Jihad- For the Western world the word evokes images of mass slaughter, forced religious conversions, and crimes against humanity. But what most Christians forget is that jihad (holy war) also plays a major role in Christianity’s own dark history. In this explosive and controversial book, the brothers Ergun and Emir Caner -two former Muslims, now staunch evangelical professors-shine the light of truth on Christians killing in the name of their God. These award-winning authors examine the impact of Christian atrocities on modern personal, cultural, and even international relations, question popular views of just war, and challenge each of us to face our past and redeem our future.

Ergun and Emir Caner have lectured on apologetics, world religions, and theology across the world and have been interviewed on NPR, CNN, The 700 Club, and the BBC, among many others.

A review of their book, Christian Jihad: Two Former Muslims Look at the Crusades and Killing in the Name of Christ, can be found here
I am reading it now and finding it to be very well written and thought provoking.

Here is the review I wrote for Amazon:

I am nearly finished with this book and have found it very enlightening and thought provoking. In other reviews here I have read that there is no such thing as a Christian Jihad. Although that may be technically true with regards to semantics- I would challenge the idea that there is no such thing as a Christain Jihad in spiritual or ideological terms, as an American Indian and Christian who is well versed in history, politics and foreign policy. Christianity itself may not be completely responsible for the acts of Western Statist powers, but often we Christians have both enabled and condoned atrocities and war crimes in the name of patriotism. The dropping of atomic bombs on civilian populations in Japan and the holocaust of the First Nations of the Americas are two quick examples. With regards to the Mid-East we have signed off on policies that have both created and enabled the growth of terrorism for the last several decades. These would include the arming and enabling of Saddam, the brutal reign of the Shah in Iran and the eventual reaction to it, the arming and training of the Mujahideen which became al Quaeda, the enabling of the Taliban, the Iran-Contra scheme and so-on. The West has actively sought for the last 40 years to squelch secular nationalist governments throughout the Mid-East and thus allowed a space for radical Islam to grow in. Again, these things may not be the responsibilities of Christaianity per se…but inasmuch as the U.S. and many of her allies are considered “Christian Nations” with high concentrations of “Christians” in the populace as well as the leadership- the message of the Caner brothers is right on point and very important- if we wish to see a more peaceful and Christ-like world.

As Christians, we are supposed to be outside of and above the worldly mechanisms that help perpetuate the self sustaining cycle of violence, death and revenge. That is what is supposed to be different about us. Our signature message is supposed to be about universal salvation- not about empire building and ridding the world of evil-doers. The Caner brothers offer a fresh and poignant perspective on this.

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