The Devil We Don't Know: The Dark Side of Revolutions in the Middle East [ハードカバー]

Nonie Darwish grew up as a Muslim in Gaza, daughter of an Egyptian military commander who became a shaheed ("martyr"). She immigrated to the United States in 1978. When her daughters grew older, she decided to take them back to Egypt to meet their extended family and to learn more about their roots. She was shocked to see how her former homeland had changed--how Islamized it had become during her time away. She passed through New York City on her way home just one day before the tragic events of September 11, 2001. In the wake of those events, she felt she had no choice but to speak out. She has done so since with great courage and objectivity.

It wasn't that Egypt had become Muslim. It has been Muslim since 639, just 17 years after Muhammad's death. Rather, it had become Islamized. Islamism is a totalitarian, utopian political ideology, similar in ways to Nazism and Communism, but religiously based and therefore able to promise both earthly and eternal rewards to its devotees. Islamist leaders promise a perfect world of peace and justice once all current governments have been destroyed and all peoples "freed" to worship Allah alone, in other words, once all opposition to their ideology has been destroyed.

Islamists wish to restore the glory of Islam by bringing every corner of the world and every aspect of every individual's life into submission (Islam literally means "submission") to Allah and Allah's law (Sharia), by force if necessary. Among Islamists, some stress armed jihad (struggle); others stress dawa (invitation). The foundational ideology of Al-Qaida, the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR, and Hamas is basically the same; what differs are the methods each prefers to attain the goal.

Few in the Western world comprehend the attractive power of Islamist ideology or the implications it could have for our future. Islam is not monolithic. A battle rages within the Muslim world over which faction will write the next chapter in the long history of the religion and it is possible Islamists will win that battle. Not all Muslims are Islamists. In fact, the first victims of Islamist ideology have been Muslims who disagreed, just as the first victims of Communist ideology were Russians.

Ms. Darwish, thanks to her knowledge of the culture and language and her ongoing friendships with people in Muslim nations, offers Americans a critical service. She "translates" for us, not just news from Arabic-language media, but the worldview, values, and assumptions that underlie terrorism, the "Arab spring" and other events in the headlines today.

Whether you agree or disagree with Ms. Darwish's conclusions, her thoughts and perspectives deserve serious consideration. Every thinking American should read The Devil We Don't Know and her previous book, Cruel and Usual Punishment.

Nonie's new book is excellent. I was especially struck by the chapter about all the characteristics of Muslims, ie not taking personal responsibility for anything; taking revenge; never expressing personal emotions; lying; etc. etc., All I could think of was that most of those characteristics I had lived with in my house for the year with an Afghan couple who our country rescued from the Taliban and certain execution. It didn't take long before my family and friends would joke among ourselves that we couldn't believe a word they said, but we loved them anyway. We thought they were just new to the country and not able to trust people yet. Your book explained so much to me about their world. After four years in the safety of our country, they now refuse to associate with those who saved their lives because we refuse to accept Islam. Without the west they would be dead.

I think the explanation of the cycle of violent revolution, overthrowing dictators, striving for freedom but finding themselves under yet another sharia rule, and not understanding why. That is all sad for the people who deserve to have a great life. It also explains why they cannot have it while they embrace Islam and the required sharia laws. There will be no end to this violence in the Islamic world, I think.

Nonie's book also explains why Israel is so successful and the entire Islamic world is not. While Islam requires that people do what has always been done, looking to the past and not being allowed to change things for the 'better', Israel is constantly looking to make improvements to everything in their lives. That's why there are so many Jewish Nobel Peace prize winners and a sparse few Islamic winners. It's the faulty ideology that requires a devotion to hate, revenge, dishonesty, death and many other of the negatives in life, making any success almost impossible.

I urge anyone who wishes some political clarity about the Middle East and the Islamic world to read Darwish's three books. They will change your thinking.

I've read all 3 of Ms. Darwish's books and think this is her best yet, although that may be comparing apples to oranges. Her first book,Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror, was more personal; the next one, Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law, was obviously focused on sharia. But THE DEVIL WE DON'T KNOW is a fascinating, sweeping perspective on Islam and the real meaning of the Arab uprisings that the naive (and/or complicit) media were so quick to label "the Arab Spring."

Just to give you a taste of the issues she addresses, here are a few chapter titles: "A Muslim's Burden: How Islam Fails the Individual," "Exodus: The Rise of Islamic Apostasy," "Will the Arab Spring Usher in a Feminist Movement?" and "Western Vulnerability." She brings her own perceptive intellect and personal experience to all these topics and more. The book's not long, it's very readable and engaging, and Ms. Darwish is a unique voice on a timely, criticial current event, the so-called Arab Spring. You won't regret getting this one.