Glenn Beck is making a point in It IS About Islam that is so obvious that only willful deniers are
likely to disagree with it: radical Islam is at the root of the terrorism,
barbarism, and genocide that plagues the world today. For political reasons, many of the world
leaders do not want to admit this very real truth, perhaps fearing that
aggressive language on their part will bring them exactly the unwanted
attention from Islamist terrorists that they want so badly to avoid. But it is time to face the fact that in the
absence of this particular religious doctrine from the eighth century, the
world would be a better and safer place for all of us, including today’s
Muslims.
As Beck points out, this is not a new problem. It IS
About Islam begins with a brief history of President Thomas Jefferson’s
study of the Quran and his battle to control the Barbary (North African) States
that were kidnapping and enslaving American sailors because they believed that
the Quran gave them exactly that right – and duty. Muslim negotiators of the period, in fact, justified
their actions by using the same passages from the Quran that are used by
today’s terrorists to justify their own murderous intents.
It IS About Islam is
divided into three parts: “Islam 101” (a relatively detailed explanation of
what is in the Quran and of the religion’s history); “Thirteen Deadly Lies” ( a
rebuttal of the myths about Islam that Islamist apologists and too many our own
politicians would have us believe); and “What Can Be Done” (a short discussion
of several changes to our approach that would increase our chances of defeating
those who want to destroy us and our world).
As Beck puts it in the book’s introduction: “The lies include
the oft-heard claims that Islam is a religion of peace, that Islam has nothing
to do with terrorism, that Islam respects the rights of women and Christians,
and that sharia law is a myth made up by Islamophobes.”
And as he damningly and clearly states on page 204 of the
book:
“Jihad’s
cost to civilization is incalculable.
Over the centuries, Muslim armies have burned libraries, razed cities,
and conquered large swaths of the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Europe. The have enslaved, starved, and massacred
millions of men, women, and children – all in the name of Islam.
…the jihadists are not
distorting their religion. They believe
they’re acting in accordance with their faith and they can cite chapter and
verse to justify every beheading, crucifixion, act of vandalism, and
degradation of the ‘infidels’ who happen to get in their way.”
Almost all of the world’s major religions have evolved over
the centuries to the point where they reject the barbarism preached every
Friday in so many of the world’s mosques.
Only one religion is allowing itself to remain stuck in the Dark Ages,
and it is long past time that the governments of the world admit the extent of
the threat that all non-Muslim governments (and even some Muslim ones) are
facing from Islamism. I do not agree
with everything that Beck says in this book (for example, making the fight one
of directly pitting the rest of the world’s religions against Islam), but his
message needs to be heard.
And Beck and his people made the decision to publish It IS About Islam only in paperback so
that more people can afford to get their hands on it and share it with
others. Please read this book before you
condemn it because you dislike its author.
It, and you, are better than that.
Post #2,595
Joyce Carol Oates 
