I did not finish this book...
I thought it would be a book about how to approach Muslims from a Christian perspective, but most of the book is a description of how Islam is not a religion of peace...

This covers a subject I've been interested in for awhile. It's well written, organized, easy to understand. I am neither Christian nor Muslim, but I think this is a book that many can benefit from, forcing them to look at Muslims and jihad from another perspective than the one presented by the media.

Answering Jihad is a great resource for understanding the Muslim faith and teachings as it relates to jihad, and sheds light on the life and teachings of Mohammed. I think there is a lot of confusion among those of other faiths as to what Muslims believe. It is something foreign to most, and it can be tough to decipher from the outside looking in. Nabeel Qureshi, as one born and bred deep in the Muslim faith, speaks with authority, and brings an academic mind and inquisitive nature to his writing that enlightens and intrigues, as he takes us through the teachings of Islam on jihad, sprinkling in anecdotes from his own Muslim upbringing.

Central to the book is the question on the minds of many- if Islam is a "religion of peace" as many say (and we see the vast majority of our Muslim acquaintances behaving peacefully), then why are many groups of Muslims engaging in jihad, conquering by the sword and slaughtering many around the world and invoking the name and ways of Mohammed in doing so? Which one is it, peace or violence? Qureshi goes to the root of Mohammed's teachings on jihad, and the early decades of the faith to arrive at the answer. He does so in a respectful and thorough fashion, examining the teachings of the Koran and the Hadith, which paint a clear picture of what Mohammed's views were. I highly recommend this book to both Christians who are seeking a better understanding, and to Muslims, who will likely see themselves in Qureshi's journey.

Nabeel felt that he needed to write a book about Muslim beliefs since the Islamic Terror attack of 9/11.
This is a statement that tells why the author wrote this book:
"I simply aim to uncover the violence that suffuses the foundations of Islam, which are the Quran and the traditions of Muhammad’s life, and to demonstrate that a return to these foundations can yield violent results."
Nabeel is a Christian, but he grew up as a Muslim, his great grandparents and grandparents were Muslim missionaries, and his parents raised him to know the Quran, and to pray constantly. His family were not radical Muslims, some members of his family even served in the military. Nabeel is trying to show Americans that all Muslims are not terrorists, and that believers are to love Muslims and pray for them just as they would for a non-Muslim.
This book goes into a great amount of details about Muslim history and beliefs, it should be read in short portions in order to understand it all.
This book discusses the different sects of Islam, how radicalized Muslims are different from non-radicalized ones, and how Sharia Law is practiced.
Nabeel gives the reader a thorough understanding of Islam and what the Quran teaches, along with how Christians can relate to and understand Muslims.

If you don’t know, Nabeel Qureshi, the author, is a former Muslim known for his book Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, which recounts his dramatic conversion from Islam to Christianity. This book, Answering Jihad mainly targets Christians who don’t know much about Islam in general, but are curious about radical Islam that has been so prominent in the world news as of late.

The book is quite short and divided into 18 chapters or questions. The 18 questions are divided into 3 sections: The Origins of Jihad, Jihad Today and Jihad in Judeo-Christian Context. Nabeel’s Qureshi’s main thesis is this: Radical Islam is a Muslim contemporary movement towards foundational Islam. This foundational Islam, Qureshi argues, is violent, so radical Islam is correspondingly violent. In other words, the violent jihad we see today is not a departure from, rather a move towards Islam as it originally began. Through this Qureshi is trying combat the prevalent idea that Islam is a peaceful religion, as even George W. Bush asserted after the 9/11 attacks. Qureshi asserts that although Muslims can be peaceful, Islam stems from a violent tradition.

In the first section, Qureshi formulates a compelling argument that the Quran and Muhammad himself teaches physical warfare or jihad as an Islamic duty. One thing to note is that Muslims have not traditionally been “people of the book.” Most Muslims have never had the chance to read the Quran and receive most of their instruction from their teachers about how Islam it supposed to be lived. Interestingly, in the second section, Qureshi claims that the age of internet access and social media has catalyzed this movement towards foundational Islam, as the Quran and the Hadith is widely available to be read in translated languages, not just in Arabic. In the third section, Qureshi tries to distance Christian violence from Muslim violence, making the argument (I’m simplifying this) that Jesus was peaceful, while Muhammad was violent. Violence then is a deviance from Christian beliefs, while violence is a close adherence to “true Islam.”

Qureshi is sympathetic towards Muslims and apologetic toward Christianity. You should have this in the back of your mind if you get a chance to read this. All that being said, this does not mean that Qureshi’s arguments should be dismissed at face value. Qureshi presents a plethora of quotes and references to the Quran and other traditional Islamic texts that allows the reader to begin to determine for themselves what they think about the current of Islam, and in particular jihad. Overall, I will rate this book three stars for its lack of academic rigor and opposing opinions. It is however, easy to read and well organized. Yet, I believe the effect of book will leave the read feeling, all too simplistically, that Christianity is good and Islam is bad. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about modern jihad from a Christian viewpoint.

A detailed account of the jihad phenomenon that effects almost every one in the present world

This is an excellent primer in jihad for those who know very little about Islam. Since the author was a devout Muslim before converting to Christianity, he writes with much love and compassion toward Muslims, while objectively exploring what Islam actually teaches about jihad.

I loved the background information on Islam in general, as I think many people lack a basic understanding of how Islam functions.

"To answer whether Islam truly is a religion of peace, we must consider what Islam teaches, not just what Muslims practice." (p.28)

"To assume that Muslims must live a certain way because the Quran or hadith command it misses a crucial step in the Islamic worldview, the distillation of sharia through Muslim authorities. If jurists and imams say that surah 9 does not apply to a Muslim's life today and that they should live peacefully with their Jewish, Christian, and polytheist neighbors, then it is entirely appropriate for a Muslim to follow his imam and live peacefully." (p. 59)

I especially appreciated the section on ISIS, Al-Qaida, and Boko Haram, as I've had a difficult time finding concise explanations of what exactly is going on overseas with these particular groups. Qureshi's information was incredibly helpful.

Though he doesn't offer specific "solutions," Qureshi repeatedly asserts that Christians loving Muslims with Christ's love is our best response to jihad.

The book is written in a question-and-answer format with 18 questions total:

1. What Is Islam?
2. Is Islam “a Religion of Peace”?
3. What Is Jihad?
4. Is Jihad in the Quran and the Life of Muhammad?
5. What Is Sharia?
6. Was Islam Spread by the Sword?
7. What Is Radical Islam?
8. Does Islam Need a Reformation?
9. Who Are Al-Qaida, ISIS, and Boko Haram?
10. Who Are the True Muslims—Violent or Peaceful Muslims?
11. Why Are Muslims Being Radicalized?
12. Are Muslims Trying to Take Over the West with Sharia?
13. Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?
14. Why Do Some Christians Call God “Allah”?
15. How Does Jihad Compare with Old Testament Warfare?
16. What Does Jesus Teach about Violence?
17. How Does Jihad Compare with the Crusades?
18. What Does Jesus Have to Do with Jihad?

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

They obviously didn’t begin then, but since September 11, 2001, conversations on Muslim-Christian relations have been on a sharp rise, even more so with recent worldwide bombings. Tensions are high, misunderstandings are often higher, and hate fills more rooms than the love of Christ. This is what eventually pushed Nabeel Qureshi, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity some years ago, to break his silence on the matter and quickly write //Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward//. Qureshi does not waste his reader’s time; in the Introduction he explains his background, purpose in writing, and the point on which he will eventually land: “[A]s long as Islam is practiced in a way that calls Muslims to return to its foundations, violence will follow. … I really do feel that the Christian teaching of loving one’s enemies, even in the face of death, might perhaps be the most powerful answer to jihad at our disposal today. Not only does it allow us to counter jihad, it also enables us to treat Muslims with the utmost dignity: as image bearers of God” (19–20). From there the book is divided into three parts in which Qureshi answers eighteen questions to eventually get to his point:

Part 1: The Origins of Jihad
Question 1: What Is Islam?
Question 2: Is Islam “a Religion of Peace”?
Question 3: What Is Jihad?
Question 4: Is Jihad in the Quran and the Life of Muhammad?
Question 5: What Is Sharia?
Question 6: Was Islam Spread by the Sword?

Part 2: Jihad Today
Question 7: What Is Radical Islam?
Question 8: Does Islam Need a Reformation?
Question 9: Who Are Al-Qaida, ISIS, and Boko Haram?
Question 10: Who Are the True Muslims—Violent or Peaceful Muslims?
Question 11: Why Are Muslims Being Radicalized?
Question 12: Are Muslims Trying to Take Over the West with Sharia?

Part 3: Jihad in Judeo-Christian Context
Question 13: Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?
Question 14: Why Do Some Christians Call God “Allah”?
Question 15: How Does Jihad Compare with Old Testament Warfare?
Question 16: What Does Jesus Teach about Violence?
Question 17: How Does Jihad Compare with the Crusades?
Question 18: What Does Jesus Have to Do with Jihad?
Conclusion: Answering Jihad

Also included are several helpful appendices that are worth reading.

Given that my wife was living in Manhattan on 9/11 and subsequently obtained her M.A. through the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (studying Middle East relations, terrorism, and Arabic), I knew throughout the reading of this book that we’d be having some intense discussions later. So, until she gets a chance to read it herself and we actually have more of those discussions (I don’t know Arabic and have not studied Islamic scholarship), I’ll try to address this text based on the evidence presented, convincing or otherwise, and keep “but my wife says” comments out of it. (Maybe we’ll add a follow-up inclusion or post later!) If nothing else, this has lead to our determination to read together the Quran (in English—please save “there is no translation of the Quran” comments for forums that wish to engage in those debates) and hadith in their entirety so that we can better address these things.

Parts 1 and 2 I found quite helpful in defining terms and ideas using the Quran and traditions chronologically as to maintain timeline of what they meant and came to mean, establishing a convincing argument, in my estimation, of the violent foundation of Islam and that to which “radicals” are bringing people back. Does this mean all “good Muslims” are violent? No, and Qureshi addresses this (91–92); but his argument throughout the book is that of Islam’s foundation (the Quran and Muhammad’s teachings) and what a call to this will bring: violence.

//Part 3:// This is where my “expertise” and scholarship comes into play, and this is where I find many of Qureshi’s arguments wanting.

//Question 13:// Quershi’s answer is an absolute “no.” That’s fine, but his reason is perhaps based on a semantic misunderstanding of the word //same//. His principle argument is that Islam denies Jesus and the Holy Spirit as God, and therefore worships a different God. He claims this is not the case with Jews because the Trinity can be developed from the Old Testament; however, he stops short of answering whether or not Jews practicing Judaism (those who deny Jesus as the Messiah) are worshipping the same God. His arguments would say they don’t. So, as he writes in reference to the word //Allah// in Question 14, perhaps these words may also be applied to //same//: “The term can be used in multiple ways, and our conversations would be far better served by focusing on meaningful matters rather than proper use of a term that can be legitimately used in many ways” (119).

//Question 15:// The conclusion: “The final marching order of Islam is jihad. The final marching orders of Christians are grace and love” (125). Okay, but let’s not sidestep theses Old Testament passages by stating that they “serve little more than an historical footnote in the practice and expectation of the Christian life” (124). That’s not very helpful.

//Question 16:// Jesus makes no room for violence, even in self-defense. Amen! Qureshi does a great job in briefly and concisely addressing the seemingly problematic verses for pacifists in the New Testament in favor of complete nonviolence. Jesus calls us to peace and to love our enemy. It appears that he really is going to conclude the book with the love of Christ and sacrifice, not retaliation, in the face of jihad. But then he addresses Question 17…

//Question 17:// “When we condemn the Crusades, we ought to do so in light of what they actually were, a defensive effort after much of the Christian world had been conquered by Muslims. Yet I do condemn the Crusades. The slaughter of Jews in the Rhineland and Muslims in Jerusalem was unconscionable, especially since crusaders had taken on the name of Christ. **If their efforts had represented the state and not the church, and had they been much more humane, perhaps I would feel differently.** But to take the symbol of the cross, on which Jesus died for his enemies, and to turn it into a symbol for killing one’s enemies in my mind deserves to be condemned” (136, emphasis mine). Wait, what? If the Crusades had been in the name of the state on not in the name of Christ Qureshi may have felt differently about them? Only because the cross of Christ was taken into battle does he have a problem with it? When do Christians not carry the cross of Christ? Did Jesus ask us to take up our cross in a church building and lay it down when our nations call us to action on their behalf? Never! This is a dangerous door being opened, which will be fully swung open in his ultimate conclusion (Question 18 properly reflects Question 16).

//Conclusion:// “I am not advocating naïve pacifism in the face of genocide and murder. Many Christians believe it is the duty of the state to fight for and protect its people, as defending the oppressed is an expression of loving one’s neighbor. They often refer to passages such as Romans 13:1–5 and 1 Peter 2:13–14 to suggest that Christians should play active roles in such state-led efforts.
**So, I am not promoting pacifism, but neither am I advocating a violent response. I am, in fact, not advocating any particular course of action, but rather a frame of heart and mind that will, in turn, shape the way we respond**” (146–147, emphasis mine).

Here Qureshi unfortunately does not address the noted passages as he did with those in Question 16, perhaps avoiding further conflict with the military background of his family, though I don’t know how a proper addressing of these passages and maintain a nonviolent stance in the name of Christ would be anymore offensive or controversial than writing this book with a still Muslim family. And if not advocating for any particular course of action, then what is the point of the book? Seriously, love is not apathetic; it is active. With heart framed in Christ, we are called to action; not violent action, but action nonetheless. //Being passive// is not the same thing as //pacifism//. Jesus calls us to lay down our lives, not to take others’.

By opening this door to violence in the name of a nation, Qureshi has effectively sanctioned jihad for any people group, Christians included, in the name of a nation’s best interest. If an Islamic state exists, then they could rightly use Qureshi’s own words to point out that it is not in the name of religion but in the name of the nation that they “defend” others from the “evils” of “Western culture,” just as Western nations use violence to “defend” others from ill-perceived cultures and to promote its own ideals. Patriotism is idolatry. We are first citizens of the kingdom of God, and we ought never lay down our cross.

Love our neighbors, Muslim or otherwise, yes. Leave open the possibility of violence in the name of our nation so that we can justify that which goes against the act of loving? Never! Jesus is Lord, and demonstrating his love is the //only// way forward.

I’m not sure who to recommend this book to because the Christians I know who already hate Muslims (or really anyone they disagree with) would take away from this book exactly that which I found dangerous in Qureshi’s conclusion: a way to kill them all through via the nation state. Of course, my response: //#facepalm Missed. The. Point.// But if listening to Qureshi, they’re positioned could be justified. Those who are already trying to love their neighbor do not need this book (at least not for its intended purpose). So, I’m torn. There’s some really compelling material here with a cataclysmic conclusion.

This book is great! It answers a lot of questions about Jihad and a better understanding of Islam. Very informative, well written.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.