False Prophets: The 'Clash of Civilizations' and the Global War on Terror Book

Praise for Jihad: From Qu'ran to Bin Laden:

“Such books would help our efforts aimed at clearing away misunderstanding about Islam especially the Jihad by the Western World.” — Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq, Minister for Religious Affairs, Pakistan

After 9/11 the US response to Al-Qaeda — the global “war on terror” — was heavily influenced by the “clash of civilizations” theory. First introduced by Bernard Lewis in 1990 in an article entitled “The Roots of Muslim Rage,” this theory was taken up by Samuel Huntington in his famous book The Clash of Civilizations: Remaking of World Order in 1993. After the end of the cold war, global conflict will not be economic or ideological but cultural and religious. “The clash of civilizations,” Huntington wrote, “will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.”

This theory of global conflict proved enormously influential with neoconservatives in the United States and heavily influenced contemporary US and UK policy. Richard Bonney’s controversial new book takes as its subject Huntington’s “clash of civilizations” thesis and looks at the history of this so-called struggle of civilizations before it came to precedence in the twenty-first century. It identifies the twenty-first century proponents of the thesis, such as Bernard Lewis and Daniel Pipes, their links to the Bush government and their roles in exploiting this tradition of hostility between the West and Islam.

Richard Bonney was a professor of modern history at the University of Leicester. He has published, amongst other titles, Jihad: From Qu’ran to Bin Laden. He has worked for more than ten years in Leicester towards enhancing religious and cultural harmony while respecting diversity.

Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction: Are We Fighting World War IV Against Islamo-Fascism?
The Context of the Clash
Revisiting Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilizations’ Thesis Post-9/11
‘Bring Them Freedom or They Destroy Us’: Bernard Lewis and the Evolution of the ‘Lewis Doctrine’
Elijah’s Mantle: The Inherited Struggle of Daniel Pipes
The Real American Special Relationship: Israel’s Interests and the Influence of the American Jewish Lobby
‘Rapture’, the Theo-cons, and the Christian Right in US Politics
Regime Change? Assertive Nationalism Captures the White House Post-9/11
‘Making the World Safer and Better’? Iraq and the Moral Arguments Concerning Preventive War
‘We Don’t Do Nation-Building’: Towards a Jus Post Bellum for Iraq and Other Cases of Intervention
Towards ‘Eurabia’ or the Co-Habitation of Civilizations?
Conclusion: Demise of the False Prophets?
Dramatis Personae
Bibliography
Notes
Index