The Amazon.com review section has never been a bastion of keen observation and rectitude, although Amazon is generally conscientious about removing defamatory and slanderous reviews. However, a Jihad Watch reader has pointed out this review to me, which unashamedly lies about the contents of my new book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades). The reviewer, “Andrew High ‘T De C’ (Durham, NC USA)” says:
The five pillars of islam do not include “Jihad.” This is the fundamental error in this text. It allows Spencer to paint all muslims as warmongering fanatics.
Of course, I do not say in The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) or anywhere else that jihad is one of the five pillars of Islam, or that all Muslims are warmongering fanatics. Later on this guy says that “It’s not politically correct to recognize that all Muslims are not terrorists,” and of course I do not say in the book or anywhere else that all Muslims are terrorists either.
Anyone who did say such things, of course, would show himself to be ignorant of Islam and fanatical in hatred of it — which is how “Andrew High” is trying to portray me. But since he can’t find those things in my actual writings, he just makes something up.
I guess I’m naive in some ways. It took my breath away that someone would lie so cannily about the contents of the book — clearly he wants very much to lead readers away from it, and how better to do so than by misrepresenting me as having made statements that are obviously, howlingly false?
So I complained to Amazon.com and got this reply:
We understand your concern, but the review you mention doesn’t fall outside of our guidelines. In order to help customers make informed buying decisions, we are interested in cultivating a
diversity of opinion in our reviews. Part and parcel of that is
allowing our customers to air their honest thoughts about items.
Well, all right. But how could this man be airing his honest thoughts when what he says is so patently dishonest?
The moral of the story, and the reason why I am writing this entry, has nothing to do with me or my book. It is that the topic of Islamic jihad is blanketed by deceivers, and that they are as clever and persistent as any the world has ever seen: they have taken Muhammad’s dictum that “war is deceit” and run with it. I have tried to expose many of these deceptions at Dhimmi Watch, but the positive reception accorded to CAIR’s loophole-laden fatwa indicates that they are still largely successful. And as long as that continues, we are all that much more at risk.