Infinite Monkeys

A War Congress Disengaged: A Jihad Reading List

Dean Barnett posed a fair question to Republican aspirants to the congressional leadership. "What books have you read about Islamic terrorism against America and the West?"

The answers, as Barnett reports, were discouraging.

"I find it almost inconceivable that our most highly ranking elected officials are so intellectually incurious that they haven’t bothered getting themselves up to speed on the most pressing issue of our day."

Our friend Dean is too kind. Perhaps the operative word in the previous paragraph is "almost." I am not surprised in the least that the upper echelon (such as it is) of Republican leadership does not read more than the briefs their able staffers place under their noses. Who has the time, what with all the fundraising and gladhanding?

With that in mind, here is a list of must-read books for Republican staffers. Maybe a bit of wisdom will filter up to their bosses...

• The Losing Battle with Islam, by David Selbourne.

• God's Terrorists: The Wahhabi Cult And the Hidden Roots of Modern Jihad, by Charles Allen.

• The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global , by Fawaz A. Gerges.

• Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies Against America, by Walid Phares.

• Islam at the Crossroads: Understanding Its Beliefs, History, and Conflicts, by Paul A. Marshall, Roberta Green and Lela Gilbert.

• Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden, edited by Bruce Lawrence.

• The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror, by Bernard Lewis.

• The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims, edited by Andrew G. Bostom.

• The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims, edited by Robert Spencer.

• No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, by Reza Aslan.

For advanced students:

• A History of Islamic Philosophy, by Majid Fakhry.

• The River War, by Winston Churchill.

• A History of the Crusades, by Steven Runciman.

• The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon.

Oh, and, of course, the Koran, the Hadith and the Sunna. But that really should go without saying. Shouldn't it?

Posted by H.L. Monkey at November 15, 2006 10:18 PM