Inside the Revolution by Joel C. Rosenberg

This isn’t my usual kind of reading material. But my book club wanted to read it and so I embarked on a 3 month reading of this book. It took a long time to go through it; partly because there is so much to digest and partly because it is so big. But I finally finished it last week and now I’m glad that I put in the time and effort to read it.

Joel C. Rosenberg is an author of several fiction books about the Muslim world. His bio says that he is a writer and communications strategist and has worked for some world leaders including Benjamin Netanyahu and Steve Forbes. He is considered an expert on the Middle East.

This is very comprehensive and easy to read. He gives a great deal of information about Iraq, Iran and Islam. The book is divided into three parts. The first part describes the Radicals and their belief that Islam is the answer and Jihad is the way. That was the hardest part to read as you discover more and more about their theology and beliefs behind some of their practices. The second part is about the Reformers; people who still believe that Islam is the answer but that jihad is not the way. These people are working towards reforming Islam and cooperating with the non-Muslim world. The Third part was the most encouraging to read. It’s about the Revivalists who believe that Jesus is the answer to the problems in the Middle East. It was amazing to read the stories about how God is working in this troubled part of the world. If you want to read this book and find the whole thing daunting then start with the end. Read the last few chapters and feeling encouraged, you will be able to cope with the information at the start of the book.

This book will give you hope that God is indeed working in the Middle East. It will also challenge you to do your part in helping Muslim people come to know that Jesus is the answer.