Why I Left Jihad by Walid Shoebat (2005, Hardcover)

When Walid Shoebat was a Muslim, his goal was to spread death and destruction. And, under no uncertain terms was this 'extreme'. This was MAINSTREAM. ALL Palestinian children sung songs of killing Jews, dismemberment of Jews, and Jews' "heads rolling". ALL Palestinians were taught from childhood (yes, and infancy) to hate the Jews, that Israel was the Little Satan and the U.S. was the Great Satan, and ALL Palestinians were taught that there was no greater method of dying than to die in the process of killing Jews or Christians. They lived by the credo, "First Saturday, than Sunday", which refers to first killing those that have the Sabbath on Saturday (Jews) and then killing those that have the Sabbath on Sunday (Christians). The author specifically talks about looking forward to his 72 virgins in paradise as a teen. These are MAINSTREAM teachings (that began, by the way, before Israel became a country!).

Mr. Shoebat proves the point unequivocally that the wars in the Middle East, including Israel, has absolutely NOTHING to do with occupation and NOTHING to do with land. It is completely about Jihad and dar al-Islam (a world under Islamic rule or Islamic 'submission'), and he proves this point beyond any doubt.

Now that Walid Shoebat has left Islam and became a Christian, he spends every day risking his life to speak the truth of Islam and Jihad. Consequently, his own father has disowned him for leaving and his own brother has threatened his life and the lives of Walid's children. When one leaves Islam, he is branded an apostate. When one speaks negatively about Islam, he is branded a blasphemist. Both of these labels are punishable by death in Islam.

I want to recommend this book wholeheartedly because I believe the message is a positive one and I really want to support the author for writing it. However, as much as I admire Shoebat's bravery in speaking out against Islam's ideology of death and destruction, I am reluctant to do so unless the reader is a Christian or unless the reader can ignore the very many (bulk of the book) scriptural references. Some of us, for instance, are aware of Islam's danger, but are not evangelical Christians. I think this book might be a bit off-putting for those. For those readers interested in the subject, but not in religious references, I think there are other books that may be more helpful. I do want to stress, though, that Mr. Shoebat's life is fascinating, and his ability to leave absolutely everything he had been taught is very admirable. In addition, the scriptural references can be looked at in this vein, too. He uses the Christian references to argue in favor of Israel's right to exist, Judaism and religious freedom, and Zionism. I found it mostly very interesting, but his book is less of a personal story or memoir and more of a theological debate.

I saw Mr. Shoebat speak the other night and was completely impressed. If one has the opportunity to see him speak anywhere, please do so. He's entertaining, charming, and very interesting. His lecture is not peppered with religious references and is for absolutely everyone, everywhere, to hear.

This guy had a life changing experience, which is to be commended.This especially so, as he shifted from absolute ingrained Jewish hatred to become a rather strong adherent if not proponent of Israel. It's helpful in getting a perspective like this kind of first hand experience. It's a huge Life altering change. What seems unclear, is the Christian connection. It appeared as though it was more a Jewish conversion than a Christian one. Of course, he subscribes to "Israel as the apple of God's eye" as opposed to what he terms, replacement theology (the idea that the Church is now God's favored). Aside from that issue, he points out well, sometimes painstakingly so, how Israel differs from the Jihadist viewpoint. It's a pretty major part of the book. It's convincing, if not overly ruminated on.