Crusade 2.0

Posted August 3, 2012

Categories: Books, Featured, Non-Fiction

My latest book, Crusade 2.0: The West’s Resurgent War against Islam, will be published this March by City Lights Press. You can order it here. Next book event: Firedoglake Book Salon, August 4, 2012

Some background information

In his offical response to the attacks of September 11th, George W. Bush invoked the Crusades, tapping into a centuries-long history of fear and aggression. The West’s longstanding perception of Islam as a threat has taken on new and more complex implications in the twenty-first century, as years of migration and resulting demographic shifts have brought the “enemy” within Western borders. Virulent opposition to the planned construction of an Islamic center near the 9/11 attack site in New York City reveals much about the intensity of public sentiments simmering just below the surface. As the United States and countries across Europe struggle with a resurgence of unexamined fear and antagonism, often directed against their own citizens, the imperative for better understanding could not be greater.

Crusade 2.0 examines the resurgance of anti-Islamic sentiment in the West and its global implications. John Feffer discusses the influence of three “unfinished wars”–the Crusades, the Cold War, and the current “war on terror.” He presents a timely, concise, and provocative look at current events in the context of historical trends and goes beyond a “clash of civilizations” critique to offer concrete ways to defuse the ticking bomb of Islamophobia.

Some advanced praise:

“John Feffer’s Crusade 2.0: The West’s Resurgent War Against Islam offers a brief but effective exposé of a social cancer that continues to grow exponentially, in America and Europe, threatening the the security and civil liberties of Muslims and the principles and values of Western democracies.” —John L. Esposito, author of Islamophobia and the Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century and The Future of Islam

“John Feffer’s illuminating and important new work, Crusade 2.0, sheds light on the disturbing phenomenon of Islamophobia in America with a clear-eyed view of history, meticulous research, and persuasive arguments. This accessible and informative book shows how fear-mongering, when married to ignorance and selfish political agendas, not only threatens to marginalize entire communities of innocent people but also undermine the core values of pluralism, tolerance and fairness that define America.” —Wajahat Ali, author of The Domestic Crusaders and lead author of Fear Inc., The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America produced by Center for American Progress

“If you want to understand the particular madness of America’s twenty-first century, you need to read John Feffer’s account of how Washington launched “crusade 2.0,” including two invasions and occupations of Muslim lands and a Global War on Terror sporting aptly named Hellfire missiles aimed directly at the Muslim world. Add in the injection of fear of Islam directly into the American bloodstream and the rise of Islamophobia as domestic political red meat, and you have a truly American nightmare. Feffer is its Homer and this is our sad Odyssey.” —Tom Engelhardt, director of TomDispatch.com, author of The United States of Fear

4 comments

  1. You make some very good points concerning the West and Islam, except for the fact that the things you so earnestly refute are in fact true.

    Islam IS inherently violent, a religion of the sword, which uses treachery in its openly-stated quest to take over the world by jihad and end civilized society as we know it.

    How I wish it were not so.

    1. They wouldn’t be myths unless people fervently believed in them, as you do. Perhaps you could respond to the case that I make in my book….

  2. Let him move to a Islamic run nation. Well he might be ok for while being he is not female. Then let him TRY to take pen in hand and write his view. OPPS cant be done there, so Mr. John act like your living there already and SHUT UP! Btw Im an old fat white American lady the usual “silent” majority and we are fed up with your kind.Go back to school,obviously the years you spent there where a waste.

    1. This, of course, was a very common sentiment during the Cold War: “If you don’t love America unquestioningly, then leave it.” So, let me see if I understand you correctly, Nancy. We have a great tradition of free speech here in America, but you don’t actually support the principle. You’d rather us emulate the censorship practices of, say, Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally. Meanwhile, I should go and live in a “Islamic run nation.” I don’t have any particular interest in living in Saudi Arabia, with its Wahhabi restrictions. But I’d very much like to spend more time in Turkey, and I’ve always wanted to have an extended visit to Indonesia and Malaysia.

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