Sunday Night Conversation with Mark Durie: Author, The Third Choice: Islam, Dhimmitude and Freedom

The Third Choice: Islam, dhimmitude and freedom

One of the most profound and least-understood manifestations ofrejection in human history is the Islamic institution of the dhimma, the
theologically-driven political, social, and legal system, imposed by Islamic y non-Muslims as an alternative to Islam (i.e. conversion) or the sword (i.e. death or captivity). The dhimma is the ‘third choice’ offered to non-Muslims under jihad conditions, and those who have accepted it are known as dhimmis. Their condition, dhimmitude, forms the subject of this book, which describes the challenge posed by Islam’s treatment of non-Muslims, exposes the spiritual roots of this challenge, and offers a solution.

Join me tonight at 8 pm Eastern time for a rare treat. I will be sitting down with Mark Durie, author of  The Third Choice: Islam, dhimmitude and freedom, the most incisive, stunning book I have read on dhimmitude and Islamic supremacism in some years. I could not put it down.

Tune in here. Call in (347) 996-3944

In the classical Islamic ideology of
conquest, the first choice offered to non-Muslims was conversion to
Islam; the second choice was the sword; and the third was surrender.
Mark Durie’s innovative book exposes the history and ideology of
surrender – the ‘Third Choice’ – which has determined the lived reality
of non-Muslims – known as ‘dhimmis’ – living under Muslim rule. Durie
grounds his analysis of the dhimmi condition in the teachings of Islam
and the life of Muhammad. His ground-breaking analyses show how the
ideology of the terms of surrender, known as a ‘dhimma’ pact, determines
life for non-Muslims under Islamic dominance.  The worldview of
dhimmitude, he argues, offers indispensable keys for understanding
current trends in global politics, including the widening impact of
sharia revival, deterioration of human rights in Islamic societies,
jihad terrorism, recurring patterns of Western appeasement, and the
increasingly fraught relationship between migrant Muslim communities in
the West and their host societies.

About the Cover: A depiction of the annual collection – known as devshirme
– of Christian children. In a system of human tribute, boys were
enslaved from the dhimmi communities of the Ottoman Empire, and either
sold or converted to Islam and trained to serve as janissaries in the
sultan’s army. A minority also became administrators.
In this scene, set somewhere in the Balkans, selected Christian boys,
clothed in their new uniforms, stand ready for travel under the
watchful eye of a guard, as functionaries count funds and write up
lists of names. To one side, a mother and her priest remonstrate with a
janissary officer, once a devshirme boy himself; at the back a
distressed woman stands with arms wide as a girl clings to her dress;
and at the lower right a father stands ready to hand over his son, as
an older man looks on with compassion. (From the Süleymanname, a
sixteenth century illustrated history of Süleyman the Magnificent,
preserved in the Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul.)

In The Third Choice Mark Durie examines the most crucial
challenges of this new century. In clear language, free from political
correctness, and backed by an impressive scholarly knowledge, he unfolds
step-by-step the basic foundations of Islam and exposes their inner
correlations with jihad and dhimmitude, two theological and legal
Islamic institutions that shape traditional Muslim behaviour toward
non-Muslims. –Bat Ye’or

• The reader is provided with unique resources to evaluate conflicting claims about Islam and the history of Muslim-Christian relations. There are authoritative explanations of key subjects, including:

– the role of women
– female circumcision
– punishment in Islamic law
– ‘lawful deception’ (taqiyya)
– the meaning of jihad and militancy
– the teaching and moral example of Muhammad
– the message of the Koran
– immigration and the condition of Muslim minorities in Western nations
– attitudes to Jews and Christians

• Although other authors have discussed these topics, The Third Choice explains them from first principles, and sets the information in the context of competing world views and global concerns. It is jam-packed with new information and illustrations which help the reader understand unfamiliar material.

• The Third Choice gives a completely fresh analysis of the conditions under which Christians and others must live after conquest by Islam. This is based
on extensive primary research into Islamic theology, jurisprudence and history, and goes well beyond previous studies. At the heart of this analysis is the explanation of the classical system of taxation imposed by Islam on non-Muslims and its continuing theological, political and psychological implications.

• This explanation forms the basis for an explanation of Islam’s political and religious policy for non-Muslims, which is based on the principle that non-Muslims living under Islamic rule are obligated to display gratitude to Islam.

• The book debunks the myth that in the past Muslim societies were models of interfaith tolerance and harmony.

• The Third Choice explains how Islam’s discriminatory treatment of non-Muslims exerts a hidden influence upon contemporary global politics, through world-wide Islamic revival, and why scholars and others can falsely deny the reality of this legacy and its continuing influence.

• The book explains how and why non-Muslim leaders can collaborate in complying with the supremacist demands of Sharia law, and why western societies seem to be capitulating to Islam’s demands (the ‘dhimmitude of the west’).

• This book is unique in its integration of findings from religion, sociology, politics and human rights research. Without any concessions to political correctness, and yet displaying a profound compassion for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, it encompasses a vast sweep of history and contemporary developments,
offering a comprehensive narrative of Islam’s past influence, and current claims.

• The Third Choice uniquely equips readers to makes sense of global and local developments, and empowers them to respond positively to the challenge of Islam without fear, prejudice or hatred. It is intended to produce spiritual and moral resilience, strengthening and equipping readers to withstand Islam’s claims on an informed basis.

UPDATE: Dr. Durie’s first book discusses Revelation? Do we worship the same God?