Sword and Scimitar

Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West

By: Raymond Ibrahim, Victor Davis Hanson - foreword

Narrated by: John McLain

Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

A sweeping history of the often-violent conflict between Islam and the West, shedding a revealing light on current hostilities

The West and Islam - the sword and scimitar - have clashed since the 17th century, when, according to Muslim tradition, the Roman emperor rejected Prophet Muhammad's order to abandon Christianity and convert to Islam, unleashing a centuries-long jihad on Christendom.

Sword and Scimitar chronicles the decisive battles that arose from this ages-old Islamic jihad, beginning with the first major Islamic attack on Christian land in 636 through the Muslim occupation of nearly three quarters of Christendom which prompted the Crusades, followed by renewed Muslim conquests by Turks and Tatars to the European colonization of the Muslim world in the 1800s, when Islam largely went on the retreat - until its reemergence in recent times. Using original sources in Arabic and Greek, preeminent historian Raymond Ibrahim describes each battle in vivid detail and explains how these wars and the larger historical currents of the age reflect the cultural fault lines between Islam and the West.

The majority of these landmark battles - including the battles of Yarmuk, Tours, Manzikert, the sieges at Constantinople and Vienna, and the crusades in Syria and Spain - are now forgotten or considered inconsequential. Yet today, as the West faces a resurgence of this enduring Islamic jihad, Sword and Scimitar provides the needed historical context to understand the current relationship between the West and the Islamic world - and why the Islamic State is merely the latest chapter of an old history.

©2018 Raymond Ibrahim (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Excellent History lesson

This book should be required reading in our schools lest we forget what we are up against.

Read and understand where we are. Very important.

A must read. Heavily referenced and very well researched. Jihad never was about any "internal struggle", it was domination, conquest and booty.

Concerning nearly 2000 yrs of Muslim aggression against the rest of the world

Barak Obama during his second term as president declared Islam to be one of the worlds great religions of peace. That statement demonstrates a profound error in judgement or an intentional lie of monstrous proportions as the history detailed in Sword and Scimitar proves there is no goal in Islam other than subjugation of the entire world to Mohammed’s sharia law. Great great book! Important book! This history should be taught in every high school and university! Thank you for writing mr. Ibrahim and mr. Hanson.

Great read

Very enlightening read. He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it. I am afraid that is the path we are on.

It is a wake up call!

Islam is fragmented but still an evil force. This book is a reminder of Islam demonic and terrible history.

Sword and Scimitar

Excellent, superb audible book by Mr. Abrahim






Ray Ibrahim. Excellent fact references! Historically precise dates and John Mclain vocal is excellent as well.
14 Hrs is a lot of time to dedicate to an audio, but we'll with every minute. The five minute prolly is well with the entire book but one must absorb the vast timeline and detail to fully understand why every American should read this book. Swiss, Germans, Spaniards and all Europeans, considering the current criminal and law changes taking place.
A Student of Dr. Victor Hansen and fellow Fresno State U. Student happens to be a happy coincidence for me personally, but this not diminish the gravity of the subject.
A serious backdrop for what is now taking place in our world.
We need more Jeffersons our government today. Listen and learn the answer to this riddle.
SEA. San Francisco, Ca.

Incredible Journey

One of the most insightful and extensive dives into a history we have all been prevented from hearing about.

Great work

This book is a great dive into the ongoing conflict.

It is clear and full of the historical context of jihad.

Great book!

Refreshing to hear the real story behind the crusades. The barbaric nature of radical Islam required a forced and violent response. Highly recommended.

Excellent

An excellent telling of the history of conflict between Christendom and Islam, the west and the Middle East - and from a perspective that is concerned with the facts. Most of the information in this book I was completely unaware of.