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What Went Wrong? By Bernard Lewis Perennial, An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers October 2002 186pp.$12.95 Reviewed by Michael Weygant To say that a volume as brief as ?What Went Wrong?? by Bernard Lewis answers many questions on the current middle east situation is to extend a great compliment to the author and his work. That clearly is the case with this welcome addition to the growing number of literary offerings that attempt to deal with this subject of vital importance to the Messianic Jewish community. The real strength of this book, besides the extensive documentation which undergirds the author’s assertions, is his attempt to both explain and promote an informed understanding of the Islamic world. To this world, Lewis’ position is neither hostile nor religious. Instead, Lewis leads the reader through the annals of history as perceived and perhaps experienced by the Islamic world. Lewis states: ?Medieval Islam was an intensely historical-minded society...But, medieval Muslims were not interested in non-Muslim history..? Still, his special emphasis on the history of the Ottoman Empire, now seen in the patchwork Islamic society that is modern, secular Turkey, is most enlightening. By measuring other Islamic based societies with secular Turkey, Lewis opens for the reader a historical panoramic view of societies foreign yet important to us. He also integrates the basic history of a dispersed Jewish community and the ebb and flow of Christian influence in Europe to make the reading more complete and thorough in scope. Throughout the book, Lewis offers commentary and insight into the development of a number of modern Islamic societies. His profound observations on the impact of the ‘imported’ ideals of patriotism and nationalism on the Islamic world clarify much of what we now recognize as the struggle between Islam and modernity the thematic core of this book. Although current proponents of radical Islam continue to gain notoriety in our time, the author contends that the deepest struggle in the Islamic world centers less on religious tenet and more on the increasing jockeying for dominance of western cultural patterns in Islamic society. Not surprisingly, Lewis is considered one of the leading scholars of Islamic history in the world or, as the Wall Street Journal notes in its assessment of Lewis: ?the world‘s foremost Islamic scholar.? Although we may disagree with the author concerning the real issues of the conflicts of the middle east, which are best understood in the light of the Scriptures, the purpose of the God of Israel and the principles of spiritual warfare, we are well served by the insights of this book. Besides being uniquely informative, the book is pleasant in style to read and contains new insights for even the most informed middle east aficionados among us. |
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