Introduction

The World Will Never be the Same

Hardly a month goes by, without a new title appearing on Islam. The reason for this is obvious: world news is dominated by this subject. People need to know what motivates Muslim extremists to bomb a train in Spain, or to attack worshippers leaving mosques in Iraq. They are puzzled over why Islamists (a new word that did not exist in the previous century) seem bent on the destruction of world order? Radio, television, and newspapers give us “brute” facts about these shocking events; but seldom offer adequate explanations. So, it is to be expected that new books on Islam will appear rather frequently.

Furthermore, we have become accustomed to hearing “that the world will never be the same after 9/11/01.” This is true not only for Americans, but for all people. Just think of the difficulties that attend air travel, both domestic and overseas. But “the world will never be the same” implies, in a sense, that before September 11, 2001, our world was more or less normal. After the events of 9/11, we have become aware of a shockingly new state of affairs. On that unforgettable day, radical Islamists attacked the United States and caused unimaginable physical, psychological, and economical damage to this country. We are still asking questions: how could that have happened? Why do Islamists hate us so much? Could that catastrophic assault have been avoided? Was there a terrible intelligence failure in the federal agencies of the U.S.A.?

While private and governmental agencies seek convincing answers to such questions, it is necessary to examine the entire phenomenon of Islam, its history, its beliefs, and its attitude to the Rest. We use this term “the Rest” because if we follow ancient, modern, and contemporaneous history, we must recognize that Islam has always aligned itself, not simply against the West, or against Christendom, but against the entire non-Islamic world. This fact may be disputed by the advocates of political correctness and multiculturalism, but it is undeniable. As late as March 2004, Muslim insurgents, or call them, Islamic terrorists if you want, launched attacks against other Muslims in Iraq and Central Asia, killed hundreds of Spanish people in Madrid, and mounted attacks in the southern parts of Thailand.

We offer the following articles and book reviews with the hope that they will explain Islam as a unique historical phenomenon that adheres to an exclusivist worldview. We trust you will find some answers as to the way this global challenge should be met.

Holy Week 2004                                                                                            

Bassam and Shirley Madany

Middle East Resources bashir2824@msn.com

www.www.unashamedofthegospel.org

The 2016 edition of “An Introduction to Islam” has three additional chapters

In Memoriam

Shirley Winnifred Madany went to be with the Lord on Sunday, 24 August 2008, after battling pancreatic cancer for five months.

“And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’

‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!’”

Revelation 14:13 (ESV)