Bin Laden, Islam, and America's New "War on Terrorism"

by As'ad AbuKhalil

Lebanese scholar As'ad AbuKhalil examines the roots of the September 11 crisis, the causes for antipathy toward the United States, and the historical relations between the U.S. and the Islamic world. AbuKhalil also reviews the background of U.S. entanglement with the Middle East, and how it catalyzed militant fundamentalist networks that came to perceive the United States as an enemy. Beginning with an introduction on the legacy of Western misconceptions about Islam and Arabs, the book focuses on Islamic fundamentalism and U.S. foreign policy, and the way both polarize the world into a "good and evil" "with us or against us" view. Drawing heavily from Arabic language sources, AbuKhalil discusses the rise of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, the Saudi connection, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the regional implications of the American "War On Terrorism."

Genres: Politics, Terrorism, Middle East, History

112 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 2002

Reviews

[Rami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I quite recently discovered the talented professor and political commentator, As'ad AbuKhalil, about a year ago; when he was brought on to a show to analyze and break down the sociopolitical/economic situation in Lebanon.

Since then, his fiery unfiltered way of speaking got me interested in learning more about him until I discovered that he was also a proficient writer and author. This book is structured and worded very similarly to his articles which thankfully made it an enticing and fast read.

I was not even alive when the twin towers went down, so my knowledge regarding the time period is a tad incomplete. AbuKhalil helped fill in that gap in my knowledge as he laid out the main tenants regarding the circumstances back then along with multiple key observations.

From America's history in the Middle East, to Osama Bin Laden's upbringing & ideological roots, to the double standards in foreign policy which bred Arab animosity towards the U.S. this book is an excellent introduction to the turmoulous "War on Terror" age of West Asia.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic critique of America that offers a much needed but rarely received complete denunciation of American foreign policy. Gives an important perspective behind the islamophobic and anti-Arab western media, and totally condemns American media and politicians for their ignorance and outright hatred towards the Middle East and Arab peoples post-9/11, and the hypocrisies of the American government in their arbitrary applications of human rights and the label ‘terrorism’.

[Caitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorite writers and speakers. In the clusterfuck that is American foreign policy towards the Middle East, he keeps a logical (though extremely angry) view.

[Asher Burns · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suppose it provided helpful perspective, and I actually did learn some things.

But probably 75% of the time AbuKhalil ventured an opinion - which was the whole point of the book and therefore a common occurence - I found myself disagreeing with him. There were some good-faith differences of opinion, and some where I think he is unfair at best. The book is riddled with inconsistency and hypocrisy. It also could have done with a more robust editing process: I found a number of typos, at least one inarguably incorrect fact (Hasan Turabi held a degree from the University of London, not Oxford), and there's an endnote that inexplicably goes missing when you turn to the endnotes page, which then throws all the numbers off.