Sword and Scimitar, by Raymond Ibrahim

This book is very much more about the Scimitar (militant Islam through the ages) than it is about European, Christian Swords.  Ibrahim belongs to the school of thought that emphasizes the Muslim tradition of jihad and its centrality to Islam.  Briefly, such  people don't believe that there  is any chance that modern Islam will engage with non-Muslim cultures on a basis of tolerance and equality, simply because war against the infidel  has always been a key aspect of Islam, and always will be.  Abandon jihad and its justification for conquest and enslavement and you are abandoning the teachings of Muhammed.

The bulk of Sword and Scimitar is a demonstration of how Muslim leaders have followed this tradition.  Ibrahim has built his book on standard (and in most cases quite recent ) scholarly treatments and many more ancient and mediaeval sources.  I'd say that the most valuable aspect of this book is in fact the primary sources that are so large a part of his argument.  What those sources demonstrate is, sure enough, that war against the infidel is (said to be) inevitable.

At  least that is what Ibrahim argues, directly and by implication.   I have problems with these kinds of argument.   I simply don't accept that Islam, Christianity or Buddhism is equal to what the holy books, the prophets, and the famous rulers in that tradition  say that it is. You have also have to look at what people actually do. We don't know what  Islam will be like a hundred years from now.  It's pretty safe to say that Muslim scholars will be arguing about what jihad means, but beyond that…