There are many hundreds of good books that describe the challenge which Islam poses to the free West. The books listed here primarily focus on jihad and terrorism, on the differences between Christianity and Islam, and on the clash of cultures we are involved in. And they are also quite recent. Older titles are not here included. And there are many good books on how we can reach out to our Muslim friends, but they are not included here.
In some ways this is an arbitrary list. For every good book I have included, I have left off five others. Thus this is a selective list. But it is a good start for those wishing to learn more about these important subjects. I divide the list into Christian and non-Christian authors.
Feel free to make a comment about your favourite titles and suggestions.
Top Ten Books Written by Christian Authors
Durie, Mark, Revelation?: Do We Worship the Same God? CityHarvest Publications, 2006.
The answer to the question of the subtitle is ‘no’. Dr Durie contrasts Islam and Christianity on three fundamental issues: Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God. He argues that ultimately Islam and Christianity are neither compatible nor similar, and that Allah and the God of the Bible cannot be identified with each other.
Elass, Mateen, Understanding the Koran. Zondervan, 2004.
A very helpful examination of the Koran – what it is, how it came to be, how it compares with the Bible, etc. It also contrasts Islam with Christianity, and offers a good look at the issue of jihad.
Gabriel, Mark, Islam and Terrorism. Charisma House, 2002.
Gabriel has written at least three books on Islam, and all are important because he was for many years a top Islamic scholar teaching in a top Islamic school in Egypt. He has obviously since left Islam, and his inside accounts of Islam and the threat it poses are well worth reading.
Geisler, Norman and Abdul Saleeb, Answering Islam, 2nd ed. Baker , 1993, 2002.
Norman Geisler is a top Christian apologist and author of nearly 100 books. Here he turns his sharp mind to the differences between Islam and Christianity. Along with Saleeb, a former Muslim, Geisler provides an encyclopaedic examination of Islam and Christianity, and their many differences.
Joksimovich, Vojin, The Revenge of the Prophet. Regina Orthodox Press, 2006.
This book focuses on politics and international relations. In it, we learn how many in the West have wittingly or otherwise helped fuel the flames of militant Islam. In particular, American politicians and diplomats have made many mistakes in their dealings with militant Islam, and we are now paying the price for such errors.
Licona, Michael, Paul Meets Muhammad. Baker, 2006.
This book has a more narrow focus: the resurrection of Jesus. This is one of the key areas of disagreement between Muslims and Christians, so Licona features an imaginary debate between Muhammad and Paul on this vital issue.
Robinson, Stuart, Mosques and Miracles. City Harvest Publications, 2003.
This Australian pastor was for many years a missionary to Muslims. Thus he knows first hand the challenges and threats of Islam. This book is a good combination of the challenge of Islam and how believers especially can respond. Robinson urges us to take seriously this issue and shows us ways in which we can reach out to the world of Islam.
Schmidt, Alvin, The Great Divide: The Failure of Islam and the Triumph of the West. Regina Orthodox Press, 2004.
Are Islamic and Western societies equivalent? Or is the democratic West, for all its faults, far superior to totalitarian Islam? Schmidt argues the latter, and shows how in most every area the West is to be preferred. The two worldviews are mutually exclusive, and this volume details the differences.
Sookhdeo, Patrick, Understanding Islamic Terrorism. Isaac Publishing, 2004.
Sookhdeo is a London-based authority on Islamic militancy. He here describes in detail the Koranic justification of jihad and how in history and practice terrorism has been a means of promoting Islam. This is a careful presentation of how Islamic tradition, history and practice all justify the use of force to spread Islam.
Trifkovic, Serge, Defeating Jihad. Regina Orthodox Press, 2006.
Like his previous volume (The Sword of the Prophet – 2002), this volume looks at the real nature of Islam. He argues that violent jihad is not an aberration of Islam, and that the West is poorly equipped to deal with the Islamic challenge.
Top Ten Books Written by Other Authors
Bostom, Andrew, The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims. Prometheus, 2005.
In this collection of scholarly and incisive essays, a number of authors – both Muslim and non-Muslim – examine the historical record, documenting how Islam and terror have gone hand in hand as it spread throughout the world, how non-Muslims suffer under Islamic regimes, and so on. An eye-opening account of life under Islam.
Chesler, Phyllis, The Death of Feminism: What’s Next in the Struggle for Women’s Freedom. Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
This book may seem to be out of place here but it is not. The author contends that Western feminists have turned a blind eye to militant Islam and its treatment of women. If feminism is so concerned about the plight of women, why does it ignore the way women are treated in Islamic countries?
Fallaci, Oriana, The Force of Reason. Rizzoli, 2004.
Fallaci certainly pulls no punches. Like her 2002 volume, The Rage and the Pride, she here blasts Islam for its anti-democratic and anti-freedom mindset. She also blasts a gullible West for not seeing the very real threat Islam poses to our way of life. A very strong but much-needed wake up call from an Italian journalist.
Horowitz, David, Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left. Regnery, 2004.
Horowitz, a former lefty from the US, here argues that the political Left is in bed with radical Islam. Instead of condemning the barbarism of militant Islam, Western leftwing intellectuals are excusing and condoning it. Indeed, the West is condemned as causing the problems, while militant Islam is let off the hook.
Karsh, Efraim, Islamic Imperialism: A History. Yale University Press, 2006.
In this scholarly study, Karsh examines the history of Islamic expansion. Military conquest is part and parcel of Islam, and is not tangential to it. Thus jihad and terrorism find their justification in the Islamic faith, the example of Muhammad, and the Koran itself.
Lewis, Bernard, The Crisis of Islam. Phoenix, 2003.
Lewis is the doyen of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, and has written numerous volumes on these subjects. In this perceptive volume he asks how Islam will proceed in the modern world, and explores how it has come to its present uncomfortable fit with the rest of the world.
Phillips, Melanie, Londonistan. Encounter Books, 2006.
Although specifically written about the situation in England, this book serves as a warning to all Western nations. England has allowed militant Islam to go unchecked for decades, and is now facing massive problems, not least of which is the possibility of becoming a Muslim nation.
Pipes, Daniel, Militant Islam Reaches America. Norton, 2002.
Daniel Pipes is one of our more perceptive and trenchant commentators on Islam and terrorism. In this volume, written just after September 11, he shows how Islamic activists are at work in the West to implement Islam and sharia law across the globe.
Spencer, Robert, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades). Regnery Publishers, 2005.
Robert Spencer is another leading authority on Islam and jihad, and has written a number of volumes on these subjects. This, his most recent, is an easy-to-read look at Islam and common complaints about Christianity (the Crusades, etc.) Part of the helpful and entertaining series, The Politically Incorrect Guide to….
Ye’or, Bat, Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2001.
The Egyptian-born Ye’or is a world authority on dhimmitude, or how non-Muslims (especially Jews and Christians) fare while living as second class-citizens in Islamic countries. All her volumes are eye-opening works, giving lie to the contention that Islam treats all people equally and fairly.
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