The Fate of Abraham
Why the West is Wrong about Islam
Published on 12. May 2022
528 pages
978-1-3985-0104-1 (ISBN)
Description
As the Cold War faded into history, it appeared to have been replaced by a new conflict - between Islam and the West. Or so we are told. After the events of 9/11 and the advent of the 'war on terror', this narrative seemed prophetic. But, as Peter Oborne reveals in this masterful new analysis, the concept of an existential clash between the two is a dangerous and destructive fantasy.
Based on rigorous historical research and forensic contemporary journalism that leads him frequently into war-torn states and bloody conflict zones, Oborne explains the myths, fabrications and downright lies that have contributed to this pernicious state of affairs. He shows how various falsehoods run deep, reaching back as far as the birth of Islam, and have then been repurposed for the modern day. Many in senior positions in governments across the West have suggested that Islam is trying to overturn our liberal values and even that certain Muslims are conspiring to take over the state, while Douglas Murray claims in his new book that we face a 'War on the West'. But in reality, these fears merely echo past debates, as we continue to repeat the pattern of seemingly wilful ignorance.
With murderous attacks on Muslims taking place from Bosnia in 1995 to China today, Oborne dismantles the falsehoods that lie behind them, and he opens the way to a clearer and more truthful mutual understanding that will benefit us all in the long run.
Based on rigorous historical research and forensic contemporary journalism that leads him frequently into war-torn states and bloody conflict zones, Oborne explains the myths, fabrications and downright lies that have contributed to this pernicious state of affairs. He shows how various falsehoods run deep, reaching back as far as the birth of Islam, and have then been repurposed for the modern day. Many in senior positions in governments across the West have suggested that Islam is trying to overturn our liberal values and even that certain Muslims are conspiring to take over the state, while Douglas Murray claims in his new book that we face a 'War on the West'. But in reality, these fears merely echo past debates, as we continue to repeat the pattern of seemingly wilful ignorance.
With murderous attacks on Muslims taking place from Bosnia in 1995 to China today, Oborne dismantles the falsehoods that lie behind them, and he opens the way to a clearer and more truthful mutual understanding that will benefit us all in the long run.
More details
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
04/2023
Simon & Schuster Ltd
€16.50
Available immediately
Book
05/2022
Simon & Schuster Ltd
€51.00
Article exhausted; check different version
Person
Peter Oborne is an award-winning writer, journalist and broadcaster who has worked for various newspapers, including the Spectator, the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph, where he was the chief political commentator until his resignation from the paper in 2015. He now writes for Middle East Eye. He is the author of numerous books, including The Rise of Political Lying (2005), Wounded Tiger (2014) and the Sunday Times bestseller The Assault on Truth (2021). He lives in Wiltshire.
Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Prologue
- Introduction
- Part One: The United States and Islam
- Chapter 1: The American Relationship With Islam
- The Holy Bible and its Impact
- Muslim Slaves
- The United States Fights its First Foreign Wars
- 'Manifest Destiny' Extends to the Middle East
- Chapter 2: The United States Acquires Muslim Subjects
- American Civilisation Reasserts Itself
- The Moros as American Indians
- Chapter 3: African Americans Rediscover Islam
- The Rediscovery of Islam by African Americans
- Freemasonry and Islam
- Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam
- The Impact of American Islam: an Assessment
- Chapter 4: Islam and the United States as a Global Superpower
- The Saudi Alliance
- The Second World War
- The Post-war Apogee of American Relations with Islam
- The US Turns Against Muslims
- Chapter 5: Apocalypse Imminent: God's Plan for Israel
- Christian Zionism and the End of the World
- Christian Zionism and the Second World War
- Christian Zionism in the Post-war United States
- Billy Graham and his Influence
- Bestselling Apocalyptic Visions
- The Evangelicals Organise Politically
- Chapter 6: The Impact of 9/11
- Islamophobia in American Media
- Islam and the Intellectuals
- The '9/11 Monster Mosque' Hysteria
- Islam and Evangelicals
- The New Atheist Attack on Islam
- Chapter 7: The Assault on Islam
- Barack Obama and Muslims
- The Sharia Anti-Muslim Panics
- Counter-terrorism as an Industry after 9/11
- Chapter 8: Donald Trump and Islam
- Trump Enacts the Muslim Ban
- Trump Pays his Debt to Evangelical Voters
- The 2020 American Election and the Advent of Joe Biden
- The Biden Administration
- Conclusion to Part One
- Part Two: Britain and Islam
- Chapter 9: From Bede to Elizabeth I
- Onward Christian Soldiers!
- Trading with the Enemy
- The Ottomans: a New Islamic Enemy
- Queen Elizabeth I and Islam
- Multiple Identities of England's Early Muslims
- England and Muslims: Early Experience and Enquiry
- Chapter 10: The First Muslim Colonies
- Trade and Tolerance: the Message of John Locke
- England's First Muslim Colonies
- Britain's Initial Encounter with Islam in India
- Nabobs, Ayahs and Lascars
- Two 'Evil' Muslims
- Chapter 11: Islam and Empire
- The 'Indian Mutiny': British Fury Against Muslims
- Two Authors Who Gave British Children an Image of Muslims
- Muslims as Beneficiaries of British Divide-and-Rule
- Chapter 12: Britain and Islam, 1914-45
- Britain's 'Invisible' Muslim Empire
- Muslims in Interwar Britain
- Muslims in the Second World War
- Winston Churchill and Islam
- Churchill and India's Muslims
- Conclusion to Part Two
- Part Three: France and Islam
- Chapter 13: France as a Colonial Power
- France and its Islamic Empire
- Bonaparte's Muslim conquest
- French Colonial Rule in Algeria
- Morocco and Tunisia
- Chapter 14: France's Colonial Legacy
- North African Muslim Immigration into France
- Islam as a Threat to the French State
- Civil War in Algeria
- Back to Mainland France
- Clash of Civilisations
- Part Four: The Enemy Within
- Chapter 15: The Cold War on Islam
- Good and Bad Muslims
- Dusting Down the Information Research Department
- The Propaganda War Against British Muslims
- Careers for Ex-Islamists
- Quilliam and Tommy Robinson
- A Cold War Legacy
- Chapter 16: Policy Exchange: How a Neo-conservative Think Tank Defined British Muslims
- Policy Exchange and British Muslims
- A Portrait of Dean Godson
- The Invention of Non-violent Extremism
- Chapter 17: The Conservative Party and British Islam
- Warsi vs Gove
- The New McCarthyism
- Conclusion
- Chapter 18: The Trojan Horse Affair
- Banned for Life
- The Truth about Trojan Horse
- The Clarke Report Exposed
- Lessons of the Trojan Horse Affair
- Chapter 19: A False Narrative about Muslim 'Grooming Gangs'
- The Role of The Times
- Unleashing the Far Right
- The 'Grooming Gang' Narrative
- Islamic Teaching on Child Rape
- Moral Panic
- Chapter 20: 'I Have Been Called an Extremist, an Islamist, a Terrorist - All the Ists'
- The story of Mohammed Ali Harrath
- A Note on Terrorism
- Part Five: Fate of Abraham
- Chapter 21: Huntington's Bloody Borders
- Baquba 2005
- Darfur 2006
- Peshawar 2008
- Mindanao 2009
- Nigeria 2010
- Syria 2014
- Turkey 2017
- Myanmar 2017
- Srebrenica 2017
- Islamabad 2021
- Conclusion: The Fate of Abraham
- Hebron
- A False Prophecy
- Reclaiming Our Common Humanity
- Further Reading
- Timeline
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- Index
- Copyright
