Brigitte Gabriel - Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America

Terrorism is a topic of grave concern to many and there are dozens of political writers who have expressed their opinions on this important subject. Most of these authors are politicians, political analysts, or something similar. But there is one book written by someone who not only has strong feelings about terror, she has also been forced to deal with it firsthand, on a daily basis. The result of her experience is Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America, a book written by Brigitte Gabriel.

Basic Facts About This Book:

This 255 page book is divided into the following chapters:

Introduction
1. Peace Before the Rage
2. My 9/11
3. Life under Terror
4. Hopeless Existence
5. A Life Changing Experience
6. Rebuilding Our Lives
7. Clash of Civilizations
8. Terrorists Among Us
9. The Toxic Tsunami of Hate
10. The Ivy- Covered Fifth Column: Islamic Influence Alive and Well on American Campuses
11. Bull's Eye of the Middle East
12. Societies are Not Created Equal
13. Is Islam a Peaceful Religion?
14. Political Correctness Gone Mad
Notes
Acknowledgments

Born in Lebanon in 1965, Brigitte Gabriel grew up surrounded by terror. She and her fellow Christians were under constant attack from militant Muslim groups and her family spent much of its time living in a bomb shelter. Gabriel describes several specific incidents of terror attacks in the first few chapters, detailing the constant attacks and the reality of fear that surrounded her every day.

Gabriel knew she needed to escape her hopeless life and she finally received the opportunity when she was hired to work at World News, a Middle Eastern broadcasting company. She had grown fond of the Israeli people and of western culture in general and it was from this career experience that she was able to finally move away from the Middle East and immigrate to the United States. These events are talked about in chapters five through seven, with Gabriel again explaining the ever- present dangers that existed during her days in the Middle East working for this news company.

The remaining chapters of the book talk about Muslim terrorist groups in other nations; terrorist groups in the United States; the problem with political correctness in dealing with the terrorism threat; and the related problem with Muslim apologists at American universities who are always finding ways to justify these atrocious acts. Gabriel is convinced that Americans and other western allies must fight back against the Muslim menace to prevent the virus from spreading and to end or strongly curb the incidence of violence against others in the name of religion.

Final Thoughts:

As most everyone already knows, the Middle East region is a haven for violence and it is common to hear about bombings, suicide killings, embassy attacks, and other acts of terror in this troubled region. Brigitte Gabriel knows about this violence because she has experienced it first hand; growing up in the nation of Lebanon where she and her parents spent their days and nights wondering whether they would survive to see the next day.

Gabriel wrote this book as a way to demonstrate the severity of the violence in the Middle East and how important it is to fight religious fanatics with all our might in order to prevent them from spreading their influence around the world. Gabriel feels that the only way to fight people like this is through military means and she is in full support of the Bush Doctrine and the Bush administrations efforts to control terror.

Ms. Gabriel certainly does have a compelling story to tell and there is no reason to think that what she says is exaggerated in any way. In fact, compared to other accounts of violence in the Middle East by those who have survived, Brigitte Gabriel's experience seems very much like the others. This is an area prone to violence and it is no surprise that the Gabriel family was targeted for extermination because of its religious beliefs. Brigitte Gabriel describes many of these acts of violence in the book and she speaks of a merciless enemy; one bent on killing every non- Muslim on the planet by any means necessary.

Once the author has finished telling her personal account of the violence she grew to dread but expect, she then launches into the second part of the book where she describes some other specific acts of religiously- induced violence in other parts of the world; attempts by apologetics to excuse Islamic terror; and what needs to be done by Americans to control this ever- growing threat. She takes on the Muslim religion directly, showing how its members can never be counted on to tell the truth and how they will stop at nothing to convert the world to the Islamic faith.

The author makes no qualms about where she stands on the subject of terror. She feels that we, as Americans, should do whatever necessary to stamp out this problem, and that includes curbing civil liberties, conducting racial profiling, and doing anything else that will help reduce this threat. She is also in full support of using the military to combat terrorism throughout the world. Her personal stands in these and other areas will likely be met with skepticism from many readers. It is fine that she wants to rid the world of terror but how many personal liberties should a nation be willing to surrender in order to fight this type of enemy? Gabriel seems to think we should take things as far as necessary to ensure victory and that liberty will ultimately be enhanced when the mission is accomplished.

Political leaders generally speak of the "War on Terror" as a general war against any acts of unprovoked violence. But in this book, Gabriel talks more directly about the war, not against terror, but against religious extremists. And in her mind, nearly all adherents to the Muslim faith are terrorists because the basic tenets of the faith require violence as a means to an end; the end being the establishment of Islam as the one and only world faith and the conversion of all secular governments to theocratic rule. This basically brings me to the core issue that this book brings to the forefront: Is it possible for Muslims to be moderate and denounce violence? Or, is violence a central component of the Islamic faith that cannot be eliminated through education or any non- violent means?

This is a very good question that has been debated by many scholars, political analysts, religious experts, and the like. The author seems to think that moderation and Islam are two words that will never go together. Her experience shows that Islam is synonymous with extremism and violence and its members, in her opinion, will never view the world any other way. And if this is really true, then responding with military force will be the only way to eliminate this threat. On the other hand, if it is possible to educate the members of the Islamic faith and teach them that other religions have a right to exist and that violence is not acceptable, then it is possible that Islam and its followers could be reformed. I would like to think that the latter is true but it is getting more and more difficult to believe that negotiation has a chance. I have known some people who were Muslim by birth and even they have told me that there is little chance of reform with most of the die- hard Muslims; which, in their view, encompass a majority of all Muslims in the Middle East.

Ms. Gabriel holds back nothing in her writing. She has good reason to feel the way she does and she has no problem expressing her strong disliking of anyone who thinks his/her religion is superior and proceeds to attack and kill anyone who thinks differently. She doesn't reach the point of profanity in her writing and she doesn't resort to immature name calling or other things common in this type of book. But she certainly lets her feelings be known: Militant Islam is a threat to the freedom and security of everyone and nations that ignore its threats will ultimately pay the price in the future.

Brigitte Gabriel is a woman who has lived the Middle East terror experience. She has spent nights in bomb shelters. She has witnessed senseless, unprovoked killing. She has been awakened in the night by the sound of bombs. She survived the ordeal with her body and sanity intact. Now, she feels it is important to warn others not to take the threat of Islamic fanaticism lightly. "Because They Hate" is a very good book and even though I do not support all of the author's methods for eliminating terrorism, I agree that religious fanaticism is a threat not to be ignored It's a topic that deserves the attention of governments around the world who struggle with the problems of religious extremism on a consistent basis.