Dakota Beacon

Here we go again. Middle East turmoil never ceases.

Set the scene by asking questions. Does anyone know who the players are? Who are the Israelis, who are the Palestinians, and why do they fight? How do you tell the difference between a Hamas terrorist and a Palestinian? Hezbollah and Palestinian? Do Hamas (Sunni Muslims) and Hezbollah (Shia Muslims) get along? Why do Palestinians in Gaza aid, abet, tolerate, and support Hamas terrorists? Many questions; much confusion.

Perusing three books may offer clarity to the casual observer.

Book 1. “The Politically Incorrect Guide to The Middle East: Where Political Correctness Can Kill,” by Martin Sieff. Regnery, 2017. A synopsis from the inside flap says it all. “The Middle East is a region that's almost never off the front pages, yet one most Americans know little about. The mainstream media and Ivy League academics only make matters worse by casting everything in the usual politically correct mold: Arab terrorists are just desperate freedom fighters, and the region's one free democracy--Israel--is the oppressor … And if Islamic extremism is a problem … it's only because it's rooted in that source of all evils: religion … Combine religion, race, the Cold War, America's enemies, and a history of colonialism, and you've got a breeding ground for the most virulent strains of politically correct mythology, distortions, and cover-ups. Welcome to the Middle East.”

Book 2. “The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and The Crusades),” Robert Spencer. Regnery, 2005. Spencer contends that most of what the average American knows about Islam and the Crusades is skewed. Reason? Most history books and textbooks are written by left-wing academics and apologists justifying their agendas with contrived "facts." Spencer offers material not taught in schools or heard on the news. He also provides a list of "Books You Must Not Read" (according to the left).

Spencer shows the terrorist mindset that civilian casualties on both sides play to their advantage. That fulfills part of their strategy. They want their civilians killed who they also consider martyrs because when civilians are accidentally killed then the terrorists win in the court of public opinion. Civilian casualties on both sides play to their favor. As Golda Meir once put it, "We can perhaps someday forgive you for killing our children, but we cannot forgive you for making us kill your children."

Civilian casualties obviously increase when terrorists operate from within civilian enclaves and hide behind human shields. What about "civilians" who willingly allow themselves to be used as human shields? Or their homes as launching pads for terrorist rockets?

Spencer covers the topic of the Crusades in some detail. He discusses the reasons why the Crusades began and clears up several myths surrounding them. He argues it is more accurate to view the Crusades as a defensive war. They were a reaction to 400 years of Islamic expansion and imperialism. The attempt to reclaim the Holy Lands and rescue Christians was a big factor in the Crusades.

All in all, this brief volume contains a lot of helpful information. While such information does not mean that we treat individual Muslims disrespectfully, it does remind us that there are two very different ways of life competing for supremacy, and we need to be aware of this struggle and be fortified with accurate information.

Third book. “Arabs & Israel for Beginners,” Ron and Suzan David. For Beginners, 2007. Mr. David lays the groundwork by looking at popular beliefs and evaluating them critically. There are those who believe that the Arabs conquered Palestine in the 7th century from the resident Jewish inhabitants. Wrong! The area was under the control of the Eastern Roman Empire, i.e., Byzantium. In fact, Mr. Dave’s book covers the Middle East story from around 2000 BC to the early 1990s.

Interestingly, Mr. David is a Jew who takes on Zionism, Israel, and his own people. Significantly, his salient point is that Arabs hate the two-century-old land-grab of the Zionists in Palestine. They don’t necessarily hate the Jewish people. (You could have fooled me.)

Mr. David also points out that Israel and the Jews are not innocent. Zionists had their sights on Palestine since the 1850s. For the sake of argument, he asks rhetorical questions and proceeds to answer them. Did you know that up until the founding of the state of Israel, Jews and Arabs lived mostly in peace? Did you know that Europeans have killed more Jews than Arabs ever have?

The book concludes with a two-page bibliography for those wishing to pursue further reading on the topic. This book is an interesting primer for anyone unfamiliar with Arab-Israeli dilemma. It will help put in balance a great many misconceptions about the problem.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).