Muslim Lifestyle

Reviews

Issue 5 May / Jun 2004

First featured in issue 5 - May/June 2004

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Against All Enemies

Inside America’s War on Terror

Review by Owen Van Spall

Given the appalling state of both Iraq and Afghanistan today, President George W. Bush is not without his critics. Richard Clark however could prove the most devastating. An apolitical career civil servant who has served four presidents, recently as head of counter terrorism at the National Security Council under Clinton (and later Bush) from 1998 onwards, he was in a key position to observe the American response to international terrorist activity before and after the World Trade Centre attack, and in particular to chart with growing unease the emergence from the shadows of al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

Much of this book is a broad history of Clark’s involvement with US counter-terrorism and intelligence activities from the early Afghan- Soviet war through to the Gulf Wars of 1991 and beyond. As al-Qaeda emerged as a definite serious threat in the post- Cold War period following a series of attacks such as the double embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, Clark and his colleagues threw themselves into the struggle to convince Washington of the real danger ahead. Clinton, according to Clark, proved a receptive President (Clinton certainly comes off well in this analysis compared to the current incumbent) to the need for preparation and tough action against the network - by the time he left office; there had already been budgetary and organisational changes. Special forces and agencies plotted many attempts to have Bin Laden arrested or killed. None had succeeded.

Nevertheless what Clark’s book  ultimately is aiming for is an assault on the ideology and policy of the current US administration. He witnessed Bush coming to office believing Clinton’s recommendations on terrorism were largely irrelevant. In an April meeting following the inauguration, Clark recalls Deputy Secretary for Defence, Paul Wolfowitz deflecting his claim that al-Qaeda was an “immediate and serious” threat to the United States –“well, there are others that do as well, at least as much. Iraqi terrorism for example.”

The implications are obvious - Iraq was already on more than a few minds even before September 11. Following the September attacks, the first impulse of the Bush administration was not to turn to Clark and his collated data on the man held responsible, but to use the tragedy as the pretext for the war which Clark believes the neoconservatives in government had wanted all along - the war on Saddam. Bush himself ordered Clark personally, in the face of protests, to see again and again if Saddam was behind it. The real threat slipped away, America’s reputation was tarnished by a war that went in the wrong direction after the wrong target, with innocent people dying.

Largely a ‘I told you so’ history of the now seemingly inevitable clash of the United States with al-Qaeda, his is nevertheless fascinating reading, with author credentials like these (one can hardly argue Clark is ‘soft’ on terrorism as no doubt his political opponents will) the revelations have caused great consternation in the White House and should, unless later revelations prove otherwise, also be taken seriously by those readers wanting to know how we got where we are today in the Middle East.

Signs of God: Design in Nature

By Harun Yahya

For those people who have been living on the dark side of the moon for the last decade, Harun Yahya is the Turkish author whose books on faith and science have been translated into over forty languages. They have taken the market by storm and have sold millions of copies all over the world. With such hard-hitting titles as The Evolution Deceit, Darwinism Refuted and Global Freemasonry under his belt, his latest offering is very much cut from the same cloth.

The book, which explores the signs of the Creator in the world of nature, is simply and sincerely written, logically constructed and beautifully presented. It is filled with dozens of spectacular photographs to illustrate the author’s admiration for what he often refers to as ‘Allah’s Artistry’: plants, animals and the universe at large are under contemplation.

Because Yahya has sold so well in the Muslim world, he has now set his sights set on non-Muslims. This latest offering is edited accordingly, for example, instead of ‘Allah’ the word ‘God’ is used throughout the book. Instead of filling the book with Qur’anic verses – though many relate to scientific matters – Yahya has written about God in a very general way so as to welcome into his world those not of the Islamic faith. Where The Evolution Deceit was a samurai sword, Signs of God is more like a scalpel. Undoubtedly, some Muslims may object but I would remind them of the world in which we live, the media therein and images that the word ‘Allah’ may conjure up in the minds of non-Muslims. For the average Westerner, who has only seen the word ‘Allah’ on press releases by groups claiming responsibility for violent and often despicable acts, the word ‘God’ is surely far more inclusive and palatable.

From start to finish, Signs of God is very readable. Let us hope that Muslims and non-Muslims, both of whom have uncritically been taught that the theory of evolution is a stonecold fact, enjoy the logic and straight-forwardness which has made Harun Yahya such a hero to millions of people all over the world.

I Saw Ramallah

by Mourid Barghouti

(translated by Ahdaf Soueif)