Description
This book reveals how, for well over a millennium, across three continents—Asia, Africa, and Europe—non-Muslims who were vanquished by jihad wars, became forced tributaries (called dhimmi in Arabic), in lieu of being slain. Under the dhimmi religious caste system, non-Muslims were subjected to legal and financial oppression, as well as social isolation. Extensive primary and secondary source materials, many translated here for the first time into English, are presented, making clear that jihad conquests were brutal, imperialist advances, which spurred waves of Muslims to expropriate a vast expanse of lands and subdue millions of indigenous peoples. Finally, the book examines how jihad war, as a permanent and uniquely Islamic institution, ultimately regulates the relations of Muslims with non-Muslims to this day. Scholars, educators, and interested lay readers will find this collection an invaluable resource.
Comment
“[P]rovides a comprehensive history of jihad.”
— Middle East Journal
“Bostom’s book amply documents the systematic and destructive character of Islamic jihad, refuting the much-repeated argument that jihad is a “rich” concept that has many meanings and that jihad first of all signifies “inner struggle.” Jihad is first of all war, bloodshed, subjugation, and expansion of the faith by violence. The book implicitly devastates the fashionable but uninformed opinion that all religions are elaborations of the Golden Rule. Jihad is everything the Golden Rule is not.”
— Dr. Johannes J.G. Jansen, author of The Neglected Duty: The Creed of Sadat’s Assassins and Islamic Resurgence in the Middle East, and The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism.
“[A]n impressive compendium that meticulously documents the terror that is jihad … an unparalleled documentary history of nearly fourteen centuries of jihad, and of the non-Muslims who have been subjugated as a result of that relentless campaign. His account is a sober warning of the mortal challenge posed to free societies by the ongoing jihad of the militants.”
— National Review
“Bostom’s 759-page volume … could be called ‘Everything Westerners Need to Know about Jihad—But are Afraid to Ask.’ Often letting the jihadists’ ferocious words speak for themselves, the book chronicles thirteen centuries’ worth of Islamic attempts to conquer and slaughter non-Muslims. The scholarly articles and original documents—some published in English for the first time —debunk the popular ahistorical, superficial explanations for the current Islamicist terror wave … [an] invaluable volume.”
— Canadian Jewish News