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Preachers of Hate: Islam and the War on America
Like no book before it, Preachers of Hate uncovers an ancient hatred that threatens the life and livelihood of every American. The “new” anti-Semitism targets not only Jews, but Americans specifically and the West in general. It targets our values, our lifestyle, and our freedoms. It is the single most important issue we face when trying to make sense of the Arab world.
Most Americans will be stunned to discover the depth and extent of anti-Semitic hatred in today’s Middle East and Europe, and that many Muslim leaders are not just encouraging it, but spending a great deal of money to spread the lies that spawned the terrorists responsible for the September 11 attack on America. In Preachers of Hate, bestselling author Kenneth R. Timmerman (who is not Jewish) contends that, besides Islam itself, the core unifying force in the Muslim world is a virulent strain of anti-Semitism that postulates the existence of a Jewish conspiracy to take over the world. From the pulpits of fiery Muslim clerics to the Arab street, and to the highest reaches of government and state-sponsored media, there is a belief that this thousand-year-old conspiracy has already taken hold in America and is now, especially after the war in Iraq, about to do the same in the Middle East and beyond. It is seen as no less than Muslims’ historical destiny to prevent such a takeover, and to do so by any means possible. To misunderstand the ferocity of that belief is to vastly underestimate the resolve of many Muslims to repel America, Israel, and all things Western.
Timmerman explores the roots of this hatred, examining its history, the religious sources upon which it draws, and how it is being transmitted to young people growing up in Arab societies by their leaders, their teachers, and their mosques. He documents how U.S. and European Union money has been used to finance hatred in Palestinian schools. He exposes the double-talk of Arab leaders and their supporters in the West. As it so often was throughout history, this new strain of Jew hatred is really about much more than Jews. They get attacked first, when the enemies of America can’t attack Americans. However, what begins with the Jews never ends with the Jews.
“Is there a conspiracy between America and the Jews?” asks Timmerman. “Indeed there is: A common heritage, a dedication to improving the human condition through compassion and tolerance of differences—a conspiracy of freedom. And that is why they hate us.” As with the Jews throughout history, America has been “unfairly successful.” As have the Jews, Americans have “profited” from the misery and poverty of others. If you hate Jews, you must also hate America. Such is the simple logic of the anti-Semite. Such, increasingly, is the logic of the Middle East. It is a message that is reinforced day in and day out by the official government-sanctioned Arab media, from the streets of Egypt, London, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Paris, and Gaza, and in the mosques where impassioned clerics quote verbatim texts like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a pillar of anti-Semitic hatred that originated in czarist Russia.
As America reasserts her role in the Middle East and attempts to bring peace between Jews and Arabs, Preachers of Hate is an essential book that reframes a very complicated issue as a matter of life and death.
Most Americans will be stunned to discover the depth and extent of anti-Semitic hatred in today’s Middle East and Europe, and that many Muslim leaders are not just encouraging it, but spending a great deal of money to spread the lies that spawned the terrorists responsible for the September 11 attack on America. In Preachers of Hate, bestselling author Kenneth R. Timmerman (who is not Jewish) contends that, besides Islam itself, the core unifying force in the Muslim world is a virulent strain of anti-Semitism that postulates the existence of a Jewish conspiracy to take over the world. From the pulpits of fiery Muslim clerics to the Arab street, and to the highest reaches of government and state-sponsored media, there is a belief that this thousand-year-old conspiracy has already taken hold in America and is now, especially after the war in Iraq, about to do the same in the Middle East and beyond. It is seen as no less than Muslims’ historical destiny to prevent such a takeover, and to do so by any means possible. To misunderstand the ferocity of that belief is to vastly underestimate the resolve of many Muslims to repel America, Israel, and all things Western.
Timmerman explores the roots of this hatred, examining its history, the religious sources upon which it draws, and how it is being transmitted to young people growing up in Arab societies by their leaders, their teachers, and their mosques. He documents how U.S. and European Union money has been used to finance hatred in Palestinian schools. He exposes the double-talk of Arab leaders and their supporters in the West. As it so often was throughout history, this new strain of Jew hatred is really about much more than Jews. They get attacked first, when the enemies of America can’t attack Americans. However, what begins with the Jews never ends with the Jews.
“Is there a conspiracy between America and the Jews?” asks Timmerman. “Indeed there is: A common heritage, a dedication to improving the human condition through compassion and tolerance of differences—a conspiracy of freedom. And that is why they hate us.” As with the Jews throughout history, America has been “unfairly successful.” As have the Jews, Americans have “profited” from the misery and poverty of others. If you hate Jews, you must also hate America. Such is the simple logic of the anti-Semite. Such, increasingly, is the logic of the Middle East. It is a message that is reinforced day in and day out by the official government-sanctioned Arab media, from the streets of Egypt, London, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Paris, and Gaza, and in the mosques where impassioned clerics quote verbatim texts like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a pillar of anti-Semitic hatred that originated in czarist Russia.
As America reasserts her role in the Middle East and attempts to bring peace between Jews and Arabs, Preachers of Hate is an essential book that reframes a very complicated issue as a matter of life and death.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth R. Timmerman
21 books22 followersMy first Middle East reporting trip took me to Beirut in July 1982, and I've been going back ever since. I've lived in Egypt and Lebanon, have worked with freedom fighters in Iran and Iraq, and been held hostage by Muslim terrorists in a war zone. You can read an illustrated bio here or download a 1-page author's bio here.
My latest book, And the Rest is History, is a real life adventure story of how I became a hostage, an arms dealer, and an Israeli spy. Dennis Prager called it "a relentlessly interesting book." In my day job, I help victims of terrorism fight the state-sponsors who murdered their loved ones.
I was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize by the former deputy prime minister of Sweden, Per Ahlmark, for my work in exposing Iran's nuclear weapons program.
My latest book, And the Rest is History, is a real life adventure story of how I became a hostage, an arms dealer, and an Israeli spy. Dennis Prager called it "a relentlessly interesting book." In my day job, I help victims of terrorism fight the state-sponsors who murdered their loved ones.
I was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize by the former deputy prime minister of Sweden, Per Ahlmark, for my work in exposing Iran's nuclear weapons program.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 29, 2019
Written with an obvious bias against Islam, but still deeply chilling. Picked it up on a whim at my local library. "Islam and the War on America" is a slightly misleading title, however: "Islam and the War on Everybody Who's Not Muslim" is more accurate.
Plenty of anecdotal knowledge in this book, but I didn't really glean any new insights into the nature of Islam. Average book. 3/5.
Plenty of anecdotal knowledge in this book, but I didn't really glean any new insights into the nature of Islam. Average book. 3/5.
October 14, 2019
Two nuggets of inestimable value surfaced in this book for me. First, it is the realization that the stupefying double-speak of so many Islamic voices is made possible by the fact that they say different things in English than they say in Arabic. The answer to this problem, as Timmerman so powerfully proves, is MEMRI (The Middle East Media and Research Institute). MEMRI is a translation service that publishes transcripts in English of articles, book excerpts, speeches, TV and radio programs, sermons, pamphlets, and school books from throughout the Middle East. Wow! I continue to be amazed and horrified by the things being said across the Arab world.
The second little gem that emerged from this important book is this question: what standards of scholarship exist in the Muslim world that would allow men of advanced degrees, academicians, professors, journalists, heads of state and leaders of the most important institutions of society to believe and disseminate such an absurd collection of wacko, lunatic theories that now consume the fetid minds of the Islamic world. From the utterly stupid, but widely reported stories of Jews distributing AIDS laced chewing gum to children; to the foolish notion of Jewish blood pastries; to the newest idiocy to sweep the universities of Islam: Holocaust Denial. It is as if entire nations were being led by the most ignorant collections of back-woods, hood-wearing, good old boys who, instead of being rejected utterly for their racism and stupidity are given credence and legitimacy on the world's stage. Does the King of Saudi Arabia also believe that the moon is made of cheese? Are the Universities of Egypt convening symposia to discuss why ships don't fall when they reach the edge of the flat earth? And exactly how many Syrian Generals does it take to screw in a light bulb?
The Truth matters and the world is burning wherever silly men are allowed to tell lies to support their irrational hatred of Jews or Israel or Bush or the US or (insert object of hatred by lunatic fringe conspiracy theorists here). Read Timmerman and be amazed.
The second little gem that emerged from this important book is this question: what standards of scholarship exist in the Muslim world that would allow men of advanced degrees, academicians, professors, journalists, heads of state and leaders of the most important institutions of society to believe and disseminate such an absurd collection of wacko, lunatic theories that now consume the fetid minds of the Islamic world. From the utterly stupid, but widely reported stories of Jews distributing AIDS laced chewing gum to children; to the foolish notion of Jewish blood pastries; to the newest idiocy to sweep the universities of Islam: Holocaust Denial. It is as if entire nations were being led by the most ignorant collections of back-woods, hood-wearing, good old boys who, instead of being rejected utterly for their racism and stupidity are given credence and legitimacy on the world's stage. Does the King of Saudi Arabia also believe that the moon is made of cheese? Are the Universities of Egypt convening symposia to discuss why ships don't fall when they reach the edge of the flat earth? And exactly how many Syrian Generals does it take to screw in a light bulb?
The Truth matters and the world is burning wherever silly men are allowed to tell lies to support their irrational hatred of Jews or Israel or Bush or the US or (insert object of hatred by lunatic fringe conspiracy theorists here). Read Timmerman and be amazed.
November 26, 2023
0 Stars for Racism ✨
December 5, 2020
Preachers of Hate by Kenneth R Timmerman
Written by Mandi Chestler on March 21st, 2006
Book Rating: 4/5
This is one of the most important books I have read/listened to in a long time. If there is any doubt about the extreme danger fundamental Islamists pose to America's values, democracy and safety, this book will make it crystal clear. Timmerman makes an objective, rational and well documented case that we can no longer afford to ignore government-sponsored hate preaching taught in many middle eastern Islamic schools and mosques. It makes your heart ache for an entire generation of young Arabs who minds and hearts have been manipulated. This book is chilling, haunting and very saddening...not a fun read, but a neccessary one.
Written by Mandi Chestler on March 21st, 2006
Book Rating: 4/5
This is one of the most important books I have read/listened to in a long time. If there is any doubt about the extreme danger fundamental Islamists pose to America's values, democracy and safety, this book will make it crystal clear. Timmerman makes an objective, rational and well documented case that we can no longer afford to ignore government-sponsored hate preaching taught in many middle eastern Islamic schools and mosques. It makes your heart ache for an entire generation of young Arabs who minds and hearts have been manipulated. This book is chilling, haunting and very saddening...not a fun read, but a neccessary one.
February 6, 2008
Dangerously chilling. Timmerman is obviously writing out of a bias and with a pretty strong agenda, but I will leave it to the reader to determine how relevant that is to the source material. This was my first nonfiction exposure to any real analysis of radical Islam's effects and pracices. Timmerman gives some chilling descriptions of how anti-Semitism and violence are promoted within madrassas, and there's also some good-to-know history here about Islam's ideological (not just geographical) conflict with Judaism.
August 1, 2008
Exhaustive account of Saudi influence in the world and how Sharia law is the vehicle of choice. Scary, scary, scary. The amount of money that the official Saudi government poors into fundamentalism abroad is stunning, and this is all counterbalanced by their public duplicity. Their alignment with several republican administrations and their oil wealth/economic clout, has shielded them from much of the public scrutiny they have received under less favorable circumstances.
September 17, 2010
A disturbing account of rising anti-semitism and anti-American attitudes in the Islamic world and Europe. The "international Jewish conspiracy" and the book "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" are ridiculous but widely accepted among millions of people. Hatred has become very pervasive throughout the world and it is something we are already facing.
April 3, 2014
Well told; I can only pray that there is a sequel that comes out in the future that will tell how/whether anything has changed to give hope that Islamist can reside peacefully in a world that is occupied by others than they. Some of the material is now aging, but there seems little real development to make it any less relevant.
February 12, 2008
A very detailed look at life inside Saudi Arabia and the islamic sect called Wahabism (not sure on the spelling). An eye opener for those who think that Saudi Arabia is our ally. Gives detailed information on what Saudi Arabia is doing to spread their sect which is one of hatred and repression.
January 8, 2016
An interesting view into what makes the average Islamist Radical tick, and why they hate America with such passion. Well worth a read (or listen)
Listened to the unabridged Audible.com audiobook version.
Listened to the unabridged Audible.com audiobook version.
April 10, 2013
An in-depth discussion of anti-American and anti-Jewish propaganda by Islamic religious leaders to encourage terrorist actions against America. The documented cases mirror the efforts of Adolph Hitler against Jews and other "undesirables".
January 4, 2013
Well written, yet it gives a very biased look at the Arab and Islamic world's view on America. Very pro-Israel and anti the rest of the Middle East, which is ok, that is Trimmerman's choice, but strongly false in what it teaches concerning the views of Muslims.
March 12, 2009
I am fascinated by this histroy and this author has done a fine job in this book.
Currently reading
February 9, 2011I have read 78 pages till now... fast paced book.... Author is, no doubt, biased in his opinion and totally supports Israeli policies and actions...... All in all an interesting book till now... :)
April 25, 2010
makes a very through arguement from his perspective
May 2, 2017
I will state my agreement with most of the positive reviewers of this book. This is one of my briefest reviews, but the others have explained it well, those who agree with Timmerman.
Timmerman has given a riveting and powerful document on the hatred that prevails in the modern Muslim world, particularly the Middle East. You cannot help but wonder where it will all stop. A great many facts and quotes are used in this book to show the malicious state of mind residing in the fundamental Muslim mind there, and in the agenda of world dominance through militancy that the cult of Islam is trying to perpetrate
Timmerman has given a riveting and powerful document on the hatred that prevails in the modern Muslim world, particularly the Middle East. You cannot help but wonder where it will all stop. A great many facts and quotes are used in this book to show the malicious state of mind residing in the fundamental Muslim mind there, and in the agenda of world dominance through militancy that the cult of Islam is trying to perpetrate
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews