Tensions between the West and the Muslim world run high. Some Western media equate Muslims with fundamentalists - a serious error.
Nevertheless, in Muslim countries, anger with the West is widely seen as justified, particularly for the West's tolerance of injustices in Palestine. While grievances persist, there will be no shortage of willing Muslim martyrs, or Muslim attacks on Western targets.
What drives the Islamist agenda? How should Christians respond to aggressive Islam?
Islam itself tends towards fundamentalism. The Prophet Muhammad gained control of the holy site of Mecca by the sword. By the sword's equivalent today some Muslims seek to fulfil their interpretation of God's will. Dr Musk details the fundamentalist convictions, contemporary examples, and key figures, addressing central questions:
Where does authority lie in Islam?
How can reform movements develop?
How do "non-fundamentalist" Muslims view Islamists?
Can the West accommodate resurgent Islam?
Are all contemporary faiths streaked with a fundamentalist dye?
The Rev. Dr. Bill Musk studied history at Oxford and theology in London, Bristol, Los Angeles and Pretoria. He has worked with Operation Mobilization, Living Bibles International, Middle East Media, the Church Mission Society and the Episcopal Church in Egypt, and is now the minister of a multi-ethnic Anglican church in south-west London. He is also author of The Unseen Face of Islam.
Contents
Part One
Students at Large 21
World's Most Wanted Man 33
I'm Sorry, I'll Read that Again! 50
People Who Live in Glass Houses Shouldn't... 60
Roadside Harvest 70
Paradise Lost? 72
Out of the Frying Pan... 82
Part Two
Mastermind 93
A Bloody Affair 106
The Land of the Pure 109
By the Waters of Ismailiya 122
The Godfather " 131
Khadija's Freedom 143
A Passionate Affair 145
People's Darling 168
Peacock's Match 175
The Great Satan 183
The Government of God 185
Part Three
The Bottom Line 207
Tickets Please! 219
Points of View 222
Ruled Out? 233
Slaughterers' Apprentice 245
The Final Word 248
Appendices
Appendix 1: Transliteration 273
Appendix 2: An Introductory Bibliography 275
Appendix 3: Glossary 283
Appendix 4: A Brief Survey of Armed Muslim Groups 290
