Great Divide: Failure of Islam and
Triumph of the West by Alvin
Schmidt
Correctly Chronicles Islam
These days, the hills are alive with the sound of musings about Islam.
Publishers Weekly reported this spring that a spate of new books on the
religion are hitting the bookstores, and theyre unlike the critical books that
came out after September 11; the new tomes assure readers that Islam is
a religion of peace. That, as Alvin Schmidt points out Thre Great Divide, is
wishful thinking. Muslims are right to point out that the Bible has its parts
(such as the book of Joshua) that sound bloodthirsty to modern readers,
but the Quran is Joshua all the way through, without its contextualization in
the peace-emphasizing prophetic and New Testament books. Professor
Schmidt does not hack away at Islam, nor does he attack Christianity
because of headlined absues that arise in it. He doesnt hyperventilate
about the Abu Ghraibs of Christianity - the misogyny of some church
fathers, the bloody entry of the Crusaders into Jerusalem, the pro-slavery

rhetoric of some antebellum fire-eaters. Instead, he compares the normal
practice of Christianity and Islam. He shows how Christianity grew by the
blood of its martyrs, but Islam grew by killing those who opposed it. He
compares the view of women in the New Testament and the Quran,
showing how Christs teaching eventually led to the development of
complementary roles for men and women but Muhammads teaching
eventually led to the development of complementary roles for men and
women but Muhammads teaching led to subservience. He shows how
Christians looked at slavery critically over the centuries and how many
fought for its abolition; Islam, though, has no intrinsic anti-slavery position,
so its no surprise that some Islamic countries today still allow it.
Christians who understand these specific differences, delineated in
Schmidts book, will strengthen their own faith and be ready to enter into
discussions with Muslims without offering either appeasement or shotgun-
blast aggression.
Personal Review: Great Divide: Failure of Islam and Triumph of
the West by Alvin Schmidt
Alvin Schmidt's book about the "great divide" between Christianity and
Islam is Christians, as well as, secular people need to read. It
demonstrates the essential difference between Christianity and Islam; one
(Christianity) is a religion founded on love and freedom from bondage,
while the other (Islam) seeks to enslave and make others "submit." He
opens the book by noticing the fundamental differences between Jesus
and Muhammad and their views on such things as marriage, God, heaven.
Chapter two is a perfect, yet quick history lesson that is most relevant for
secular people and Christians who insisted on thinking Islam, in its
normative state, is a religion of peace. He accurately shows the
differences in the growth of the two religions. Initially (first 300 years)
Christianity spread through a passive movement relying on a sociological
construct based on loving their neighbor and martyrdom. Islam spread
immediately by the sword - this is objective historical data, no polemics
here.
The other chapters are good, and while I cannot whole heartily endorse all
his assertions, when he deals with history he is accurate and when he
asserts a particular theological concept or idea, the reader knows the
difference. The material and arguments are well laid out and overall, this
is an outstanding work that any laymen can read and get an accurate
historical understanding of the Islamic religion as it compares to
Christianity.
I do need to note, there are muslims who seek a spiritual interpretation of
the koran and Islamic history; they do so with either great courage or a
congnitive dissonance. But if the West insists on accepting a politically
correct Islam, then I hope these Islamic mystics succeed; because the
West doesn't heed, it may very well fail.

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