The Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity

Tarq Ali is a writer and filmaker, well known for his bitter criticisms of contemporary political events. This book is a demolishing account of both, western politics concerning the islamic world (mainly Arab, Iranian, Pakistany, and Indonesian cases), and the inner politics and motivations in the Islamic countries themselves. Being the author a "non-believer" that had, at some point in live, attempted to define himself, paraphrasing Isaac Deutscher, as a non-Muslim Muslim, the utter repulsion and contempt he feels towards the upper hand gained by religious fundamentalists in the politics of many an islamic country, be there in Iran, in Wahhabist Saudi Arabia, or in Pakistan and Afghanistan, comes as no surprise. It may, however, show more surprise some readers the instrumental role that western powers (mainly the US and Britain) had in the support of islamic religious fundamentalists in some places and times, past and present. An excellent book about a much talked about but not really much understood subject. In addition, the author writes in such a clear, lucid way, that manages to disentagle seemingly irrational conflicts and provides historically rational and brilliant analysis that turn the world, if not into a better place, at least into a much more intelligible one. show less

Mostly interesting, especially the historical narrative, but gets bogged down in its own language, which is sometimes poetic and elegant but sometimes just oblique.

As sympathetic as I try to be with Ali, he does not grasp the West as cogently as does Bernard Lewis. He wants to view the West as a fundamentalist which is only true for a select number of Westeners; on the other hand, if using the fundamentals of a religion is instructive, it applies across the board to Islam. The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror by Bernard Lewis is much better at identifying significant differences, and similarities, between the West and Islam.

Analyzes the history of the Western world's relationship with the Islamic world, and places the 2001 attacks on Washington and New York within that context.