by Sebastian Gorka Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, 2016. Reviewed by Raymond Ibrahim Middle East Quarterly Summer 2017 Those looking for a comprehensive and detailed explanation for defeating jihad might be disappointed in Gorka’s study as his recommendations are confined to the last five pages of the book. The bulk of the work is a rehash of related topics that … [Read more...]
Year of the Sword: The Assyrian Christian Genocide, a History
by Joseph Yacoub Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. Reviewed by Raymond Ibrahim Middle East Quarterly Fall 2017 This important contribution to genocide studies documents how the world’s oldest Christian communities—variously referred to as Chaldeans, Syriacs, and Arameans, but best known as Assyrians—were, along with the Armenians, “victims of the [Ottoman] plan for … [Read more...]
Muhammad and Forced Conversions to Islam
What are we to make of the glaring contradiction between the Koran’s claim that “there is no compulsion in religion” (2:256) and the many other verses that call for war, slavery, and death to those who refuse to submit to Islam (9:5, et al)—to say nothing of the militant behavior of the prophet of Allah, Muhammad? This is the question Stephen M. Kirby examines in his new book, … [Read more...]
Force and Fanaticism: Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia and Beyond
Note: The following is a book review of Force and Fanaticism: Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia and Beyond, by Simon Ross Valentine. A shorter version of the review first appeared in the Middle East Quarterly (Fall, 2016, vol. 23, no. 4). Valentine, a British Methodist pastor and teacher who taught in Saudi Arabia, has written a useful book about the desert kingdom. Most interesting … [Read more...]
The Last Supper: The Plight of Christians in Arab Lands
Note: The following is a book review of The Last Supper: The Plight of Christians in Arab Lands, by Klaus Wivel. A shorter version of the review first appeared in the Middle East Quarterly (Fall, 2016, vol. 23, no. 4). Danish journalist Klaus Wivel is to be commended for shedding light on an important but ignored topic, the plight of present-day, Arabic-speaking … [Read more...]