What Every American Needs to Know about the Qur'an: A History of Islam & the United States

by William J. Federer

WHAT EVERY AMERICAN NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THE QUR'AN - A HISTORY OF ISLAM & THE UNITED STATES You will be fascinated by this fast-paced, objective history of the world from a perspective you have never imagined. Current events will come into focus in the back drop of 1,400 years of inconceivable yet true events and conflicts. Thousands of books, documents and articles have been researched over several years in preparation for this book. In 2006, Keith Ellison became the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress. He swore in on a Qur'an. Most Americans know little about the Qur'an, who wrote it and how Islam spread. Within 100 years of Mohammed's death, his followers conquered North Africa, the Holy Land, Persia, Spain - from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. President Barak Obama stated in Cairo, Egypt, June 4, 2009: "Islam has always been a part of America's story." Indeed, Islam has affected the Western World for 1,400 years, from 622 AD to today's headlines. This book will give you a fascinating glimpse into captivating events and amazing stories- you won't want to put it down! Find answers to how Islam is connected - The stirrup for riding horses, who invented it and how Muslims used it to win military conquests? - Santa Claus - how Islam caused the story of Saint Nicholas to spread from the Byzantine Empire to Western Europe in 1087 AD? -How did Muslim Ottoman Turks invading the Byzantine Empire resulted in the Crusades, 1095-1272 AD? - What did Marco Polo say was the origin of the word "assassin"? - What happened to the Seven Churches of mentioned in the Book of Revelation? - How did the 1000 year old Byzantine Enpire get conquered? - What did Sultan Mehmet II do to Constantinople in 1453 that led Columbus to set sail in 1492? - Dracula - What is the real-life account of "Vlad the Impaler" in 1462, (not Bram Stoker's 1897 fiction novel)? - What did Martin Luther say in 1529 about Muslim Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent who was laying siege to Vienna, Austria? - Who did Captain John Smith fight in Hungary in 1600 before founding Virginia in 1607? - Who did James Oglethorpe fight in Serbia in 1717 before founding the Colony of Georgia? - What happened to a Pilgrim ship returning to England to trade for supplies in 1625 when they met a Moroccon pirate man-of-war? - September 11, 1683 - How the Muslims loss in the Battle of Vienna lead to coffee and croissant pastries spreading across Europe? - How was Islamic expansion funded by the slave trade of millions Africans and Europeans? - How did Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's fighting the North African Barbary Pirates, 1805-1815, lead to the U.S. Marine nickname "leathernecks, ' Marine "mamluke" sword, Marine Anthem "From the halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli"? - What happened to over 1.5 million Armenian Christians when President Woodrow Wilson failed to convince the U.S. Senate in 1922 to adopt Armenia as a protectorate - similar to Puerto Rico? - What was the impact of oil being discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938? You will not be the same after you have learned What Every American Needs to Know about the Qur'an. (288 pages, paperback)

Genres: History, American, Islam, Nonfiction, Politics, Middle East, Religion

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 22, 2007

About the author

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized speaker, best-selling author, and president of Amerisearch, Inc., a publishing company focused on America's heritage. His "American Minute" radio feature airs daily nationwide, and his television program "Faith in History" broadcasts on the TCT Network and DirecTV.
A former U.S. Congressional candidate, Bill has appeared on major media outlets such as CSPAN, FOX, NPR, TBN, MSNBC, NewsMax, OAN, and Real America's Voice. He has been featured on shows like Hannity, The O’Reilly Factor, The Eric Metaxas Show, Prager U, and others. On radio, he has been interviewed by Focus on the Family, Salem Radio Network, USA Radio Network, and numerous other programs.
Bill’s writing has been quoted in USA Today, The New York Times, Washington Times, Washington Post, and WorldNetDaily, among others. His book America's God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations has sold over half a million copies and remains widely cited. Other titles by Bill include Change to Chains, Socialism: The Real History from Plato to the Present, The Ten Commandments and Their Influence on American Law, George Washington Carver: His Life & Faith In His Own Words, and What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur'an.
Bill has spoken extensively across the U.S. at political conventions, military bases, universities, high schools, churches, and national landmarks like Mount Rushmore and the Lincoln Memorial. His audiences have included Congress members, military officers, students, and civic organizations.
Honored for his contributions to history and public service, Bill has received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from American Christian College and an Honorary Doctorate of Global Leadership from Midwest University. Other awards include the George Washington Honor Medal by the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge and the National Association of Christian Lawmakers' Lifetime Achievement Award.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Bill graduated from St. Louis University High School and earned his business degree from St. Louis University. He is the fifth of eleven children and married his wife Susie in 1981. Bill has worked in real estate, oil & gas, and religious organizations and is an original signer of the Manhattan Declaration.
In politics, Bill’s Congressional campaigns in 2000 and 2004 were notable. Running against Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, Bill mounted one of the most expensive and closely watched races in the nation, setting voting records for a Republican in Missouri’s 3rd District.

Reviews

[miteypen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't imagine how this book ever got published. We are given no author credentials, there is very little original writing, it is one-sided against Islam and Muslims. It's very tricky because it uses examples from history and quotations to make its case but the author obviously picked the most inflammatory items and didn't even attempt to balance them with positive ones. When I searched for reviews on the Internet, guess who loved this book? Conservatives and Islamaphobes. Go figure. Even the pictures on the back are designed to bring to mind the worst images of events that have anything to do with Islam: kidnappers, bombs, fighting, women in the full black face-covering abayahs. If you want to twist people's minds against Islam, recommend this book to your friends. If you are interested in the whole truth and balanced pictures, then throw this in the trash.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ignore the one star ratings. They have no clue. This is a very good book. William Federer does his homework and documents everything.

[Rev Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book should be required reading for Americans to see how Islam spread and the differences between the American legal system and ethics against the Islamic worldviews. I read others who complained that Federer took quotes out of context (the majority of the book is a collection of quotes). I looked up numerous quotes and read them in context. I found them to hold the same meaning in his book as in their original context. I do wish that he could get a better editor to go through and clean the book up, so it would be more professional. This does not change the fact that most Americans are ignorant of the bloodshed, persecution, threats, and slavery that have gone hand in hand with Islam from its founding up to this very day. Islamic states continue to practice slavery, send suicide bombers against men and women of other religions, tax individuals for not converting to Islam, and persecute women. This behavior is not an aberration of Islam. It is how Islam spread so quickly. Groups like the Young Turks would be rejected outright for trying to sanitize the name for Islamic leaders who committed genocide 100 years ago if we knew the history of Islam. Double-check the legitimacy of all the quotes if you must, but it's impossible to deny how Islam used the sword and the threat of the sword to spread the teachings of Muhammad.

[Christian Barrett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is this a good historical overview of Islam? Yes. Is this a book about Christian nationalism and why Christians should oppose Islam in America? Yes. This is a very disappointing read. Federer is not in the business of seeing Muslims come to know Jesus, but is in the business of causing Americans to hate Muslims because they are not Christians. Further propagating the lie that American is to be Christian and to be Christian is to be American. Ultimately, this is a long list of the evils of Islam and why Americans should oppose it. This fails to illustrate the freedom of religion in the United States, and is devoid of constructing a good plan for evangelizing Muslim Americans. Over the past year I have read some pretty bad books, this may be at the top of the list. Go read “What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Qu’ran” by James White.

Also, the font and text style was nearly unbearable to read.

[Gary Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every American should read

Since this book was written, the threat of Islam has only become more real. As history has shown, Western civilization/Christianity was the only deterrent to the Jihad. As Europe has fallen, America is the last stronghold to push back. We must wake up and fight for our liberty and freedom.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a VERY eye opening book. The idea that we are not even aware of all the cleansing that occurred only years after the Holocaust on the same continent. Or that all non-Muslims are considered infidels and should be killed. Raise your awareness of what Muslims are trying to accomplish.

[Stephen Inoue · Rating 1 out of 5]

A debate on twitter lead to a recommendation of this book. On researching the author I found him on rightwing watch’s list for untruthful incendiary rhetoric. Anyone expecting an honest discussion should look elsewhere.

[Becky Shaw · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wtf is this? I wanted a book to learn about Islam, not an anti-Muslim propaganda piece.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book but hard to follow at times as in semi chronological order with key figures as headings. His youtube video is much quicker and easier to follow.

This book shows that Islam is historically faulty religion base on 3 periods of Mohammed's life that are also unverifiable.
1) religious life
2) political life
3) Military life.

This is why Koran is divided with soft and hard sayings or verses. Earlier is religious and later are war like and command the follower to submit infidels or put them in financial subjection.

It should be noted that Mohamed was himself illiterate and could not read or write and supposedley got Koran verbally and this is why called recitation. Muslims are commanded to keep in Arabic only and to memorize. The text itself cannot be traced to anything from Mohammed as not written down until hundreds of years later and the initial version credited to a monk in Europe, who gathered previous snippets in Arabic.
Some say that Mohammed himself never really lived but was a made up figure over time. This is in contrast to Jesus and his history which can be verified by eye witnesses and even non-Christian writing.

[Marc Washburne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Federer documents many, many incidents, facts, and historical data of the relationship between the USA and the Islamic world. Centuries of conflict, negotiation, armed warfare, and sometimes peaceful interludes are documented in a very straightforward manner. You can use this tiny book as a reference point for further study. Keep a copy for your bookshelf - you will want to back to it from time to time.

[Boaz Kelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book from a factual / high-level learning perspective. I learned a lot and that’s what I wanted.

My biggest gripe was that there was a bent towards being afraid of Muslims and not a concerted effort towards loving them. Throughout the book, I felt like that was lost.

Either way - learned a lot about Islam. Very thorough and DETAILED. I feel more equipped now to talk about the religion, people, and history.

[Terrance D Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! And Enlightened Read!

I had some knowledge of the Quran and the Muslim Ideology, but this book has opened my eyes deeply in a respectful way. The author is well-researched and knowledgeable of the Quran and its history. Names pop up throughout from Mark Twain to authors, and presidents and their opinions and resolutions.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm just about through this book.
It's Awesome.
Should be Required Reading for every person in the Western World.
When I read a book, I highlight the good parts and put tape on the upper part of the page to mark the location. I can tell which books had the most meaningful parts by the amount of tape sticking out the top.
This book has a LOT of tape sticking out the top.

[Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shows the history of Islam no one else will tell you.

[Dave Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read It! Too important not to.

[Code Phined · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Federer takes you on a journey through history, detailing the historical Islam, through the writings of historians, royalty, and popular figures throughout world history. He goes in-depth into the theology of Islam, how it began, which reveals that it was a Christian heresy from the beginning.

Mohammed, an unlearned, illiterate desert man, learned of Christianity through heretical Catholic sects such as the Ebionites and Arians. He played "pick and choose" from different schools of thought...absorbing some elements of Christianity and some of the native pagan traditions (like praying at the Kaba). His theology was extremely simple (fitting for simple-minded, illiterate desert people).

Federer explains how Islam is not just a religion, but a political and military doctrine as well. Every mosque is a political and a military unit, as well as a place of worship. These elements cannot be separated from Islam, because Mohammed did not separate them from his theology. The author details the extensive slave trade of the Muslims (Christians as slave commodity), the tradition of pederasty (pedophilia) with the "royalty," and the many battles waged in the name of spreading Islam.

He also goes into the Crusades, which was the only bulwark in preventing the plague of Islam from spreading across Europe. Thank God for the Crusades.

By definition, Islam means submission. Submit & convert, be killed, or pay the "jizya," a tax payed by non-Muslims which makes you a second-class citizen. Federer explains in great detail how this is irreconcilable with the United States Constitution and the teachings of Christianity.

A must-read for any American who wants to know about the bloody history of Islam.

[Erin Estes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure the author was ever trained traditionally as to how to write using a writing style (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.), so this is really a collective of randomized thoughts supported with documents he's come across in his research. It's very unorganized and kind of follows a chronological theme. The information contained therein, however, is an eye-opener for modern western civilization which is not well versed in history. While everything you read is to be questioned, I think the author did a thorough job in his research.

[Michael Atwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very comprehensive study of historical Islam, with a contrast to the cultures that surrounded it. It makes it very clear, from a historical perspective, that the violence we see today erupting from Islamic terrorists has deep roots in Islam itself, and is not simply an aberration being acted out by extremists.

[Judy]

Well documented. It starts with background information on the beginnings of Islam, the spread of Islam through conquests and other methods. It explains why Thomas Jefferson owned a Koran, and what subsequent presidents have said and done about Islam.

[Jeanne Eveleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

This is one of the best! I learned so much history from this book. It is a treasure of what is great about our country and where our values truly come from. A must read for all Americans young and old alike.

[Chris Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book! Keep one alert of the danger of Islam in America!

[Genevieve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be very informative about the Muslims and their origins.

[JACKIE]

Very enlightening