Non-Fiction Book Review - 'Sword and Scimitar' by Raymond Ibrahim

‘Sword and Scimitar’ by Raymond Ibrahim (book cover)

‘The West and Islam – the sword and scimitar – have clashed since the mid-seventh century, when, according to Muslim tradition, the Roman emperor rejected prophet Muhammad’s order to abandon Christianity and convert to Islam, unleashing a centuries-long jihad on Christendom.
‘Sword and Scimitar’ chronicles the decisive battles that arose from this ages-old Islamic jihad, beginning with the first major Islamic attack on Christian territory in 636, through the Muslim occupation of nearly three-quarters of Christendom, which prompted the Crusades, followed by renewed Muslim conquests by Turks and Tatars, to the European colonisation of the Muslim world in the 1800s, when Islam largely went on the retreat – until its reemergence in recent times.
Using original sources in Arabic, Greek, and other languages, preeminent historian Raymond Ibrahim vividly describes the decisive battles from this ages-old jihad and explains how they reflect the cultural fault lines between Islam and the West.
The majority of these landmark encounters – including the battles of Yarmuk, Tours, Manzikert, the sieges at Constantinople and Vienna, and the crusades in Syria and Spain – are now forgotten or considered inconsequential. Yet today, as the West faces a resurgence of this enduring Islamic jihad, ‘Sword and Scimitar’ provides the needed historical context to understand the current relationship between the West and the Islamic world – and why the Islamic State is merely the latest chapter of an old history.’

I’d never heard of Raymond Ibrahim until late last year when one of his videos about the Crusades popped up on my YouTube.

I watched it because, for some time now, much of the history of the Crusades I’ve come across is nothing like the history of the Crusades I learnt about in my younger years; to put things in perspective, I’m 61 and grew up in Malaysia.

To be honest, I was sceptical at first, but it didn’t take long before I was genuinely surprised because what Mr Ibrahim was saying lined up with what I’d learned.

So, I looked more into his background, and this is what I found (taken from his website: raymondibrahim.com):
‘Ibrahim’s dual-background – born and raised in the US by Egyptian parents born and raised in the Middle East – has provided him with unique advantages, from equal fluency in English and Arabic, to an equal understanding of the Western and Middle Eastern mindsets… His interest in Islamic civilization was first piqued when he began visiting the Middle East as a child in the 1970s. Interacting… with the locals throughout the decades has provided him with an intimate appreciation for that part of the world, complementing his academic training.
Ibrahim’s resumé included serving as an Arabic language and regional specialist at the Near East Section of the Library of Congress, where he was often contacted by and provided information to defence and intelligence personnel involved in the fields of counterterrorism and area studies …’

After watching a few more videos, including longer interview-style ones with him on other channels, I decided to get his book, ‘Sword and Scimitar’.

I was already aware – sometimes, more aware than I want to be because of the incessant violence – of Islamic jihad through Robert Spencer’s outstanding ‘jihadwatch.org’ and his YouTube channel, so I had an idea what to expect with this book.

What I wasn’t expecting was the grip the book had on my attention as it’s far from being dry and academic, and I couldn’t read it fast enough.

Right from the ‘Introduction – Jihad: The Roots of Conflict’, Ibrahim hits the ground running, and doesn’t let up with the amount of information, from religious and cultural differences, and eyewitness accounts, to battlefield details.

Despite being a historian, and despite writing a non-fiction historical work, Ibrahim’s style is more that of a novelist who makes full use of the compelling cast of characters and fascinating locations.

The book comprises eight of the ‘most decisive battles and/or sieges’ between Islam and the West, each encompassed in its own chapter:
Chapter 1 – The Battle of Yarmuk, 636
Chapter 2 – the Siege of Constantinople, 717
Chapter 3 – The Battle of Tours, 732
Chapter 4 – The Battle of Manzikert, 1071
Chapter 5 – The Battle of Hattin, 1187
Chapter 6 – The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, 1212
Chapter 7 – The Siege of Constantinople, 1453
Chapter 8 – The Siege of Vienna, 1683
The ‘Postscript – Muslim Continuity vs. Western Confusion’ is, basically, a wake-up call.

Ibrahim opens each chapter with a quote from historical sources, and in the ‘Introduction’, one is by the prophet of Islam, Muhammad: “I have been commanded to wage war against mankind until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah… If they do so, their blood and property are protected.”

Ibrahim then goes on to give a concise history of the founding of Islam, which ‘begin and end with the Arabian founder and prophet… Muhammad’ who, in 610, told ‘his polytheistic tribesmen… that an angel (Gabriel) had called him to become Allah’s messenger.’

The simple message revolves around ‘the concept of submission – Islam in Arabic – to Allah’s commandments; whoever obeyed became a Muslim (“one who submits”).’

To begin with, his preaching didn’t garner many followers, most of whom were his relatives, but when he turned to raiding, that number increased very quickly.

The reason? Each raid resulted in ‘spoil-laden victory’ over those who didn’t submit to Islam.

Muhammad’s followers ‘were of two kinds: [the] vanquished… who chose Islam (submission) over slavery or death; and those impressed by Muhammad, who chose Islam (submission)… to… reap its rewards.’

The one and only thing that was required was the recitation of ‘the shahada, Islam’s first pillar and proclamation of faith: “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”’; no one questioned if they actually believed it or not.

With this approach, ‘after a decade of successful raiding’, he had won over ‘nearly the whole of Arabia’.

Muhammad’s message fit well with the tribal values and principles of his society, ‘three in particular: loyalty to one’s tribe, enmity for other tribes, and raids on the latter to enrich and empower the former.’

I could go on, there’s just so much information in these first 12 pages alone, very eye-opening and, honestly, helps makes sense of what’s happening in the West today.

Historically, I learned so much in each chapter, some of which I’ll share in the next blog post so as not to distract from my thoughts on the book.

The battles read like movie scenes, and the ones I’m least familiar with had me on the edge of my seat.

While being a thrilling read, ‘Sword and Scimitar’ is, overall, a harrowing one; Ibrahim doesn’t really hold back with describing, again, from primary sources, the level of depraved, brutal barbarity meted out to the hapless victims of Muslim attackers.

It got to the point where I had to say out loud, “Please, if you’re going to kill them, just kill them. Why saw a man in half with a wooden saw? Why?”

Brutal sexual assaults, including gang-rapes of women and men, were the norm.

Their view of non-Muslim women hasn’t changed over the centuries; an 8th century court scholar described the women of Constantinople as ‘“shameless…; they find sex more enjoyable… are prone to adultery”’.

Islam allows sex slavery in times of war, and the ongoing attacks against women and young girls in modern times is justified with the mentality that Muslims are always in a state of war because of their ongoing jihad, which must continue until every non-believer proclaims the Muslim’s god is the only, true god or, agrees to pay ‘jizya’ (basically, a tax), or failing that, is executed.

The jihad that is reported today isn’t anything new; it’s been part and parcel of the religion of Islam for, literally, decades, since its creation in the 7th century.

And Western people are not the only ones targeted.

The Muslim invasion of the Indian subcontinent began in the 8th century, ramping up in intensity from the 11th century.

Today, every non-Muslim, including Hindus in India and Bangladesh, and the ‘wrong’ kind of Muslim, like the Alawites in Syria, face the same kind of attacks, but, deliberately or not, so little of that is reported.

It seems to be quite common for Hindu girls and young women to be kidnapped, raped, forced to convert to Islam, after which they’re forced to marry their rapist.

Possibly another way of expanding the Muslim population? Who knows.

There is still something of the tribal mentality in modern-day Muslim communities.

As Ibrahim states in the ‘Introduction’, ‘the tribe was what humanity is to modern people: to be part of it was to be treated humanely; to be outside of it was to be treated inhumanely.’; which explains the threat of death that hangs over those who leave that faith.

With the state of the world today, especially here in Britain, this book brings home in no uncertain terms what might well be in store for us the longer our so-called leaders bow and scrape to Islam, basically holding the door open for countless illegals – all young men, where are the women and young children? – to flood this country and Europe.

Having failed to conquer Europe by the 17th century through open warfare, this insidious method seems to be Islam’s modern way of attempting that conquest.

Witnessing what seems to be the downfall of Britain and Europe, I firmly believe the only way to stop this attempted conquest is for the West to re-embrace Christianity and stand firm the way bygone, courageous hosts of Christian knights, warriors, monks, and the common man did under the power of the cross.

I’ll close with Ibrahim’s words from the ‘Postscript: Muslim Continuity vs. Western Confusion’:
‘Islam did not change, but the West did: Muslims still venerate their heritage and religion – which commands jihad against infidels – whereas the West has learned to despise its heritage and religion… if Islam is terrorizing the West today, that is not because it can, but because the West allows it to.’