Book Reviewed: The History of Jihad from Muhammad to ISIS by Robert Spencer

Satan in the field Robert Spencer is a fearless Islamic scholar who argues how Muslims have historically targeted the weakness of non-Islamic countries, and manipulated their political, economic, and social circumstances. This book is a critical, unbiased review of jihad, which is a religious duty for all Muslims. The discussions are based on historical events across the globe. The author quotes Islamic texts like, Quran and Hadith. Over the past 1400 years of its history, civilizations have been forced to conform to a belief system that favors Muslims over non-Muslims, and men over women. It is fraternal order that was created to benefit only Muslim men, in fact, it has become a death cult to achieve success. The first case of jihad was the Battle of Badr (624 CE), which is one of the earliest examples of jihad in the military sense when Muhammad and his followers fought the Quraysh tribe. The early Islamic conquests led to the spread of Islam through Arabian Peninsula, the Indian subcontinent, North Africa, Spain, and Persia, and the Byzantine Empire. Jihad was dominant in the history of India, particularly during the medieval period, influencing the region's politics, society, and culture. The first Islamic invasion of India occurred in 636 CE, during the reign of Caliph Umar, and later Muhammad bin Qasim's conquest of Sindh (711-712 CE) was the beginning of Islamic jihad in India. Forced conversions and intimidation has led to numerous jihad attacks throughout the history. In fact, Indian Buddhists and Jains were forcibly converted into Islam or driven into the neighboring countries. There were a series of religious wars initiated by Christian Europe to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim control, these Crusades (1096–1291) saw a renewed emphasis on jihad in the Islamic world. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1922) invoked jihad during its military campaigns in India and Europe, and it was religiously motivated to spread Islam. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Islamic movements such as the Wahhabi movement in the Arabian Peninsula, and the Fulani jihads in West Africa, and recently by Taliban in Afghanistan sought to purify Islamic practices and establish religious states using the language of jihad found in Islamic texts. In the 20th century, this war cry evolved as Muslim-majority fought with modernity, and colonialism. The concept of jihad became central to the ideology of groups like Al-Qaeda which attacked United States on 9/11/2001. The rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria (2014–2019), Taliban in Afghanistan, Al-Shabab in Africa, and Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Pakistan helped create numerous terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Hizbul Mujahideen, and Harkatul Mujahideen have intensified jihad as a regional and global apocalyptic battle to create a new Islamic caliphate. In the contemporary Period, the conflicts in the Middle East have intensified the belief in jihad. Teaching jihad to Palestinian children over several generations have destabilized the relationship with Israel. But the belief in jihad has no signs of diminishing despite the fact that Islamic forces like Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, Iran, Syria, and Iraq are heading towards defeat. Myanmar, a Buddhist country where Islamic militancy grew significantly after independence from British rule leading to periodic tensions with Buddhist majority. Harakah al-Yaqin (HaY), a Rohingya insurgent group linked to global jihadist networks like Al-Qaeda and ISIS contributed to significant jihadist activity which led them to their displacement into neighboring India where they joined forces with Indian jihadis, and are terrorizing Hindu population Northeastern and northern states. The history of jihad is deeply intertwined with Islamic theology, law, and politics. The nations that have Muslim population are convinced that Islam is a religion of peace and jihad is the work of an isolated extremist or someone who has “mental” issues. The reality we see in India, Middle East, Western Europe and Noth America is quite disturbing. Muslims do not want into fit into other countries they migrate into. Readers who are familiar with the work of this author or his work on social media like Twitter knows that his work is focused and well-informed, but he could have included some key information about jihad in India and jihad against Israel.