Synopses & Reviews
There is a new form of jihad to fearone that threatens the very values on which our freedom restsBruce Bawers While Europe Slept sounded the alarm about the dire impact of Muslim immigration in Europe. Now, in Surrender, he reveals that a combination of fear and political correctness has led politicians, intellectuals, religious leaders, and the mediaboth in the United States and abroadto appease radical Islam at the cost of our most cherished values: freedom of speech and freedom of the press. And the cost could ultimately be even higherthe imposition of sharia law in places where liberty once reigned.
In Surrender, Bawer writes of a new form of jihad that began with the fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989, a death sentence born of Muslim outrage over a work of literature. It marked the dawn of an era of pressure and intimidation designed to crush the ability of non-Muslims to resist Islamic encroachments on Western freedom. In a sweeping survey of recent history and current events, Bawer traces a pattern of heightened sensitivity to Muslim reactions and a reluctance to look honestly at the human-rights deficiencies of the Muslim world. This pattern can be seen in the widespread denunciation of the Danish cartoons and of the editors who printed them; in the glowing media coverage of the supposedly moderate Muslim icon Tariq Ramadan; in the decision of major newspapers to ignore or soft-pedal terrorist “dry runs” on American airplanes; in the international uproar over a single sentence about Islam in a lecture by Pope Benedict; and in attempts by certain parties to silence criticism of Islam by suing writers who have dared to speak forthrightly about the religion.
Bawer argues that people throughout the Western worldin reaction to such events as the Danish cartoon riots and the murder of filmmaker Theo van Goghare surrendering to fear. And he observes that Muslim extremists have found unexpected allies: non-Muslims who, motivated by the misguided doctrine of multiculturalism, refuse to criticize even the most illiberal aspects of Islamic culture. The resulting accommodation undermines the values of individual liberty and equality on which our nation was founded.
Fearless and excoriating, Surrender is an essential wake-up call for everyone concerned about the preservation of our most fundamental freedoms.
Synopsis
WITH A NEW AFTERWORD
In his controversial and critically acclaimed While Europe Slept, Bruce Bawer outlined the danger that Islamic immigration posed to traditional European values. In this provocative follow-up, he takes up the West’s recent trend of silence and appeasement in the face of cultural intimidation by radical Islam.
From an examination of coverage of the shocking murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh to the widespread denunciation of the Danish editors who published editorial cartoons mocking Mohammed, Bawer shows how radical Islam has cowed Western media, politicians, intellectuals, and religious leaders into believing that we must give up the right of free expression to peacefully coexist with the Muslim world. Fearless and excoriating, Surrender is an unapologetic and uncompromising defense of free speech that will stir conservatives and liberals alike.
About the Author
Bruce Bawer is one of our leading cultural critics. Described by Kirkus Reviews as “a literary essayist for the ages,” he has published several volumes of criticism, including Diminishing Fictions, The Aspect of Eternity, and Prophets and Professors, as well as one of the most influential books ever written about homosexuality, A Place at the Table, and Stealing Jesus, which Publishers Weekly called “a must-read book for anyone concerned with the relationship of Christianity to contemporary American culture.” His most recent book, While Europe Slept, was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist.