Amena Mamoon
Professor Mathews
Western Civilization
November 6, 2017
The novel “Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War” by Sebastian Gorka, is a novel that explains how the war on terror “is eminently winnable if we remove our ideological blinders, accurately name our enemy, and draw up a strategy to defeat the ideas that inspire terrorism.” (Gorka) I found this book to be slightly racist. As a Muslim, I understand what Jihad really means. Yes, it translates to holy war, however in the holy book of Islam the Quran, the holy war is not a real physical war. It is a spiritual war one faces every day of their life avoiding sins and doing wrongful things. It is a war to do good even when you feel like doing something wrong. For example, if a person …show more content…
He explains how the public lacks knowledge of what the war is truly about, but most importantly who the enemy really is. He explains that the importance of clarifying who the enemy is so important because it allows for proper action to be taken. We are also told by the author that the reason for such public misunderstanding of the war and who the enemy is, is because of our last two presidential administrations of Bush and Obama. Gorka explains how these two presidents named the “jihadi” movement to be a movement with an intent to destroy the West—“violent extremism.” (Gorka). Even though Bush and Obama’s attempt was to maintain peace with the Muslim community, they failed to identify who the enemy is and this failure trickled to the people of the country because it allowed for the misinterpreting of the Islamic …show more content…
This statement is very true because if we were to ask a citizen of the United States before 9/11 if they knew about Islam at all compared to the citizens nowadays, we would get very less information. It is true that many citizens know more about Islam, however, still lack the understanding of it because of misguidance.
In Chapter three, “Annus horribilis,” the Iranian revolution is talked about with the siege of Mecca. The fourth chapter of the book is very interesting. In “The Enemy Masterminds: The Grand Strategists of Modern Jihad,” the author goes over many modern Islamist theorists like Sayyid Qutb, Ayman al Zawahiri, and General S.K. Malik. In this chapter, he uses many historical facts and reviews many important people.
The final chapter such as “What is to be Done?” and “Afterward,” talk about policy recommendations. “The individual American is encouraged to procure and to carry a firearm, and to report any suspicious activity to the police” (Gorka pgs
Professor Mathews
Western Civilization
November 6, 2017
The novel “Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War” by Sebastian Gorka, is a novel that explains how the war on terror “is eminently winnable if we remove our ideological blinders, accurately name our enemy, and draw up a strategy to defeat the ideas that inspire terrorism.” (Gorka) I found this book to be slightly racist. As a Muslim, I understand what Jihad really means. Yes, it translates to holy war, however in the holy book of Islam the Quran, the holy war is not a real physical war. It is a spiritual war one faces every day of their life avoiding sins and doing wrongful things. It is a war to do good even when you feel like doing something wrong. For example, if a person …show more content…
He explains how the public lacks knowledge of what the war is truly about, but most importantly who the enemy really is. He explains that the importance of clarifying who the enemy is so important because it allows for proper action to be taken. We are also told by the author that the reason for such public misunderstanding of the war and who the enemy is, is because of our last two presidential administrations of Bush and Obama. Gorka explains how these two presidents named the “jihadi” movement to be a movement with an intent to destroy the West—“violent extremism.” (Gorka). Even though Bush and Obama’s attempt was to maintain peace with the Muslim community, they failed to identify who the enemy is and this failure trickled to the people of the country because it allowed for the misinterpreting of the Islamic …show more content…
This statement is very true because if we were to ask a citizen of the United States before 9/11 if they knew about Islam at all compared to the citizens nowadays, we would get very less information. It is true that many citizens know more about Islam, however, still lack the understanding of it because of misguidance.
In Chapter three, “Annus horribilis,” the Iranian revolution is talked about with the siege of Mecca. The fourth chapter of the book is very interesting. In “The Enemy Masterminds: The Grand Strategists of Modern Jihad,” the author goes over many modern Islamist theorists like Sayyid Qutb, Ayman al Zawahiri, and General S.K. Malik. In this chapter, he uses many historical facts and reviews many important people.
The final chapter such as “What is to be Done?” and “Afterward,” talk about policy recommendations. “The individual American is encouraged to procure and to carry a firearm, and to report any suspicious activity to the police” (Gorka pgs