middle east

With care and nuance, Lewis gives a panoramic description of Islam's history and its challenge in the face of the success of today's secular world. The steady decline of Islamic civilization has left the Muslim in a state of crisis as the world has moved beyond anything imagined by his religious mindset.

How does one deal with one's place in the world where one feels humiliated and impoverished? There are two possibilities. One can rationally assess the failure of one's culture or irrationally blame some foreign scapegoat for one's place in the world. In today's politically correct multicultural academia, criticism of other cultures is discouraged. When foreign students study in the West, they are told that they are victims.

Lewis has been attacked for honestly focusing on the failures of foreign cultures - which are presented in conjunction with the failures of our response. Lewis, always the gentleman, calmly argues his position. And his arguments are reasonable. One cannot come to grips with the issue of Islam in today's world without knowledge of the work of Bernard Lewis.

Nevertheless, I still believe that Lewis is not fully critical of his subject - which after a lifetime of study may seem more "understandable" that merits the case. One may want to compare this book to works by Ibn Warraq and Serge Trifkovic.

this book is really a review of some important differences between islam and the west - eg, attitudes to women - but it doesn't answer the question it poses. why, for example, did western science surpass islamic science? lewis doesn't say. why did islam's attempts to compete economically with the west ultimately fail? the answer is obliquely hinted at but never satisfactorily explained. instead, lewis spends an inordinate amount of time on social and cultural issues - ie, the role of women, islamic reaction to western literature and art, etc. while this is interesting stuff, i don't think anyone would argue that the west prevailed because it treated women better, or that islam declined because muslims didn't read shakespeare! this isn't to belittle social and cultural factors, only to emphasize that it takes money and knowledge (and arms) to supplant a great empire like islam. "money makes the world go round" is the old saying. it's here that the most important reason for islam's decline lies.

lewis also places too much of the blame on islam. he completely ignores the complicity of the west, especially in the colonial and cold war eras, not to mention its continued involvement in middle east politics and economics. it's true, as lewis says, that islam had already been in decline for centuries by the time the "infidels" invaded. but this doesn't mean the west hasn't played a big role in islam's continued problems.

the book is a useful counterweight to the usual reason thrown up to explain islam's decline, namely, western imperialism. and i think some of the answer does lie in some of the points he raises. but to get the whole answer, you'll have to look elsewhere.

Indeed there is nothing wrong with this great book! It is highly to be recommended as essential reading on what is going on in the Middle East today. Christopher Catherwood, author of CHURCHILL'S FOLLY: HOW WINSTON CHURCHILL CREATED IRAQ (Carroll and Graf 2004)