This new Beck book, published August 18, 2015, is an indication of the evolution of Glenn Beck on Islam. He’s not quite to full bloom “getting it”, but he’s a lot closer. Several years ago Beck was more on the side of” radicals” and “terrorists” being an aberration of Islam – that most followers of Islam, Muslims, are good, decent people. No reason not to trust them.
Now his new book paints a different picture, at least of Islam, if not of Muslims.
Beck invokes the lessons about Islam learned by Thomas Jefferson. Sure, Jefferson owned a Qur’an which gave him a theoretical introduction to Islam. The Marines Hymn’s reference to the halls of Montezuma and the shores of Tripoli are Jefferson’s “trial by fire” introduction to the reality of Islam as practiced in real, ugly, deadly life.
This time around, Beck portrays Islam as the religion, the ideology, that promotes terror and intolerance. But his listing of the lies promoted by Islam’s defenders fall short in several areas. These include, most notably, the Islamic cultural practice if not beloved doctrine of taqiyya (dissimulation, lying, and deceit), the doctrine of abrogation, cultural pressures in the Islamic communities, the continuing use of the term “radical” as a habitual and mindless modifier of “Islam”, and the reformability of Islam. These omissions are discussed in greater detail a bit later in this overview.
But first, here are the best parts of the book, the chapters that will benefit the politically correct, brainwashed masses the most. Beck presents these topics as a series of lies about Islam. He devotes 4 to 8 pages to each one. But here is the abbreviated version of each:
Lie #1: “Islam is a religion of peace, and Islamic terrorists aren’t really Muslims.”
George Bush, the Popes, and especially Barack Obama perpetrate this lie, along with most media and many in our intelligence community, the State Department, and academia. In fact, Islam as a peaceful religion is a propaganda tool. That notion is based on the earlier parts of the Qur’an, but which have been superseded (abrogaated) by the later passages that reveal the intolerant, militant, and political side of Islam. These two faces of Islam are practiced at times and places when and where they serve the Muslim and Islam the best. Both peace and violent jihad are justified by Islam.
Lie #2: “Islam is not much different than Christianity or Judaism.”
A lot of people in the US know so little about any religion that they consider them all the same. And they defend Islam only because it is a “religion” and all religion must be defended. Islam is, in fact, a polar opposite of Christianity in many, many ways. So opposite, in fact, that many theologians consider Islam to be a spawn of Satan.
Lie #3: “Jihad is a peaceful, internal struggle, not a war against infidels.”
There are two forms of jihad: “Inner struggle” and “outer struggle.” “Inner struggle” is a personal spiritual striving to shape ones mind to become more like Muhammad. The “outer struggle” is putting the fruit of the “inner struggle” to work physically, in the world through whatever means necessary, including, and especially, intolerance, violence, terror and conquest. Know the life of Muhammad and you know Islam, the saying goes.
Lie #4: “Muslims don’t actually seek to live under sharia, let alone impose it on others; there are so many different interpretations of it anyway.”
To the contrary, Sharia is the preferred legal and political system of Muslims when the time is right – when there is enough of a critical mass of Muslims with enough political clout or terrorist power to impose it on the non-Muslim or apostate Muslim.
Lie #5: “America is safe from Sharia law.”
Absolutely not! We are vulnerable to Sharia, especially if we continue to 1) deny the facts about Islam, and 2) consider the “nice” Muslim next door - those who continue to claim allegiance to Islam by calling themselves “Muslim” - as benign. I don’t know that Beck has gone this far to be suspicious of all Muslims in the US, but he should. If they are so moderate as to discard the violent, intolerant parts of the Qur’an and to become bonafide apostates, then why do they still insist on being called “Muslim?”
Lie #6: “The Caliphate is a fanciful dream.”
The Caliphate is a real and achievable objective of the minds of the most devout Muslims. And assuming a degree of momentum in Islamic conquests, a world-wide Caliphate is absolutely achievable.
Lie #7: “Islam is tolerant toward non-Muslims.”
According to the Qur’an, once a critical mass of Muslim influence and power is achieved within the region they reside, the flip of the switch toward intolerance is required.
Lie #8: Addressing frustration, poverty, and joblessness in the Muslim world-maybe even climate change – will end terrorism.”
The background of Muslims involved in most terror attacks demonstrates that these things have NOTHING to do with their motive. It is all about being faithful to their Islamic beliefs.
Lie #9: “Critics of Islam are bigots.”
This belief is a result of political correctness going to absurd extremes. We can’t even criticize evil anymore without being called a bigot. Speaking the truth to the ignorant may seem bigoted to the ignorant, but it is not bigoted if it is the truth.
Lie #10: “Islam respects the rights of women.”
Of course from the perspective of devout Muslims, they are just toward women because they are following the edicts of their religion. But from the perspective of the non-Muslim, Muslim women are abused second class citizens.
Lie #11: “Iran can be trusted with a nuclear weapon.”
Just as trustworthy as a snake can be trusted with its venom.
Lie #12: “The Muslim Brotherhood is a moderate, mainstream Islamic group.”
The Muslim Brotherhood is the parent organization of most Islamic terror groups. It is outlawed in Egypt for good reason and should be outlawed in the US.
Lie #13: “Islam respects freedom of speech.”
Yes, until you suggest anything against Muhammad, the Qur’an, Allah, any Islamic doctrine, or any Muslim.
The last section of the book addresses solutions – what can be done.
The key solution, before anything else can be accomplished is, according to Beck, “identify the enemy.” This seems so obvious but is so elusive. Our culture, our government has refused to do this first essential step. Unfortunately, Beck only goes part way toward identifying the enemy in this book.
Beck suggests that Islam needs to be reformed. He says non-Muslims cannot do it; Muslims are the only ones who can.
But there are Islamic experts who assert that reforming Islam is impossible. Why? The reasons are laid out HERE.
There are several Chapters that are missing from Beck’s book that would not have added more than 15 or 20 pages, but are essential to “knowing the enemy – knowing Islam.”
Taqiyya: This central Islamic cultural predisposition, if not core doctrine of Islam, is not highlighted in Beck’s book. Taqiyya is the reason why our media and politicians remain clueless of the truth of Islam. Deception is a well honed skill set of Muslims motivated by their Islamic faith. Taqiyya is the reason for this being an accurate depiction of “moderate” Muslims: Today’s “moderate” is tomorrow’s headline.
“Sudden Jihad Syndrome” is what happens when a taqiyya-practicing Muslim decides to practice all Islamic doctrine. Bill Warner explains this well in the video below:
Abrogation: The Islamic doctrine that the later written portion of the Qur’an, the portion written in Medina, supersedes and is better than the earlier portion written in Mecca. Unfortunately, unlike the Bible, the intolerant, violent jihad examples and admonitions are in the later Medina section and the more peace-loving examples are in the earlier Mecca section. Violence trumps Peace in the Qur’an. A lengthy explanation of abrogation with examples from the Qur’an is provided HERE.
“Radical” this: Beck continues the mindless use of the word “radical” preceding “Islam” in several places in his book. A few pages ought to be devoted to highlight the idiocy of inferring that there is a “radical” and “non-radical” version of Islam, which the use of “radical” before “Islam” implies. There is no non-radical Islam. Islam is radical. Admitting Islam is radical is part of “identifying the enemy” that Beck declares is an essential first step in doing something to overcome the threat posed by Islam.
Reformable: As stated above, Islam is not reformable. Beck does admit that Islam is further away from being reformable than it was a decade or two ago. But he doesn’t delve deeply enough into Islamic texts to come to the clear conclusion that a significant portion of the Islamic Trilogy and historical doctrine and jurisprudence needs to be ripped out for Islam to be reformable.
Overall, I would give this book a “B-“. It’s good to see Beck’s progress in discovering Islam as well as one more well-known person providing at least 80% of the heretofore politically incorrect facts about Islam, and by doing so, risking being called a bigot. This book is best suited for the person who believes that Islam has been hijacked by a few radicals who have perverted Islam. Its reading should be supplemented by any number of books by Robert Spencer, Joel Richardson, Bill Warner, Eric Stakelbeck, or THIS one, and by THIS WEBSITE.
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