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 PrintableVersion Christians, Muslims, and Islamic rageToo soft on IslamCHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS, AND ISLAMIC RAGE Mr. Catherwood has set himself the unenviable task of trying to assess Islamic rage' in the context of September 11 2001. By going backwards he seeks to analyse the historical development of Islam and then, post-September 11, looks at the development of Islam in the context of the contemporary world. It is a formidable assignment, dealing with historical and theological issues which require considerable thought and careful handling, and whether he succeeds is questionable. The book is written in a racy style, presumably intended for the 'average church member', but sadly the result is that he makes assertions without supporting evidence, omitting any footnotes or information on sources apart from a brief bibliography. There is no index. I believe this book fails significantly in a number of areas. Catherwood falls into the classic trap, as have many others in recent years, of contrasting 'moderate Islam' with 'extremist Islam'. He appears to see himself as an apologist for moderate contemporary Islam, which he presents as much maligned and misunderstood. This is demonstrated in his revisionist approach to history and is compounded by an evident lack of academic knowledge of Islamic theology, in particular the vital rules of Quranic interpretation. Furthermore, he is highly selective in his use of the Bible. To give a few examples of the book's inaccuracies and bias: Catherwood gives the birth of Muhammad as 570 AD but fails to add that there is no historical basis for this tradition. His sympathetic treatment of the early Muslim conquests omits all mention of the bloody invasions of the Sind and India and the horrific massacres which the Muslims committed. Likewise he omits all mention of the Armenian genocide of the early 20th century. He is harsh towards the Crusaders, and fails completely to mention the aggressive Muslim expansionist jihad which was the primary cause of the First Crusade. The book suffers also from a number of smaller factual errors. Tariq Aziz is described as being from Iraq's 'tiny Assyrian Orthodox Church minority'. In fact he is a member of the Chaldean Church, which is the largest Christian group in Iraq, numbering many hundreds of thousands. Like all Iraqi Christians he is ethnically Assyrian. Catherwood seems equally confused about the Christian denominations in Egypt, failing to recognise the use of the word 'Coptic' as an ethnic term for the descendants of the Pharaonic people. Nor does he understand the (admittedly complex) evolution of Christianity in the Middle East. Throughout the book Catherwood plays down the Muslim persecution of Christians. Although quoting Bat Ye'or's The Decline of Eastern Christianity, he seems not to have taken on board the fact that her life's work has been to document the persecution of Christians and Jews under Islam. Books like this perpetuate not only the myth of Islamic tolerance but also the belief that Christian misdemeanours are the cause of all Muslim-Christian conflict. These misdemeanours, however, in Catherwood's view, would seem to originate in Europe only. He appears enamoured with the US, and finds it hard to critique in depth. This is a book which poses problems for Christians, especially Christian minorities. With the Christian faith, the church and evangelism under siege from Islam and her supporters, it is sad that Catherwood has missed the opportunity to set out a clear and accurate picture of Islam and to respond to those who are so ready to blame Christianity for the world's woes. Patrick Sookhdeo © Evangelicals Now - April 2004 |
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