Engaging the Muslim world by Juan Cole

There can be little doubt that Mr. Cole possesses a great deal of knowledge about the Middle Eastern countries including history. The purpose of his book, in my opinion, is to convince the readers that they have nothing to fear as far as Muslims are concerned.
His hatred of all things Jewish offended me the most. I readily admit that Israel together with the backing of America has pushed their weight around in their desire to provide a homeland for all of the Jewish persuasion. Jews from around the globe have migrated here as a refuge from discrimination and persecution everywhere but particularly in the Muslim world. They have successfully defended their country many times since being created in 1947. They must win or it is all over for them. This I firmly believe.
Mr. Cole, in the first chapter spells out the truth of America and England interfering in their lands in the quest for domination over their petroleum resources. These facts are well documented. I firmly believe that the wars with Iraq and Afghanistan are following the same script.
His other premise is that Muslims just want to be left in peace. He did not convince me. To be honest, I am too far gone to be persuaded that their goal is not domination of all countries on earth. If they are as peaceful as he claims why is it you can be jailed for possessing a Bible, can be killed if you convert to Christianity, why do their text books tell the students that infidels must be destroyed or made subservient to their leaders?
As I stated at the beginning Mr. Cole knows his subject. You could learn a lot about this issue by reading as long as you just add this to the information
you already possess.
I want to end by quoting a comment from his Conclusion Chapter. It is on page 245, first paragraph, “If they (the Palestinians) cannot have a state of their own, then Israel will have to grant them citizenship. With one and one half million living in Israel as citizens today, this has been my personal conviction for many years. I have recommended adding small sections one at a time to allow them to be assimilated and then add more. He and I agree totally on this point.
I found this book at the public library.

Jack B. Walters
July 28, 2010