Just the other day I posted a bibliography featuring 120 books written by Christians covering all things Islam. I mentioned that a separate reading list of books by non-Christian writers would be forthcoming. And here it is, offering 75 select titles.
These volumes look at a range of topics, including the history of Islam, the state of the play in the Middle East, Islam’s war against the west, jihad and terrorism, and so on. As to who might be some of the best writers to run with, I can suggest Karsh, Lewis, Pipes, Warraq and Ye’or.
Akbar, M.J., The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict Between Islam and Christianity. Routledge, 2002.
Babbin, Jed, In the Words of Our Enemies. Regnery, 2007.
Bawer, Bruce, While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within. Doubleday, 2006.
Benjamin, Daniel and Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror. Random House, 2002.
Blankley, Tony, The West’s Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations? Regnery, 2005.
Bostom, Andrew, ed., The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism. Prometheus, 2007.
Bostom, Andrew, ed., The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims. Prometheus, 2005.
Boykin, William, et. al., Sharia: The Threat To America. Center for Security Policy, 2010.
Burleigh, F. W., It’s All About Muhammad. Zenga Books, 2014.
Caldwell, Christopher, Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam and the West. Doubleday, 2009.
Chesler, Phyllis, The Death of Feminism: What’s Next in the Struggle for Women’s Freedom. Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. (about feminism’s lack of response to militant Islam)
Davis, Gregory, Religion of Peace? Islam’s War Against the World. World Ahead Publishing, 2006.
Emerson, Steven, American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us. Free Press, 2003.
Emerson, Steven, Jihad Incorporated: A Guide to Militant Islam in the US. Prometheus, 2006.
Fallaci, Oriana, The Force of Reason. Rizzoli, 2004, 2006.
Fallaci, Oriana, The Rage and the Pride. Rizzoli, 2001, 2002.
Fernández-Morera, Darío, The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise. Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2016.
Fitzgerald, Hugh, Islamizing Europe: Is the Conquest Inevitable? World Encounter Institute/New English Review Press, 2025.
Fregosi, Paul, Jihad in the West: Muslim Conquests from the 7th to the 21st Centuries. Prometheus Books, 1998.
Gaffney, Frank, et. al., War Footing. Naval Institute Press, 2006.
Geller, Pamela, Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance. WND Books, 2011.
Gibb, H.A.R., Mohammedanism: An Historical Survey. Oxford University Press, 1973.
Glazov, Jamie, Jihadist Psychopath: How He Is Charming, Seducing, and Devouring Us. Post-Hill Press, 2018.
Glazov, Jamie, United in Hate. WND Books, 2009.
Gorka, Sebastian, Defeating Jihad. Regnery, 2016.
Guillaume, Alfred, Islam. Penguin, 1954, 1962.
Hamid, Tawfik, Inside Jihad: How Radical Islam Works, Why It Should Terrify Us, How to Defeat It. Mountain Lake Press, 2015.
Hitti, Philip, Islam: A Way of Life. Regnery, 1970.
Hohmann, Leo, Stealth Invasion: Muslim Conquest Through Immigration and Resettlement Jihad. WND Books, 2017.
Horowitz, David, Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left. Regnery, 2004.
Hourani, Albert, A History of the Arab Peoples. Warner Books, 1992.
Kahn, M.A., Islamic Jihad: A Legacy of Forced Conversion, Imperialism, and Slavery. iUniverse.com, 2009.
Karsh, Efraim, Empires of the Sand: The Struggle for Mastery in the Middle East, 1789-1923. Harvard University Press, 2001.
Karsh, Efraim, Islamic Imperialism: A History. Yale University Press, 2006.
Karsh, Efraim, Palestine Betrayed. Yale University Press, 2006.
Lewis, Bernard, The Arabs in History. Arrow Books, 1954.
Lewis, Bernard, The Crisis of Islam. Phoenix, 2003.
Lewis, Bernard, Islam and the West. Oxford University Press, 1994.
Lewis, Bernard, The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years. Scribner, 1996.
Lewis, Bernard, What Went Wrong: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2002.
Lewis, Bernard, ed., The World of Islam: Faith, People, Culture. W.W. Norton, 1992.
Manne, Robert, The Mind of the Islamic State. Redback, 2016.
McCarthy, Andrew, The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America. Encounter Books, 2010.
Murray, Douglas, The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam. Bloomsbury Continuum, 2017.
Strange Death of Europeby Murray, Douglas (Author)
Muthuswamy, Moorthy, Defeating Political Islam. Prometheus Books, 2009.
Naipaul, V.S., Among the Believers. Vintage, 1981.
Petrilla, Jesse, If It Takes a Thousand Years: From Al-Qaeda to Hamas, How the Jihadists Think & How to Defeat Them. Bombardier Books, 2024.
Phares, Walid, The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
Phares, Walid, The Confrontation: Winning the War against Future Jihad. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
5 Replies to “Recommended Reading on Islam – Non-Christian Authors”
The Tragedy of Islam by Imam Tahwiti. He’s calling for a reformation of Islam.
Islam cannot be reformed, or domesticated into something more consumable.
I don’t know whether, Bill, you have seen this message posted very recently but what Benjamin Netanyahu has to say regarding the significance of Hanukkah is a message that all Christians should hear.
While Jesus’ comment about giving to Cesar what is Cesar’s and to God what is God’s laid the foundation for the concept of separations of powers between Church and State, as the British anthropologist Raymond Firth points out in an article, there is no such limitation on the powers of the Mosque under Islam. (1981:):
But from the central postulate of God as the supreme, ultimate, blinding reality come propositions about man as the servant of God, about nature as symbols reflecting the divine reality, and about the law (Shari’a) as expressing the will of God and covering all aspects of human life. It is a neat and logical faith. For Muslims, there is no ultimate distinction between divine law, and human law. So every act, including every political act, has a religious dimension and should have a demonstrable religious sanction. (p. 589)
Firth, Raymond (1981) Spiritual Aroma?: Religion and Politics.
pp. 582-601 American Anthropologist Vol. 83 n°3 Sept.
The Tragedy of Islam by Imam Tahwiti. He’s calling for a reformation of Islam.
Islam cannot be reformed, or domesticated into something more consumable.
I don’t know whether, Bill, you have seen this message posted very recently but what Benjamin Netanyahu has to say regarding the significance of Hanukkah is a message that all Christians should hear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPChpQs8HbE
Thanks Nina and David. Yes I have long wondered whether Islam can be reformed and still be Islam! See here:
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2011/11/30/on-reforming-islam/
While Jesus’ comment about giving to Cesar what is Cesar’s and to God what is God’s laid the foundation for the concept of separations of powers between Church and State, as the British anthropologist Raymond Firth points out in an article, there is no such limitation on the powers of the Mosque under Islam. (1981:):
But from the central postulate of God as the supreme, ultimate, blinding reality come propositions about man as the servant of God, about nature as symbols reflecting the divine reality, and about the law (Shari’a) as expressing the will of God and covering all aspects of human life. It is a neat and logical faith. For Muslims, there is no ultimate distinction between divine law, and human law. So every act, including every political act, has a religious dimension and should have a demonstrable religious sanction. (p. 589)
Firth, Raymond (1981) Spiritual Aroma?: Religion and Politics.
pp. 582-601 American Anthropologist Vol. 83 n°3 Sept.
Many thanks Paul.