to come to the conclusion that his purpose for writing his book was not to discuss Islam from a point of view of truth rather, it was to twist and malign Islam in order to further his personal goals of self-promotion. There is just no way for me to believe that anyone can have so many errors of understanding unless s-he is bent on proving a lie.
I would like to examinea few of the details in the book that resembles a string of deliberately edited misquotes from the Quran, more than it represents a factual critique.
The book opens (p.2) with a discussion of the authors sermon about jihad, but the description of jihad is incomplete and includes Christians and Jews among infidels. Islam accepts Jews and Christians as well as any other religion that accepts the One God, as Muslims, thus to call Christians and Jews, infidels defies Gods command to accept them as believers.
In the same section he appears to be confusing Islam the faith, with the violent people who commit violence in the name of Islam. Even so, he acknowledges that his superiors and tutors were telling him to preach that Islam is love and kindness. He continues by quoting (p. 3) his Muslim friend who claimed that Christians did not pay Jaziya tax so they could not practice their beliefs in Egypt and thus, they must be killed. Only the gullible or, someone totally immersed in painting Islam as a demonic faith would give this passage any credence. Egypt does NOT have Jaziya tax, so Christians would not be in a position to pay it even if they wanted to and nowhere is it written that the punishment for those who do not pay Jaziya is death. Gabriel displays his own lack of moral conviction by not challenging such an ignorant and brutal comment on the basis of the Quran itself.
Page 4. Somehow, Gabriel has twisted this as commands from God to kill Christians unless they convert or pay taxes..The reference is to those who have been informed of the One god and reject the message and wage war on Muslims. The Quran does say in 9:29 to fight against such people until they are defeated and agree to pay the required taxes.
Page 5. Although Gabriel should know that the God of Islam (Allah is only one of his many names in Arabic, but there are innumerable names in other languages) is the same as the God of Abraham which is also the God Jesus. Yet he insists on dismissing the Islamic reference to God by using the lower case, a childish action in my opinion.. Gabriel claims that the Quran states in 6:39 that God desires to lead people astray. If one reads that passage, it is clear that God is saying that those people who deny Him, will be sent astray but "He will save whom He wills Thus Allah layeth ignominy upon those who believe not".
He goes on to claim that hatred is built into the religion. This is an astounding statement coming from someone who claims to have studied Islam at all, let alone to the extent that he seems to have done. The exhortations in the Quran to love one another and to forgive, to show mercy and the help one another are ubiquitous. Even as he claims that Islam was my special area of study he goes on to say that its history could only be characterized as a river of blood! One only needs to compare the histories of Muslim conquerors with those of Hindus, Jews, Christians or any other religion, to see that the river of blood label should attach elsewhere. I will not lower this already low level of allegations from Gabriel, by bringing the low points of other faiths to the fore as a means to improve Islam's position.
Page 14.. He asks rhetorically if God was an animal like the cow of the Hindus. For someone who supposedly has a PhD in religion, Gabriel shows an abysmal knowledge of other faiths. Hinduism is ALSO a monotheistic faith although not an Abrahamic faith. Hindus believe in ONE GOD who has many manifestations; ergo the many dieties.
Page 15. He claims that he read Matthew 5:38 where it says, you have heard eye for eye and tooth for tooth but I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone should strike you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Upon reading it his whole body began trembling. "I had studied the Quran my whole life-not once did I find words as inspiring as this" He said.
Wow!
In the Quran, verse 42:40 God says, The recompense for an injury is an injury equal thereto (in degree): But if a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from God: For God loves not those who do wrong. Gabriel must have been dozing when that section was being taught.
Page 17. I cannot speak for Gabriel's father but I can say with confidence that neither Islam nor Islamic culture (whatever THAT is) prevents a man from wearing jewelry. There are some strict interpretations of Islam by people who may claim that even the styles of clothing are defined in Islam but such strict doctrinaires are to be found in every faith.
Page 19. Gabriel says, it is the teachings of Islam that have produced terrorists who seem capable of any kind of evil in the name of Allah. Truth is obviously an impediment in Gabriel's focus; I have not yet found a religion that promotes or condones terrorism however, history is replete with examples of people of every religion who do horrible things to others in the name of their religion. To claim that Islam is the guilty one among all other faiths is to ignore facts. On the other hand, ranking terrible deeds done in the name of one religion with similar or worse deeds in another is to join the battle in a sewer and I am not willing to do so.
Page 24. Gabriel quotes a sheikh (better known as the blind sheikh now imprisoned in the US) at Al-Azhar University as saying, My brother, there is a whole surah called :Spoils of war. There is no surah called Peace. Jihad and killing are the head of Islam. If you take them out, you cut off the head of Islam.
I cannot believe anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of Islam would say such a thing especially since Al-Anfal (surah 8, The Spoils) takes its name from the first verse only, in which God says the spoils of victory belong to God and His messenger. The chapter says that only a fifth is to be apportioned to God, his messenger, the needy, the orphans and the wayfarers. It explains that victory of a tiny Muslim group of less than 313 against over 600 better equipped men, is because of God's help. I do not know how or why any scholar of Islam would claim Jihad and killing are the head of Islam when the entire Quran is filled with exhortations by God to show mercy, forgive; to be compassionate and to love one another.
Page 25. Contrary to the authors claims, the Quran is the only and over-riding source of instruction and belief in Islam. All other sources, even the revered Hadith cannot stand if they are contrary to the instructions in the Quran.
Pages 26-27. In Islam, a Muslim must do good works if he is to hope for Heaven so Gabriel is correct when he states that it is a religion based on the works of the Muslim. However, he manages to twist even this concept by saying there is no guarantee of Paradise even if you do good works all your life. It all depends on what Allah decides. In Islam, we believe that while good works will help us get to Heaven, only God can decide how He will deal with us. By saying such a thing we do NOT mean He is capricious; rather, we mean that His will be done, no matter what. To claim a right to Heaven would be too arrogant and would thus negate all the good we do.
Page 28. "The only way to know for sure that you will get into Paradise is to die in Jihad". The author seems to be so intent on spreading hate against Islam that he takes Quranic verses out of context in order to show them as supporting his theses. In this case, he first mal-interprets Jihad which actually means struggle on the path of righteousness, not some self-proclaimed cause by a twisted mind. Then he states that anyone who dies in Jihad is guaranteed a place in heaven; actually on God will decide who will go to Heaven. Nevertheless, this is no different than similar interpretations in Christianity and Judaism where martyrs are made into saints and believed to go straight to Heaven. Finally, his citation of Surah 8:39 is completely false; this Surah follows 8:38 which states that there will be peace if the unbelievers (people who do not believe in one God) cease to persecute the believers otherwise they will be fought (8:39) until they cease their evil actions (of persecution).
Gabriel tries to support his position that Jihad means killing and war in Islam and so he quotes Surah 9:89. He neglects to mention that this Surah too, is part of a series that exhort people to fight with their wealth and even their lives in the way of righteousness. Once more, this is no different than in all other faiths that ask the righteous to not be tied to material possessions and help the path of good.
Page 30. Gabriel would like to portray Islam as restricting women by forcing them to cover themselves and staying at home. The only reference that I am aware of in the Quran for women to cover themselves is 24:31 which follows 24:30. The latter tells men to cover themselves in a modest manner while the former states the same for women. in Islam, women are permitted to run businesses of their own and have the rights that are almost the same as men (differing in only a few minor points).
Again and again Gabriel tries to prove his false point that Islam is based on violence. He cites Surah 9:5 as the verse of the sword and it explains that Muslims must fight anyone who chooses not to convert to Islam In fact, this verse is part of a series of verses that re-state obligations under treaties already signed; that there are no obligations towards those who are idolaters however, if an idolater should seek sanctuary (9:6) that Muslims are obliged to protect him and convey him to a place of safety.
Page 33. The author begins his new chapter (Holy War in the Quran) with partial quotes from two verses of the Quran, both of which are deliberately taken out of context and cut so as to prove his false premise.
The first verse (4:89) refers to people (hypocrites)who pretend to be Muslim even as they are covertly support the enemies of Muslims. The verse states that if those hypocrites become allied with the enemy then they must be killed.
The second verse (47:4) states that when a Muslim should meet a disbeliever (in one God) on the battlefield, then the Muslims should kill him or take him prisoner until the war is over and then release him either for ransom or as a gesture of goodwill. The complete verse obviously does not support Gabriel's point so he truncates it until it does.
Page 34. Gabriel states that revelations about Jews were never positive. It appears that he has forgotten most of his study of Islam or the Quran. In 2:136 God says that ALL prophets (including Mohammed, Jesus, Moses etc.,) are equal in the eyes of God. In 2:62 God says that any who believe in the Quran and the Jewish and Christian scriptures and all the other holy books God revealed, shall have his rewards. In 5:68 God says to mankind that you have nothing of faith unless you believe in the Torah, the Gospel and the other revelations.
Page 35. Gabriel quotes 8:39 as telling Muslims to kill everybody who does not believe in 'Allah' as if 'Allah' is some strange deity. In fact firstly, Allah is the same as the God of Abraham and thus, the God of Jesus. Secondly, this is a repeat of Gabriel's favorite tactic of taking verses out of context and in small part so as to support his false arguments. This verse actually follows one that states that all Muslims must try and stop the unbelievers from persecuting believers however, if they persist in their persecutions then the unbelievers who fight, must be killed until there is no more persecution (Gabriel substituted the word " persecution" with "disbelief" thus changing the intent completely).
I could continue with page after page of his book containing misquotes and partial quotes and twisting of phrases from the Quran so that by the time the readers is done, s-he is convinced there could be no faith as deceitful, violent and wicked as Islam and surely the followers of Islam cannot be related to humans?
By the time you have read my review of Gabriel's hate-mongering book, you should get the idea that Gabriel's only goal seems to be to foster hate towards Islam and Muslims by spreading misinformation.
I encourage you to not simply take my word but read the citations of the Quran as I have presented them and compare them to the ones to be found in the Quran. THEN compare them to the partial misquotes that Gabriel has provided in his book and draw your own conclusions. I request you to please correct me if you find any errors on my part so that I may learn to be more accurate.
I thank you for your patience in reading my analysis this far; perhaps you will sympathize a little with me when I remind you that I actually plowed through ninety-five pages from the book of Gabriel's fantasies before I was too disgusted to continue.
THis book would be more appropriately located in the "Fiction" sections.
Should be Required Reading
Review by Scott A. Kegley, 2009-11-10
This book should be required reading in our schools, along with Oriana Fallaci's "The Force of Reason," to warn civilized nations of the very real threat that Islamic jihadism poses to liberty and the rule of law.
The author uses his vast knowledge of (a) quranic scripture, (b) the guiding actions of Mohammed the founder of Islam, and (c) well over a thousand years of Islamic history to demonstrate that--in total opposition to the politically correct (read "factually incorrect") myths profered by liberal westerners in the media--Islam is a religion of violence, hatred, intolerance and deceit.
He explains, for example, (a) how and why the few early quranic verses about peace and tolerance are overruled by the many later verses demanding murderous retribution and violent conquering of the world for Allah; (b) how and why muslim minorities abroad follow laws and customs of host nations only until their numbers reach levels allowing effective jihad there; and (c) how and why serious muslims (that is those who actually read the Quran and follow its instructions, as well as the example of Mohammed) intend to destroy all man-made laws, political systems and economies, and turn the whole world into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban.
But alas, the reading of this book will not be even allowed in liberal-run American schools because it (a) exposes the dangers of fundamental (ie. real) Islam, (b) paints Christianity in a positive light, and (c) points out several of the U.S.'s commendable aspects.
A Closer Look At Islam and Terrorism
Review by J. Pagano, 2009-10-07
Terrible book. The bias of the author is ridiculous, and unfortunately not revealed until the last 25 pages of the book. He tries to paint a picture of Islam being a terrible force of violence and evil throughout the world using a rudimentary explanation of important Islamic beliefs. Then, in the last 25 pages he gives his solution to the problem, mass conversion to Christianity. Upon further inspection I realized the publishing company, Front Line, is a very religious organization who seeks to "spread the word of jesus christ". If you want to gain a genuinley better understanding of this book, especially if you are reading for academic purposes, look elsewhere.
Wonderful Truths
Review by A. Storz, 2009-09-17
Do not believe the close minded reviews that declare this man a lier. He grew up Muslim and knows FIRST HAND what that religion requires. He fled his home with his father shooting at him for reading the bible! How crazy is a religion that requires you to kill those who explore other beliefs?!?!
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