Educational Media Reviews Online

Few have studied the Middle East as long or as well as Bernard Lewis, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Emeritus, at Princeton University. In this Donner Canadian Foundation Lecture in Toronto in October 2002, Lewis places Osama bin Laden in the context of Islam’s reaction to the West. Lewis says that while we think in terms of countries and nations, Muslims think in terms of Islamdom; while we regard the past as mere history, they constantly allude to events of the 7th century; with the result that the struggle between Islam and Christendom is very much alive for them.

Lewis sees Islam in a crisis since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, struggling to understand and remedy its powerlessness-- a dispiriting contrast to the glory of medieval times. The West brought modernization on Islam, with the result that the current regimes are able to execute their will on their subjects more thoroughly than ever before. Modernization has brought other unwelcome changes, and those who feel themselves victims point to the West (America) and its hated influence. Lewis notes that the 9-11 hijackers came from states with governments “friendly” to the U.S., not from the states with regimes that were openly hostile.

The sound is clear. Lewis lectures well, and his insights are worth hearing. At the end of the lecture, he takes two questions, which he answers directly.

Recommended for any class that would benefit from hearing the analysis of one who reads the writings of Osama bin Laden in the original Arabic, and who knows their greater Islamic context.