Surrender: Appeasing Islam, Sacrificing Freedom

There is a new form of jihad to fear--one that threatens the very values on which our freedom rests Bruce Bawer's While Europe Slept sounded the alarm about the dire impact of Muslim immigration in Europe. Now, in Surrender, he reveals that a combination of fear and political correctness has led politicians, intellectuals, religious leaders, and the media--both in the United States and abroad--to appease radical Islam at the cost of our most cherished values: freedom of speech and freedom of the press. And the cost could ultimately be even higher--the imposition of sharia law in places where liberty once reigned. In Surrender, Bawer writes of a new form of jihad that began with the fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989, a death sentence born of Muslim outrage over a work of literature. It marked the dawn of an era of pressure and intimidation designed to crush the ability of non-Muslims to resist Islamic encroachments on Western freedom. In a sweeping survey of recent history and current events, Bawer traces a pattern of heightened sensitivity to Muslim reactions and a reluctance to look honestly at the human-rights deficiencies of the Muslim world. This pattern can be seen in the widespread denunciation of the Danish cartoons and of the editors who printed them; in the glowing media coverage of the supposedly moderate Muslim icon Tariq Ramadan; in the decision of major newspapers to ignore or soft-pedal terrorist dry runs on American airplanes; in the international uproar over a single sentence about Islam in a lecture by Pope Benedict; and in attempts by certain parties to silence criticism of Islam by suing writers who have dared to speak forthrightly about the religion. Bawer argues that people throughout the Western world--in reaction to such events as the Danish cartoon riots and the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh--are surrendering to fear. And he observes that Muslim extremists have found unexpected allies: non-Muslims who, motivated by the misguided doctrine of multiculturalism, refuse to criticize even the most illiberal aspects of Islamic culture. The resulting accommodation undermines the values of individual liberty and equality on which our nation was founded. Fearless and excoriating, Surrender is an essential wake-up call for everyone concerned about the preservation of our most fundamental freedoms.

Review :
Praise for "While Europe Slept": "A book of the utmost importance, full of deep concern for Europe and almost unbelievable revelations for most Americans." --"Booklist "(starred review) "A must-read book." --Carlin Romano, "Philadelphia Inquirer" "A clarion call for the West to understand the radical threat to our freedoms from politicized fundamentalist Islam." --Andrew Sullivan "Indispensable ... a portrait of a powder keg continent." --J. Peder Zane, "Raleigh News & Observer" "If you want to understand the car burnings, the killings over cartoons and films, and other outrages sure to come, you won't do any better than "While Europe Slept,"" --Scott C. Yates, "Rocky Mountain News" "Bruce Bawer reveals how self-acclaimed European morality proves abjectly amoral in its appeasement of radical Islamic anti-Semitism, homophobia, gender apartheid, and religious intolerance. A sensitive and sober portrait of an increasingly insensitive and reckless continent." --Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and author of "Carnage and Culture" and "An Autumn of War" "Bawer paints an alarming picture of a continent in deep trouble and deeper denial--but now, perhaps, on the verge of waking up. Some books are merely important. This one is necessary." --Jonathan Rauch, senior writer and columnist for "National Journal "and correspondent for "Atlantic Monthly" "Bruce Bawer has produced a book that is at once riveting, disturbing, fascinating, chilling, and shocking. It is required reading for anyone who wants to understand how militant Islam has insinuated itself into the heart of the West." --Steven Emerson, executive director ofthe Investigative Project on Terrorism, and author of "American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us" "Bruce Bawer's book is obligatory reading for everyone who wants to know what is happening to Europe today. And it is grim. This is perhaps the most important book written in many years. And as an observer from outside, Bawer can more easily see and diagnose what is going on." --Henrik Gade Jensen, "Jyllands-Posten "(Denmark)" " "Excellently written ... a book that everyone in Europe should read." --"De Leestafel "(Netherlands) "Obligatory reading." --Jose Maria Marco, "Libertad Digital "(Spain)