Since 9/11 there has been a flood of books on the nature of Islamo-fascism and the crisis in the Middle East and elsewhere in the Muslim world. Readers interested in this subject, and we think everyone should be, need to sit down with Ken Timmerman's Preachers of Hate: Islam and the War on America.
Actually the title is a little misleading because Timmerman's main topic is the resurgence of anti-semitism in the Arab world, Europe, and in certain precincts in the United States. Unlike the twentieth century outbreak of this irrational and virulent disease, the more recent renascence is not confined to the uneducated, marginal, skinhead right. The real danger today is that in Europe and America it is a contagion infecting primarily the sophisticated and influential elites on the ideological Left.
The depth and intensity of anti-Jewish hatred that exists in the Arab world and elsewhere is stunning, and Timmerman presents us with all the evidence. He also does a masterful job of exposing the murders and corruption of Yasser Arafat (The book came out before Arafat's death) who had stolen millions of dollars from the Palestinian people and been directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Israelis. He explains, too, the genesis of al Qaida and Osama bin Laden's rise to influence and the motivations behind his ascendancy.
Along the way he unmasks some of the Islamo-fascist's American and European sympathizers, most notably Noam Chomsky on the Left and Grover Norquist on the Right. It may seem odd that the Left is so sympathetic to a fascist movement, but as Timmerman reminds us, Left and Right meet at the bottom, and the bottom is their mutual hatred for Jews in general and Israel in particular.
Despite being densely packed with facts and difficult Arab names the book is quite readable and in some places it's riveting. His description of a suicide bombing at a wedding reception in Israel is almost as fascinating as it is heart-rending.
The message that Timmerman illustrates and documents throughout the book is that modern radical Islam is not just at war with Israel. It is at war with the entire Western world. It is a war fueled by hatred for our values, our freedoms, our view of social justice, our belief in tolerance, our separation of church and state. It is a war that the Islamists will fight until Israel is destroyed, all Jews are dead, and all Americans and Europeans are either dead or converts to Islam. If you think this is too strong an indictment then you really must read Preachers of Hate.
Copies can be ordered through our favorite bookseller Hearts and Minds Bookstore.
