On May 24, 2010, my wife and I returned home from a 1,876-mile trip to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Iran.
We traveled to Pennsylvania and New Jersey in our 2008 GMC Savana van.
We traveled to Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and a number of other Middle Eastern countries by means of a 16-CD audio book by Joel C. Rosenberg titled “Inside the Revolution: How the Followers of Jihad, Jefferson & Jesus Are Battling to Dominate the Middle East and Transform the World.”
Listening to this very insightful work (also available in hardback, 576 pages), published by Brilliance Audio in March 2009, stimulated our minds and made the miles go by quickly.
Rosenberg, born to a Jewish father and an agnostic Gentile mother, is an evangelical Christian, writing here about Islam. But “Inside the Revolution” is a methodical, highly objective presentation of the facts. Personal commentary is limited, and always clearly noted.
As a communications strategist whose previously published novels have sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide, this author has personally interviewed many major political players in the Middle East, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
Rosenberg has addressed audiences at the Pentagon, the White House, and the Heritage Foundation. He has spoken to audiences in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and numerous other countries. He has been a guest on CNN Headline News, MSNBC, and the Fox News Channel — to name just a few. He’s been around the block. His insights into world affairs have proven exceptionally accurate. If you have never before heard of Joel Rosenberg, you have now, and you will likely be hearing more in the years ahead.
• What do you know about the childhood and formative years of Osama bin Laden and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
• Have you heard about the thousands of Muslims who are independently reporting vivid dreams and visions in which Jesus appears to them?
• Are you familiar with the incredible stories behind the stories of Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, and Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan?
• How serious is the threat posed by radical Islamists today?
• Is Islam truly a peace-loving religion?
All of these questions are answered in captivating detail in “Inside the Revolution.”
There’s no commission coming my way for plugging this book. I simply believe that more of us owe it to ourselves to be better informed about the people, events, and forces that are changing our world and affecting our future. Better understanding often facilitates better relations. And better relations among proponents of the increasing variety of worldviews here in America today seem critical.
One thing that may be helpful is to understand that all religions are exclusivist by definition. That’s what makes each religious group distinct. Their doctrine, or even lack of doctrine, is unique to them alone. Groups that claim to be all-inclusive, and insist that everyone should be all-inclusive, often themselves move to exclude those who don’t share that view. But that’s fine, so long as that view and all other views can be expressed without censorship or violent reprisal.
Such was not the case with the Rev. Franklin Graham, whose invitation to participate in a prayer service at the Pentagon on May 6, 2010, later was rescinded because of candid remarks that he had once made about Islam. That was censorship. It prohibited the free exercise of Graham’s religious expression, and therefore was arguably a violation of the so-called establishment clause of the First Amendment. Rather than understanding the principle of mutual exclusivity and allowing for candid public discourse among religious entities, officials suppressed it and created a problem.
The other approach that obviously destroys freedom of religious expression and improved relations among those holding opposing worldviews is perpetrated by those who are convinced that jihad (with its suicide missions and use of weapons of mass destruction) is the only realistic way to further the cause of Islam worldwide.
In his book, Rosenberg cites Islamic Reformers, Revivalists (i.e. Christian converts with a Muslim background — or a nominally Christian background — who are living in a predominately Muslim country), and democratically principled government, as all being vital to any real solution.
Someone once said that education is what’s left when you subtract what you’ve forgotten from what you’ve learned. There’s so much to be learned from “Inside the Revolution,” the 2009 Retailer’s Choice Award winner, that even after deducting what you forget, you’ll be left with a significant education about one of the most pressing issues of our time.
The Rev. Daryl E. Witmer is founder and director of the AIIA Institute, a national apologetics ministry, and pastor emeritus at the Monson Community Church. He may be reached on the web at AIIAInstitute.org or by e-mail at AIIAInstitute@aol.com. Voices is a weekly commentary by Maine people who explore issues affecting spirituality and religious life.