Inside the Revolution: How the Followers of Jihad, Jefferson & Jesus Are Battling to Dominate the Middle East and Transform

5 Responses to “Inside the Revolution: How the Followers of Jihad, Jefferson & Jesus Are Battling to Dominate the Middle East and Transform”

1. Hussein Ibish says:

   May 31, 2010 at 2:22 am

   This man is either cynically manipulating a credulous audience by posing as something he is not and espousing these bizarre thoughts, or he is completely insane. Either way, this is treacherous nonsense and, as they say, not to be lightly cast aside but rather to be flung with full force across the room. Sad really.
   Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
2. Mr. Fellini says:

   May 31, 2010 at 3:23 am

   Sadly, even with the passing of the Bush era into the dust bin of history, crackpot religious fanatics continue to publish these ludicrous works of hysteria which lack any basic erudition or serious attempts to know the Middle East and recent history. Joel C. Rosenberg took a break from his End Times blog where he warns about the Antichrist and additional leisure activities to write “Inside The Revolution,” a dire warning about Jihadi hordes waiting to storm the US and another tired attempt at putting a huge target sign on Iran. Is it any surprise that one of the reviewers here is fellow crackpot Mike Evans? Evans is known for his own “bomb Iran now” book, “The Final Go Beyond Iraq” which called for a bombing of the Islamic Republic which never happened. You can probably find the book at your local dollar store, I did.

   Like Evans and the godfather of hysterical end times swindles, John Hagee, Rosenberg paints a fantastical vision of American imperialism in the Middle East, weaving our disastrous wars of hegemony in Iraq and Afghanistan to Biblical ideals and Islamic conspiracy theories worthy of the latest Jim Marrs book. According to Rosenberg, like most neocons, the main problem in the Middle East isn’t US interventionism, or US support for brutal client regimes in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but Iran. Rosenberg joins the chorus of lunatics who mourn the passing of the Shah, really trying to condemn Iranians for overthrowing one of the most brutal tyrants of his time and his Nazi-like secret police, the Savak. Nice to know the kind of leadership Christian authors admire. This is the equivalent of 1980s evangelicals mourning the breakdown of the equally brutal Somoza regime in Nicaragua, a few months after the Iranian Revolution fascinatingly enough. Rosenberg rants about the need to support democracy in Iran, skipping over the fact that Iran DID have a democracy until the CIA overthrew it in 1953 because Iranians felt like nationalizing their own oil. Read Stephen Kinzer’s “All The Shah’s Men.” Do we also have to question why Iran would mistrust the West when the US funded and armed Saddam Hussein to invade and ruin the country? Whatever you may reflect of the Islamic regime and its laws, I sure wouldn’t want a theocracy of any kind in power, there is a more complex history behind events than Biblical interpretations.

   Rosenberg looks at “democracy movemetns” in the Middle East, they want Jeffersonian ideals Rosenberg tells us. This is an utter fantasy. There are indeed movements for more freedom and democracy in the Middle East, but Rosenberg wouldn’t approve of them much because through-out history they have opposed foreign imperial influence. Rosenberg skips over the crucial 1950s when SECULAR jingoism, lead by Egypt’s Nasser was spreading in the East but was opposed by the United States and Israel. The 1967 “Six Day War” helped crush secular Arab jingoism, building religious fanaticism much more attractive. The US then helped impulse the rise of Jihadism by funding the Jihadists, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan where the US funded what later became Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Reagan didn’t stop there, he also funded the Zia ul-Haq regime in Pakistan which imposed Islamic law and helped breed radical Islamism in the country. These are of course facts Rosenberg skips over, preferring a bizarre “clash of civilizations” scenario with Jesus thrown into the mix. I recommend “The Fantastic War For Civilization” by Robert Fisk and “The Duel” by Tariq Ali for some SERIOUS history. Rosenberg would have us judge that radicalism is simply bred because of Islam’s scenery as a religion, never seriously studying the social realities and conditions which help Jihadists recruit new members. Consider that 90% of Baghdad’s water remains undrinkable, who do you reflect benefits the most from persons kinds of conditions?

   One of the most telling aspects of the book is how Rosenberg promotes classic colonial thoughts, calling for “Jeffersonian movements” and spreading the excellent news about converting Muslims over to Christ. So as a replacement for of calling for an end to US occupations in the region, building stable bases, supporting Israeli apartheid and colonial projects in the occupied territories, Rosenberg promotes the classic imperial thought that the people of the East will not progress until they adopt Western, Christian values. One wonders how Rosenberg would react if the tables were turned and China started to assault the West, encouraging us to adopt Communist (or at least free market Communist) values to “progress and be free.” Rosenberg seems to live under the delusion that the United States is factually carrying out wars in the Middle East to spread democracy and bring “freedom” to people who aren’t too pleased with our democracy promotion brands.

   Of course there is a privileged calling in Rosenberg’s view, because the End Times clock is ticking and soon Israel or Iran will initiate the Second Coming through, what else? More war and destruction, so anyone who opposes our friendly neighborhood military manufacturing complex is a soft-hearted, godless Liberal. Rosenberg warns the people of the barbaric Middle East that they should accept Jesus now, because the end is coming and they would be better off with The Rapture than the smoldering ruins of the Iran-initiated holy war.

   “Inside The Revolution” is the kind of maddened religious work which will no doubt provide answers for persons who are sadly ignorant of the real world and actual history, but I do recommend that serious scholars and students of religious fanaticism take a look at it to get an thought of the predictable mindframe of the religious right-wing in America. Joel C. Rosenberg here offers the same kind of militant, twisted view of reality in line with similar offerings from loons like Brigette Gabriele and John Hagee, oh and we can’t forget Mr. Evans. But you never know, Evans was recently on the 700 Club announcing that Israel will attack Iran this year (at least according to his “secret sources”), maybe we will find ourselves in the latest “Left Behind” movie, Rosenberg certainly hopes so.
   Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
3. M. Wayne says:

   May 31, 2010 at 5:46 am

   The leader treats the Shah of Iran as a kindly “Nice Guy” a right friend of the USA lacking (how very self serving)any critical examination of the fact that the Shah was place in power by the US and British after the CIA run coup d’etat that unseated the beloved demoraticaly elected Iranian predident Mohammed Mosaddeq because he had the unspeakable nerve to raise taxes on US and British oil companies that paid next to nothing in royalties for extracting the wealth of the country. The leader refers to the dreaded SAVAK as
   
   “and at times torture political opponents” (how generous to the CIA
   
   backed regime). The Federation of American Scientists FAS has stated that thousands of politcal prisoners were brutaly killed in Savak prisons. The leader uses the word “radical” hundereds of times in this book leaving the reader to feel that anyone who isnt a right wing Neocon with a selective use of history is a treacherous “Radical’
   
   These are the same excellent Christian folks who judge that minimum wage,Social Security and public Schools are all the work of communist “Radicals”. The leader speaks of Morrocco privatizing its public utilities as being a positive step to becomeing a friend of the west..this is the same thought that took over the water system (Bechtel) in the city of Cochabamba ,Bolivia then tripeled the excise for water to its citizens (the poorest in South America) and had a law passed that the people couldnt even collect rain water for thier homes or thier homes would be taken away. The leader is clearly a “Free trader” with a positive view of US imperialism and historic exploitation of the worlds poor while partnering with wealth and power in third world countries to the terrible of the majority of its citizens. When does the leader speak of Human rights or honest play in our dealings with the middle east..?
   Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
4. Maria R. Stanley says:

   May 31, 2010 at 5:53 am

   Fantastic information about the Muslim religion, it’s internal differences, nuances, etc. It was a quick read but I struggled with copious amounts of doom and gloom from the get-go, setting you up for the whammy. The middle section, probably the best in terms of factual data was excellent, but brace yourself for the final third of the book. I felt like I was trapped at a revival, the odd man out, having born again Christianity shoved down my throat- over and over, in my face, page after page, with no end in sight. The repetition is airless– there was absolutely no let up; countless examples of radical Muslim clerics who have establish Jesus, one after the additional after the additional until you feel so saturated you want to throw the book against the wall- (terrible thought if you have a Kindle so I somehow managed to restrain myself- but judge me, it was tough). Less is more, one or two examples would have been plenty to get the thought across. Reminded me of a “work at home” ad, where they aver you can make tons of money and show you pics of people relaxing on the beach– but you know all the while that the last line will say it all. Then the final appeal: give money to the organization the leader has founded which provides support to fledgling, wannabe Christians in the Middle East. Perfect with guilt, gore, gut-wrenching and gruesome details of how these people are treated because of their newfound beliefs, it conjures up sadness in a detached sort of way…tears and fears notwithstanding, the underlying drama is set to obviously separate you from the contents of your bank account. Disclaimer aside, it’s sad becaues this leader has obviously done his homework and understands of which he writes. But, he could have taken this work to another level, leaving the hellfire, guilt, over-the-top passion, dread of armageddon and endless repetition behind. It was all just a bit too much for me, I would not recommend it to anyone except for a name who I knew yet to be of time was a zealot. I am a devout and practicing Catholic– weird how this book was introduced right before Easter coinciding with Holy Week. A few typos and misprints suggest it was thrown together in a hasten for quick publication.
   Reader’s Rating: 2 / 5
5. Stephen J. Snyder says:

   May 31, 2010 at 7:41 am

   First, I’ll confess that if I had read the inside of the dust jacket, or even seen the Tyndale imprimatur, I never would have looked at this book. But, I did check it out from my library, so I’m going to tell you to make the same mistake. Here’s why:

   Page 10: No, Shi’ite Iran would NOT give missiles to Sunni al-Qaida.
   
   17: Iran isn’t so dumb as to fire nuclear missile all around the Middle East and certainly not at Israel. It knows Israel has 300 nuclear weapons of its own, enough to obliterate Iran as a nation. For the same reason, it’s not giving a nuke to Hezbullah.
   
   19: Contra Bibi Netanyahu, “radical Islam” is not as colossal as he claims, nor is all of it “messianic.”
   
   30: Rosenberg’s “triumphalist West” vs. “decaying” Islam, with a timeline starting at the end of the Middle Ages, conveniently overlooks the Ottoman Empire.
   
   48. His Muslim “angst” over the uncertainty of excellent works for salvation vs. “Christian assurance”? Well, Mr. Rosenberg, that could be equally applied to the “Judeo” half of the “Judeo-Christian” ethic/history you repeatedly mention. Ooopssss… (I like petard hoistings!)
   
   68. The “torture” of the American embassy hostages in Iran in 1979-81? The actions he mentions pale before the waterboarding and additional real tortures committed by Americans, including many a excellent Christian one.

   Skipping yet to be a number of pages, to additional sections, to find additional errors at this point…
   
   368. “First century, New Tribute Christianity” was NOT “so prevalent” in the area before the rise of Islam. Outside the limits of the Byzantine Empire, in the last century before the caliphate, Zoroastrianism and Manicheanism were the dominant religions. Beyond that, the only varieties of Christianity with any might outside Byzantium to the east (and within parts of it that full first to the Muslims) were varieties that had already been confirmed heretical, like Nestorianism. That said, “first-century Christianity” had had layers of philosophical accretions by this time anyway, and wasn’t what it was the.
   
   476ff. Rosenberg lays his Christian theological cards down as a premillenial tribulationist. Hey, all you “Judeos” fig-leafing in the “Judeo-Christian” umbrella. It’s about time for your mass conversion! That includes YOU, Mr. Prime Minister Netanyahu.

   If you want anything close to a serious understanding of today’s Middle East, or today’s broader Muslim world, read somebody like Juan Cole. Or any of a couple hundred additional books.

   If you want religious wet dreams of red heifers and Temple Mounts, though, by all means, read this one!
   Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5