Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West
Author: Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in October 2007, after eight years of exile, hopeful that she could be a catalyst for change. Upon a tumultuous reception, she survived a suicide-bomb attack that killed nearly two hundred of her countrymen. But she continued to forge ahead, with more courage and conviction than ever, since she knew that time was running out--for the future of her nation, and for her life.
In Reconciliation, Bhutto recounts in gripping detail her final months in Pakistan and offers a bold new agenda for how to stem the tide of Islamic radicalism and to rediscover the values of tolerance and justice that lie at the heart of her religion. With extremist Islam on the rise throughout the world, the peaceful, pluralistic message of Islam has been exploited and manipulated by fanatics. Bhutto persuasively argues that America and Britain are fueling this turn toward radicalization by supporting groups that serve only short-term interests. She believed that by enabling dictators, the West was actually contributing to the frustration and extremism that lead to terrorism. With her experience governing Pakistan and living and studying in the West, Benazir Bhutto was versed in the complexities of the conflict from both sides. She was a renaissance woman who offered a way out.
In this riveting and deeply insightful book, Bhutto explores the complicated history between the Middle East and the West. She traces the roots of international terrorism across the world, including American support for Pakistani general Zia-ul-Haq, who destroyed political parties, eliminated an independent judiciary, marginalized NGOs, suspended the protection of human rights, and aligned Pakistani intelligence agencies with the most radical elements of the Afghan mujahideen. She speaks out not just to the West, but to the Muslims across the globe who are at a crossroads between the past and the future, between education and ignorance, between peace and terrorism, and between dictatorship and democracy. Democracy and Islam are not incompatible, and the clash between Islam and the West is not inevitable. Bhutto presents an image of modern Islam that defies the negative caricatures often seen in the West. After reading this book, it will become even clearer what the world has lost by her assassination.
The Washington Post - Pamela Constable
Her book argues that Islam is not incompatible with democracy, but that its credo of tolerance and freedom has been hijacked by purveyors of terror. The real "clash of civilizations" lies within Islam, she asserted, and the West should seek to bolster its moderate center as the best means of countering the radical extremes. A poised public figure given to flowery speeches and cagey ambiguity, Bhutto wrote the book with uncharacteristic bluntness, suggesting an awareness that both she and her country had little time left. Pointing fingers and naming names—especially those of several chiefs of Pakistan's powerful intelligence service—she blamed a combination of autocratic rulers, manipulative religious leaders and meddling Western governments for sabotaging democracy's chances in Pakistan and other parts of the Muslim world, and for pushing Islam in ever more radical directions.
The New York Times - Fareed Zakaria
Written while she was preparing to re-enter political life, it is a book of enormous intelligence, courage and clarity. It contains the best-written and most persuasive modern interpretation of Islam I have read…Washington should arrange to have the portions of the book about Islam republished as a separate volume and translated into several languages. It would do more to win the battle of ideas within Islam than anything an American president could ever say.
Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries
Author: Naomi Wolf
As the practice of democracy becomes a lost art, Americans are increasingly desperate for a restored nation. Many have a general sense that the "system" is in disorder — if not on the road to functional collapse. But though it is easy to identify our political problems, the solutions are not always as clear. In Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries, bestselling author Naomi Wolf illustrates the breathtaking changes that can take place when ordinary citizens engage in the democratic system the way the founders intended and tells how to use that system, right now, to change your life, your community, and ultimately, the nation.
The Washington Post - Suki Casanave
Give Me Liberty is essentially an act of optimism…Wolf's goal is to educate a wave of "democracy commandos": Learn how to write a news release and how to be safe as you protest. Get tips on how to speak in public, how to raise funds and how government works. In short, use this book to study up, and you'll be ready to start your own movement. Which is precisely what Wolf hopes readers will do.
Table of Contents:
What is "America" ? Not a Country, a State of Mind
Introduction 3Freedom Is Intended as a Challenge 13
Fake Patriotism 23
Fake Democracy 33
Core Values
Principle One: We Are Required to Speak Freely 91Principle Two: We Have a Duty to Rebel Continually Against Injustice and Oppression 105
Principle Three: Ordinary People Are Supposed to Run Things 125
Principle Four: Americans Cherish the Rule of Law 141
Principle Five: America Establishes No God 157
Principle Six: Americans Deliberate with Their Neighbors; We Disagree Without Violence 173
Principle Seven: Liberty is Universal: America Cannot Maintain an Oppressive Empire 189
A New American Revolution 209
America: The User's Guide
I. Driving Change 215
"Democracy Commandos" [Curtis Ellis] 215
Additional Resources 218
II. Speech 219
How to Petition 219
Additional Resources 220
How to Play Hardball Once You Have Petitioned 220
Become the Media Yourself 221
How to Write a Press Release [Lisa Witter] 222
Create the Debate Yourself 226
Help Frame the News Coverage 228
How to Leak to an Investigative Reporter 229
How to Pitch a Feature Piece 231
Radio 232
TV 233
Additional Resources 235
Produce New Media 235
How to Create a Blog [Elizabeth Curtis] 236
Additional Resources 240
How to Create a Web Video [Will Coghlan] 241
Additional Resources 243
III. Protest 245
How to Drive a Boycott 245
AdditionalResources 246
How to Take to the Streets [Marjorie Cohn] 247
Staging a Protest 251
Additional Resources 252
How to be Safe as You Protest 252
Arrest 253
The Permit System [Heidi Boghosian] 256
How to Speak in Any Public Context 260
IV. Deliberate, Community-Build,and Organize 265
How to Start a Political Movement 265
Direct-Action Activism [Trevor "Oyate"] 265
Starting Your Own Political Movement [Raymond D. Powell] 267
Organize a Town Hall Meeting 271
How to Run a Meeting [Wende Jager-Hyman] 273
Deliberate with Your Neighbors [Mary Jacksteit] 277
Additional Resources 281
Become the Leaders of America 283
How to Start a Nonprofit Organization 283
Additional Resources 285
How to Fund-raise [Stephanie Berger] 286
Additional Resources 291
V. Rule of Law: Create or Change Laws Yourself 293
Initiatives and Referenda 293
Additional Resources 295
Make Every Vote Count [Mark Crispin Miller] 296
Additional Resources 299
Organize a National Hearing [Annette Warren Dickerson] 300
Expose Government Secrecy: A Guide to Getting Government Files [Lauren Melodia] 303
Additional Resources 312
VI . Dismantle an Oppressive Empire: Remake U.S. Foreign Policy 313
How to Promote Democracy Overseas through Investment [Diane Keefe] 313
Additional Resources 315
VI . Understand How Your System Works 317
Overview [Curtis Ellis] 317
What is the Electoral College? [Wende Jager-Hyman] 321
User's Guide to the Constitution and Bill of Rights
[Steven C. Bennett] 326
Additional Resources 343
VI . Wish List for the Fu ture 344
Direct Democracy 344
Voting [Curtis Ellis] 344
A Twelve-Step Program to Save U.S. Democracy [Mark Crispin Miller] 345
Additional Wish List Items 347
Notes 351
Bibliography 371
Acknowledgments 375
About the Author 377
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