The Two Faces of Islam

  The Two Faces of Islam -The House of Sa'ud from Tradition to Terror.
by Stephen Schwartz,
Hardback 313 pages.


Description :

From Publishers Weekly : Schwartz challenges President Bush's "axis of terror." "The real exporters of international Islamic extremism and terror," he says, are not Iraq or Iran, but an American ally: the Saudis. Saudia Arabia is dominated by Wahhabism, which journalist Schwartz (Kosovo: Background to a War) labels a "fascistic" cult. And the West, he goes on, has "nurtured this serpent in [its] very bosom" by supporting the Saudis in the belief that they were "moderate.


From Booklist : Schwartz cautions against viewing Islam as a monolith, pointing out that even under the umbrella of "fundamentalist" Islam, there is considerable diversity. He argues that the most dangerous and oppressive brand of Islamic extremism isn't found in Iran or Iraq, but in America's closest Arab ally, Saudi Arabia.

In Arabia, the spiritual legacy of Muhammad ibn abd al-Wahhab, a radical--and, Schwartz says, heretical--seventeenth-century cleric, rose to prominence when his followers, the Wahhabis, forged an allegiance to the Sa'ud family. Together, Wahhabis and Sa'uds murdered and plundered their way to the Arabian throne. Ever since, Schwartz maintains, the Saudis have worked tirelessly to export their uniquely extreme vision of Islamic piety. U.S. alliance with the Saudi regime only furthers the cause of terrorism. Provocative, detailed, and fervently written analysis.---John Green.