Sharia Versus Freedom: The Legacy of Islamic Totalitarianism Hardcover - 2012

Media reviews

"No one writes with greater authority about the totalitarian current that is inseparable from Islam than Andrew Bostom. Accommodationists will not like what he says, because it violates the liberal narrative according to which Islam is a 'religion of peace.' Would that it were so. That fantasy cannot survive exposure to the historical record, which Bostom has plumbed with relentless intelligence and unswerving commitment to the truth. This is an uncomfortable but necessary book. The first step in solving a problem is acknowledging that there is a problem. Sharia versus Freedom is an indispensable aid to that remedial enlightenment."
- Roger Kimball, Author of Tenured Radicals and The Fortunes of Permanence


"This unique collection of essays on sharia, Islamic law, contains the most brilliant dissection of exactly what constitutes the meaning and practice of sharia relative to all previous books written on the same subject. . . . The public is being subjected to a steady diet of deliberate disinformation that sharia is democratic and nonauthoritarian. As this book so eloquently demonstrates, nothing could be farther from the truth. . . . Sharia versus Freedom exposes in incontrovertible detail the truth about sharia. . . . The true nature of sharia's authoritarianism (which allows amputation of limbs, the stoning of women, and the execution of Muslims who convert to another religion) is explained and detailed (with abundant proof) like no other book before. This book is a 'must-read' for American policymakers, Congress, local and regional authorities from coast to coast, as well as for any member of the public who truly seeks the truth. . . . Once you pick up this book, you won't put it down."
- Steven Emerson, Journalist and author of American Jihad


"Regarding the subject of Islam, apologists frequently vilify and marginalize truth seekers. Yet Andrew Bostom is fearless and now provides a third scholarly historical compendium of valuable articles on Islam's totalitarian nature and its harsh sharia-all of which unfortunately validate my life experience as a Muslim growing up in a Muslim country. With undeniable chronological data, Bostom covers much of what too many Western leaders and journalists willfully ignore: from the dhimmi status of non-Muslims to the combined effects of jihadism, and the anti-Semitic Islamic motifs, all distressing realities with which I am, through life experiences, intimately familiar. Those who dodge Islam's intolerable and discriminatory doctrine-whether for political reasons, professional expediency, or naked fear-also choose, to their own detriment, to facilitate the decline of Western civilization."
- Wafa Sultan, Author of A God Who Hates


"It is a sine qua non of good medical practice that unpleasant symptoms must first be acknowledged and brought into the light before an effective treatment plan can be developed. In Sharia versus Freedom, Bostom exposes to the light the condition known as 'sharia,' in all its profuse diversity. This treasure trove is a stirring antidote to the epidemic of ill-founded wishful thinking about Islam that plagues our age. From female genital mutilation to restrictions on freedom of speech, Bostom's relentless forensic analyses will disturb those whose minds are drugged by the mirage of wishful, eyes-closed thinking. To be real, hope must speak the truth: it is for this reason that Bostom's collection of essays makes a major contribution to forging a better future for us all."
- Mark Durie, Theologian and author of The Third Choice: Islam, Dhimmitude and Freedom