World News and Trends- Islam versus American democracy: The bigger picture
Bernard Lewis, a Princeton University historian who has written more than 20 books on Islam and the Middle East, has a blueprint for America's war against terrorism: confront, defeat and transform.
The plan for America and the West is to confront, not retreat from Islamic threats, defeat such threatening forces and transform such societies into fledgling democracies.
In Western societies, it is generally accepted that an adversary respects a nation out of fear, if for no other reason. Such was the case in the Cold War between the Soviets and America. The Soviets not only contained their aggressive designs of world conquest through destabilization because of America's intractable stand (led by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan), but they became demoralized and irretrievably weakened to the point of collapse. Seventy-two years of posturing as unconquerable bullies collapsed almost overnight.
In stark contrast, Arabic Islamic societies appear to neither fear nor respect the West, and America in particular. To them, whether real or perceived, America is the infidel, deserving extinction from the face of the earth. Some Arabs—like the Wahabis in particular—are obsessed with the destruction of the West and America.
Bernard Lewis recounted chatting with some Arab friends in Amman, Jordan, when one of them unthinkingly trotted out a familiar argument common to that corner of the world. "We have time, we can wait. We got rid of the Crusaders. We got rid of the Turks. We'll get rid of the Jews."
Lewis wasn't impressed and decided to clarify his Arabic friend's misunderstanding: "Excuse me, but you've got your history wrong. The Turks got rid of the Crusaders. The British got rid of the Turks. The Jews got rid of the British. I wonder who is coming here next" (The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 3). Mr. Lewis' point indicated that most Islamic countries fail to modernize their societies, which of itself beckons outsiders—most recently the United States and the coalition forces—to intervene. (Source: The Wall Street Journal.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: March - April 2004
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
