Books on Islam and jihad

Recommended Books to Understand Jihad and Dhimmitude

Books by Jihad Watch Director Robert Spencer

The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran

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What they’re saying about “The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran”:

“Meticulous, comprehensive, indispensable. ‘I read the Koran so you don’t have to,’ Spencer writes, but even for those of us who have read the Koran, this is a richly illuminating work.”
— Bruce Bawer, author of Surrender: Appeasing Islam, Sacrificing Freedom and While Europe Slept

“Governing officials and media spokesmen may ignore Spencer’s warnings, but they do so at their own risk, because Islamic jihadists are not ignoring what’s in the Koran, and are working to destroy our freedoms in obedience to Koranic dictates. In illuminating for Westerners exactly what the Koran teaches, Spencer has performed a valuable service in the defense of Western civilization against the Islamic jihad.”
— Geert Wilders, Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Party for Freedom (PVV), the Netherlands

“Unlike most of today’s self-styled experts, Robert Spencer won’t tell you that ‘slay the idolaters wherever you find them’ really means ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ In The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran, Spencer shows once again that he is America’s most informed, fearless, and compelling voice on modern jihadism, insisting that we come to grips with the words behind the ideology that fuels international terror.”
— Andrew C. McCarthy, senior fellow at the National Review Institute and author of Willful Blindness: A Memoir of the Jihad

“Robert Spencer incarnates intellectual courage when, all over the world, governments, intellectuals, churches, universities and media crawl under a hegemonic Universal Caliphate’s New Order. His achievement in the battle for the survival of free speech and dignity of man will remain as a fundamental monument to the love of, and the self-sacrifice for, liberty. In our epoch of intellectual jihadism, this honest book is essential to understand the challenges of the twenty-first century.”
— Bat Ye’or, author of Eurabia; The Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam and Islam and Dhimmitude

“Tony Blair calls the Koran ‘progressive [and] humanitarian’ but Robert Spencer has actually read the scripture and begs to differ. In an informed, sardonic antidote to the usual soft-peddling of the Koran, he concludes that its actual contents should alarm infidels and prompt them to defend their ‘freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the legal equality of all people.’”
— Daniel Pipes, director, Middle East Forum

“For 1,400 years Muslim leadership spread misinformation and covered up what is in the Koran, even criminalizing exposing the truth or asking questions. The truth is too scary for many, both Muslims and non-Muslims. I thank Robert Spencer for bringing the truth of what is in the Koran to non-Muslims.”
— Nonie Darwish, ex-Muslim and author of Now They Call Me Infidel

“This book is an incisive analysis of how Islamic jihadists read the Koran and understand it to be commanding them to wage war against non-Muslims. Military and intelligence analysts, as well as all Americans interested in protecting our freedoms, will find The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran to be a valuable guide to the thought processes and core beliefs of Muslim terrorists.”
— Steven Emerson, author of American Jihad

Stealth Jihad

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What they’re saying about “Stealth Jihad”:

“Robert Spencer makes a solid case that the major threat to our way of life does not come solely from those radical Islamists who embrace violence and terrorism. It also comes from those who do not accept that they must live side-by-side on a basis of equality with those of other faiths in a civil society and who instead work in multiple ways toward obtaining special standing for Islam in our society and, ultimately, toward theocracy. A vital wake-up call of a book.”
— R. James Woolsey, former director of Central Intelligence

“Stealth Jihad puts a provocative hypothesis to the test of empirical reality with forcefulness and clarity. Many will disagree with this-including our likely next president and vice president-but the burden is now on them to disprove this book.”
— John Bolton, former U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations

“Robert Spencer’s Stealth Jihad proves that radical Muslims try to subvert America, not only by terror attacks but by a whole range of other tactics. Robert Spencer wrote an indispensable document for all people who want to know the truth about jihad and the Islamic effort to take over the West.”
— Geert Wilders, member of the Dutch parliament and producer of the short film Fitna

“With his signature research, accuracy, and boldness, Robert Spencer has written a pioneering survey of the ‘stealth jihad’ whose ambition and subtlety threaten the continuity of Western civilization.”
— Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University

“Robert Spencer has written the definitive book on radical jihadists. It’s a brilliant and remarkable analysis and exposé of how Western society has succumbed corruptively to intimidation and appeasement and the demands of radical Islam. This book is a MUST READ for anyone wanting to know the truth about radical Islam’s threat to the West and to moderate Muslims.”
— Steven Emerson, author of American Jihad: The Terrorists Living among Us

“Legions of jihadists are determined to advance the cause of a universally dominant Islam-not just by violence, but by encroaching Islamic law and custom through litigation, political correctness, and exploitation of the West’s crisis of confidence. In exposing this agenda, no writer has been more fearless, relentless, and effective than Robert Spencer. In Stealth Jihad he unfolds the comprehensive threat as well as it’s ever been done.”
— Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review legal affairs editor and bestselling author of Willful Blindness: A Memoir of the Jihad

“In Stealth Jihad, Robert Spencer has performed an invaluable public service. He has ‘connected the dots’ on the enemy within, the Fifth Column that the Muslim Brotherhood and its foreign enablers have established in America — and other nations of the West — to advance the seditious program they call Sharia. This book should be required reading for every government official — and everyone else committed to the survival of our country in the face of this ominous threat.”
— Frank Gaffney, founder and president of the Center for Security Policy

Religion of Peace?

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What they’re saying about “Religion of Peace?”:

“Brilliantly written and argued, Religion of Peace? is the perfect book to give liberals who fervently believe that Christianity is as dangerous — if not more dangerous — than Islam. Robert Spencer skewers the liberals’ paranoid and suicidal hatred of Christianity while reminding us how they ignore the real threat: Islamic jihadists with bombs. This splendid book demonstrates that what Islamic terrorists hate about the West is not its MTV, not the easy availability of pornography and abortion, but its Christian tradition. This goes a long way toward explaining why liberals never wanted to fight this war in the first place. Spencer’s book is well written, heavily researched, and a clarion call to America to wake up and fight back.”
— Ann Coulter

“It took guts to write this book. And Robert Spencer has them to spare. He also has the scholarship, expertise, and passion to cut through the clichés and expose the jihadist cult for what it is. This is a long overdue, in-depth refutation of the Islam-is-a-religion-of-peace tommyrot. Spencer also cogently explains why Jews and Christians need to stand together against the growing menace of a creed that targets adherents of both faiths. If there were a Nobel Prize for demolishing inanities, I’d nominate Robert Spencer.”
— Don Feder, writer and media consultant

“If you are sick of attacks on the West, tired of Judeo-Christian-bashing, and unwilling to succumb to jihad-friendly propaganda, buy this book and spread the word. Robert Spencer’s latest salvo — careful, thorough, and meticulously researched as always — offers a crash course comparison of the history and teachings of Christianity and Islam. Conclusion: ‘No, Virginia, not all religions are equal.’ Armed with facts and fearlessness, Spencer stands up for Western civilization. How about you?”
— Michelle Malkin, bestselling author

“Robert Spencer’s meticulously researched and powerfully argued book counters the moral equivalence arguments that attempt to excuse or divert attention from the actions of radical Islamic jihadists by attacking Christianity, Judeo-Christian civilization, and the West. In Religion of Peace? Spencer critically examines the history and teachings of Islam, the history of Muslim anti-Semitism, and Muslim views of Christianity, and in so doing helps us better understand the ideological background of the anti-Semitic and anti-Western hatred and violence that the Islamic jihadists espouse. Spencer’s thought-provoking book persuasively demonstrates the ways in which Western civilization, rooted as it is in the Judeo-Christian tradition, is profoundly different from the model of society dictated by Islamic sharia. Rich in its insights and analysis, this is a book that should be read and appreciated by Christians and Jews alike.”
— Rabbi David G. Dalin, author of The Myth of Hitler’s Pope

The Truth About Muhammad

NYT Bestseller

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What they’re saying about “The Truth About Muhammad”:

“Intrepid Robert Spencer continues his quest to dispel myths, cure ignorance, and open our eyes to hard truths about Islam. Spencer trades platitudes for scholarship; delusions for reality. If we are going to win ‘the War on Terror,’ we need to know how Muhammad really lived — and why he endures as the inspiration for global jihad. This book is a threat to ‘religion of peace’ propaganda that lulls the West into submission. Strike a blow for survival: buy it.”
— Michelle Malkin, nationally syndicated columnist and bestselling author of Unhinged, In Defense of Internment, and Invasion

“At a time when, even in the West, the pious narrative of Muhammad has gained a near-hegemonic hold, Robert Spencer offers a rare skeptical biography and interpretation of the prophet of Islam. Relying exclusively on Islamic sources, The Truth About Muhammad argues that, for fourteen hundred years, the ‘words and deeds of Muhammad have been moving Muslims to commit acts of violence.’”
— Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum and author of Slave Soldiers and Islam

“With boldness and courage, Spencer examines one of the most controversial subjects of our time. His extensive scholarship and clear style, together with his forceful argumentation, explain the complexities of contemporary politics. This fascinating book is essential reading to understand the crucial issues of the twenty-first century.”
— Bat Ye’or, author of Islam and Dhimmitude and Eurabia

“One of the chief merits of Spencer’s biography of Muhammad is that he relies entirely on the earliest extant Arabic sources, and if the picture that emerges of the Prophet of Islam is far from flattering, Muslims, at least, cannot complain that it is a portrait painted by the enemy or infidels. Unfortunately, much of the subsequent bloody history of Islam can be said to derive from the example set by its founder: his intolerance of non-Muslims, his anti-Jewish sentiments, his attitude to women, all are attested to in the Islamic sources. Thanks to Spencer’s biography, we can no longer pretend that Islamic fundamentalism is an aberrant form of Islam. The seeds of violence and intolerance are already there in Seventh Century Arabia, and in the life of Muhammad.”
— Ibn Warraq, author of Why I Am Not A Muslim and editor of What the Koran Really Says, The Quest for the Historical Mohammed and Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)

NYT Bestseller

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What they’re saying about “The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)”:

“To win the War on Terror, we must understand our enemies. The courageous and indefatigable Robert Spencer busts myths and tells truths about jihadists that no one else will tell. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) is indispensable reading.”
— Michelle Malkin, author, In Defense of Internment

“With a provocative and irreverent style, Robert Spencer assails, with much erudition, the taboos imposed by the Politically Correct League. A daring tonic that teaches fundamental truths.”
— Bat Ye’or, author, Eurabia and The Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam

“The jihad that the Western world faces today is identical in its motivations and goals to that which Europe managed to stave off almost a thousand years ago thanks in large part to the Crusades of which the West is now ashamed. In this book, Robert Spencer tells the truth that few in the U.S. or Europe wish to face. Today’s jihad, as Spencer illustrates here, is proceeding on two fronts: one of violence and terror, and another of cultural shaming and the rewriting of history. Here is a devastating riposte to that revisionism — and a clarion call for the defense of the West, before it is too late.”
— Ibn Warraq, author of Why I Am Not A Muslim and editor of Leaving Islam and What the Koran Really Says

“The value of Spencer’s book is twofold. He reminds us of the consequences of our failure to come to grips with the message and implications of Islam. And he warns against the spirit of masochistic self-loathing that permeates the Western elite class. In a sane world Spencer’s recommendations — notably that the upholders of sharia should be treated as political radicals and subjected to appropriate supervision — would not be deemed ‘politically incorrect’ but eminently sensible.”
— Serge Trifkovic, author, Sword of the Prophet

“With the 2005 ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ movie trying to visualize the actual scenes that occurred between European Crusaders and Arab Muslim armies in the Middle Ages, the whole issue of the clash of civilizations came back to haunt politicians. Traditional historians used to relate facts. Politicized historians, such as Amine Maalouf, insisted that Western Crusaders were evil, and their enemies were righteous. Robert Spencer, an expert on historical Jihad, responds with a ‘politically incorrect’ but academically sound and challenging work. Spencer displays an enormous amount of well-researched material. He throws the ball back into the camp of Arabist historians.”
— Walid Phares, author, Lebanese Christian Nationalism: The Rise and Fall of an Ethnic Resistance

“Sweeping away the politically correct myths about a tolerant, peaceful Islam brutalized by demonic Christian Crusaders, Robert Spencer in this powerful, important book lets the facts of history speak for themselves. The truth he recovers is simple: an aggressive, violent Islamic creed for fourteen centuries has waged war against the infidel West, a scourge of conquest and persecution that roused the Crusaders to restore the Near East to the Christian and Hellenic culture devastated by the armies of Islam. Spencer’s rousing, straight-talking book is a much-needed antidote to the poisonous propaganda that compromises our current battle against jihadist murder.”
— Bruce S. Thornton, author, Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization

The Myth of Islamic Tolerance

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What they’re saying about “The Myth of Islamic Tolerance”:

“Original articles, primary source documents, and in-depth study contribute to The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims, a hard-hitting, critical assessment of Islamic teachings and practices regarding non-Muslim minorities, exploring a human rights issue which rarely receives in-depth press. The world’s leading authorities on the issue of Islamic religion and social history appear under one cover, exposing the legal superstructure which has treated non-Muslims in Muslim societies as oppressed peoples, and showing how the effects of discriminatory attitudes continue to affect Muslim societies today. Expertly compiled and deftly edited by Robert Spencer, The Myth Of Islamic Tolerance is a powerful, hard-hitting probe.”
— Midwest Book Review

“Anyone in doubt about the rules of the game should read a new book edited by Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch, The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims (Prometheus Books). Spencer and a fine collection of knowledgeable authors unmask the enemies of freedom and document how much of the West is being duped into believing that the radicals are part of a “fringe” and that the overwhelming majority of Muslims wish no one harm and seek to live at peace with all.”
— Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist

“Robert Spencer has here assembled a collection of documents devastating to PC myth and multiculturalist wishful thinking. Anyone concerned about the dangers of politically motivated distortions of Islamic theology and history should not miss this explosive and enlightening volume.”
— Jeffrey Rubin, editor, Conservative Book Club

“A necessary corrective to the prevailing opinion fostered among academics by Karen Armstrong, Abou El Fadl, et al. that Islam is a religion of peace, justice, and tolerance. The work brings to light the total suppression of human rights in Islamic society, the true meaning of jihad (armed conflict against all nonbelievers), and the horrors of dhimmitude (life for Christians and Jews under Islamic law). It should be required reading for all those who seek a true understanding of the socioreligious basis for the rise of Osama bin Laden and his network of international Islamic terror.”
— Paul L. Williams, author, Osama’s Revenge

Onward Muslim Soldiers

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What they’re saying about “Onward Muslim Soldiers”:

“This is an amazing book. Brilliantly argued and meticulously documented, this book contains a devastating expose of the murderous deceit behind contemporary apologists for militant Islam — in the media, political arena, academia and ‘mainstream’ radical Islamic groups. Read this book to learn why Islamic extremism is dangerously entrenched within the institutional Islamic leadership in Saudi Arabia and the United States.”
— Steven Emerson, author of American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us and Director of the Investigative Project

“To understand the ideological sources of the terrorist enemy, read Robert Spencer’s succinct, knowledgeable, and important book, Onward Muslim Soldiers. His systematic survey of such vital topics as radical Islam’s aspirations, its unlikely alliance with the far left, and the need to encourage a moderate Islamic alternative are all valuable. But Spencer’s signal contribution is his focus on the ‘global threat to the West’ that so many Western analysts and policymakers persistently refuse to see: jihad, or sacred war for Islam. There is no more important topic for citizens to comprehend.”
— Daniel Pipes, author, Militant Islam Reaches America

“This book is a necessary tool for students of History, Politics, Civilization and Ideologies. Spencer takes the reader into the world of Islamic Fundamentalism to show not only how the world views it, but how it views the world. While most experts on Islam and the Middle East focus on a narrow interpretation of Jihadist actions around the world, Spencer connects the dots and opens our eyes to the big picture. This book is a must read for all those who want to understand the world after September 11.”
— Walid Phares, professor of Middle East Studies and Religious Conflict at Florida Atlantic University

“Robert Spencer’s latest book makes easy reading due to his immense scholarship. Written with brilliant intellectual honesty, it is an indispensable companion for reference, understanding and knowledge of a most crucial subject of our time.”
— Bat Ye’or, author, Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide; The Dhimmi: Jews & Christians Under Islam; and The Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam: From Jihad to Dhimmitude

“A ground-breaking and thoroughly researched work that courageously exposes the greatest danger to civilized existence in the twenty-first century: radical Islamism with its belligerent ideology of jihad and its demonstrated intolerance.”
— Habib C. Malik, Ph.D., a 1995 visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, author of Between Damascus and Jerusalem: Lebanon and Middle East Peace, and professor of history and cultural studies at the Lebanese American University in Beirut

“Onward Muslim Soldiers gives us a realistic and therefore disturbing assessment of the greatest threat to civilized life in the coming century. There will be many Westerners who will reject the author’s diagnosis of the jihadist malaise and his proposed therapy, in the name of ‘tolerance,’ ‘diversity,’ and ‘inclusiveness.’ They are like the Bourbons of old, learning nothing and forgetting everything. It is to be hoped that there will be many others who will heed Spencer’s wake-up call and respond by exerting pressure on their political leaders to act now, lest the remnant of the West is reduced to a reeking Camp of Saints.”
— Serge Trifkovic, author, Sword of the Prophet

“Onward Muslim Soldiers explains, clearly, scrupulously, meticulously, the central political tenets of Islam (not the tenets of ‘political Islam’), that make so many of its adherents such a threat to the entire non-Muslim world . . . Spencer cuts through the sentimentalism, fear, confusion, and ignorance in the West carefully exploited by Muslim apologists. . . . Onward Muslim Soldiers is the clearest and most intelligent guide to what the ‘war on terrorism’ really is: a war of self-defense, by non-Muslims, a war imperfectly understood and imperfectly articulated by those whose duty it is to instruct and to defend us against the Jihad.”
— Hugh Fitzgerald, Outpost

“Spencer offers detailed, referenced accounts of how militant Muslims are at work in the West, and how many Western sympathisers have been duped by their words of peace and tolerance. ... While we must do all we can to encourage Muslim moderation, we dare not ignore Muslim extremism. This book helps us to do both, and deserves a wide reading.”
— Bill Muehlenberg, NewsWeekly

Islam Unveiled

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What they’re saying about “Islam Unveiled”:

“Alarmingly cogent.”
— Booklist

“All readers will find it challenging, if not disturbing, as it provides insight into a rigid, fundamentalist Islamist view of the world.”
— Choice

“The questions Islam Unveiled poses and the answers it provides are hard to dismiss, and given the urgency of the times, necessary to ask.”
— National Review

“This is a bracing argument that can help Americans think through what might well turn out to be the greatest religious, cultural, and political conflict of this century.”
— Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, author of The Naked Public Square

“Robert Spencer has explained very ably some of the misconceptions about Islam. The reader will be greatly enriched in understanding Islam and how Muslims act, in the light of the attack on America.”
— Dr. Anis Shorrosh, author of Islam Revealed

“Heartily recommended to all those who want to understand the global challenge of Islam.”
— Bassam Madany, Middle East Resources

Inside Islam

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“No one who is beginning to confront the reality of Islam should be without this book.”
— Fr. Mitch Pacwa, host of EWTN Live and author, Catholics and the New Age

Book by Jihad Watch writer Raymond Ibrahim

The Al Qaeda Reader

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What they’re saying about “The Al Qaeda Reader”:

“The Al Qaeda Reader, simply by letting our enemies speak in their own voices, explodes the popular delusion that Western crimes and policies are responsible for the ‘distortion’ of Islam that al Qaeda represents....This means that the fight will be long and hard, that leaving Iraq or creating a Palestinian state will not buy peace, and that the side that accurately understands its enemy and has confidence in its own beliefs will ultimately triumph. Thanks to Raymond Ibrahim’s The Al Qaeda Reader, we have the means for achieving that understanding.”
— Bruce Thornton

“Every government official, every FBI agent, every DHS bureaucrat should have a copy.”
— Hugh Fitzgerald, Jihad Watch

“In this important collection of key Al Qaeda texts, Mr. Ibrahim has provided us with a glimpse of incendiary doctrine and convictions that clearly expose the reality of the enemy we are facing. It’s high time to heed the messages in these disturbing documents and counter this politico-religious movement that is anything but peaceful.”
— Janet Levy, FrontPageMagazine.com

“Raymond Ibrahim’s release The Al Qaeda Reader is a necessary addition to the scholarship of jihad.”
— Gary H. Johnson, Jr., The American Thinker

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