Answering Jihad by Nabeel Qureshi

This is a primer on Ilam, Muslims, radical Islam and a how to book. The author, Nabeel Qureshi, is a former Muslim. He grew up in a Muslim family. He left Islam to become a follower of Jesus. He is the New York Times bestselling author of the book Seeking Allah Finding Jesus. Qureshi is a speaker with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. He wrote Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward as a primer to introduce U.S. citizens to to the entire question of Islam, Jihad and how to respond to these serious issues facing the West. He starts this entire book with a Preface to tell the reader why he wrote this book, and provides background for why he believes this book is needed. He provides a brief Acknowledgments page to thank those who made this book possible. He provides a Further Reading and Indebtedness page, giving the purpose of this book. Qureshi then gives a few pages of introduction to this book. This book is oreganized in three parts. Part 1 is The Origins of Jihad. Part 2 is Jihad Today and Part 3 is Jihad In Judeo-Christian Context. Instead of chapters, Quereshi organizes this book in questions, 18 of them. He ends this book with four appendices that answer techical questions about Islam. He finishes his book with a Glossary of Islam-related terms. The book ends with a sneak peak into a forthcoming book by the author.

I found this book to be very informative. I knew of this author because I have his book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, which I haven't yet read. This book, Answering Jihad, packs a lot of info into concise text. I found it easy to follow, as he uses subheadings and uses a question format. I found this book to be interesting. It was what I had expected, sound, researched and based on his own life experiences. He has credibility because he is a Muslim-background Christian. I never knew that most Muslims are Sunni Muslims and that the Shia sect is only a small minority. Nor did I realize that Islam and radical Islam are connected. Radcal Islam, as the author points out, isn't a separate form of Islam, but radicalized Islam. I suspected, but didn't realize until I read this book, that radicalized Muslims derive ther ideology from the Quran itself. THe majority of "good, peaceful" Muslims are actually Muslims who don't take the Quran seriously or read it. Or, they are secularized. I have always heard either that "Islam is a religion of peace" or that "Islam is a cult of death" and that Muslims are dangerous as a group. The two GOP front-runners are both passing around the second error about Muslims being people who need to be banned from the country, or monitored. Our President and many others declare, Islam is a religion of peace." Qureshi shows how neither extreme view of Islam are both dangerous. He shows how relating to Muslims out of fear and hate is not only unwise but immoral. Many readers may not like his solution, based on Christ's teachings, that prayer, nonviolence and loving one's enemies is the approach to terrorism. This is based on the author's worldview and his faithfulness to the Bible.

This is such an important, vital book. I recommend it for everyone. I recommend it to every pastor. Each pastor needs to educate himself about Islam, Muslims, terrorism, and how to respond to it all. Christians need to know how to rise above fear and prejudice and reach out to local Muslims. This book will lay out general principles for pastors though it doesn't get specific. I suggest this book to every Chrstian in order to get educated about Islam, Muslims, terrorism and how to approach them. This book should be required reading in every seminary and Christian college. I recommend this book to any interested Muslim, who may be interested in the section about Christianity vs. Islam. Muslims may become educated about Christianity and how it different from Islam. Maybe a youth version of this book should be written. With the Muslim students in our schools, other students need to get educated about Islam and Muslims from a Christian perspective.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Booklook Bloggers, in exchange for my honest review. I wasn't required to give a favorable review of this book.