The Spiders of Allah: Travels of an Unbeliever on the Frontline of Holy War St. Martin’s Griffin (June 23, 2009)

—– The Spiders Of Allah: Travels Of An Unbeliever On The Frontline Of Holy War (Amazon.com)

Product Description

In his fascinating, terrifying and often very funny book, James Hider takes his doubts about religious beliefs straight into the dark heart of the world’s holy wars – from Israel to Gaza to Iraq – the birthplace that spawned so many faiths – and then back to Jerusalem. From hardcore Zionist settlers still fighting ancient Biblical battles in the hills of the West Bank to Shiite death squads roaming the lawless streets of Iraq in the aftermath of Saddam; whether it’s the misappropriation and martyrdom of Mickey Mouse by Gaza’s Islamists, or a US president acting on God’s orders, Hider sees the hallucinatory effect of what he calls the ‘crack cocaine of fanatical fundamentalism’ all around him. As he meets terrorists, suicide bombers, soldiers, ayatollahs, clerics, and ordinary and extraordinary people alike, the question that sparked his journey continues to plague his thoughts: how can people not only believe in this madness, but die and kill for it too? This extraordinary and timely book takes the God Delusion debate onto the streets of the Middle East. It casts an unflinching yet compassionate eye on the very worst and most violent crimes committed in the name of religion, and then sharply asks the questions the world needs to answer if we are ever to stand a chance of facing our own worst demons.

“The Spiders of Allah is a fascinating look at the conflicts in the Middle East, done by a British reporter. It is an up-close and personal look at the actions and atrocities that the U.S. press largely tends to white-wash. Hider has no such compunction, and accompanies his writing with some very acute observations about human nature, religion and the actions of those involved.

“One of my favorite parts in the book (though there were several) is when the author finds out that grocers were beginning to be targeted to be killed by the Mujahedin guerrillas. Trying to figure out why produce, of all things, would be considered lawless – he asks a friend. Apparently, a decree had come out that tomatoes and cucumbers were not to be displayed together, as ‘tomatoes represent femininity and cucumbers….’, well, you get the picture. In addition, bananas were ONLY allowed to be sold within plastic bags, in order to prevent offending anyone. As he said later, ‘It was astounding in its stupidity and barbarity.’ As were so many actions that have taken place over there….” – Biblioholic Beth “witchirsh” (Portland, Oregon USA; Customer Review, May 15, 2009)

—– Atheist’s War Observations Horrendous (Clark Isaacs/Otago Daily Times; March 14)

This book is one more contribution by one more war correspondent providing an informed study of the mayhem caused by the American invasion of Iraq.

The author, James Hider, the Middle East bureau chief of The Times, is a confessed atheist who records with cynical horror the fanaticism in the Iraqi conflict of disparate tribes of believers, many convinced that paradisiacal berths, in the company of many virgin girls, would be reserved for them in the hereafter because of their savage bellicose deeds on Earth.

Many of Hider’s observations make for horrendous reading, and this is a book those of delicate disposition should avoid.

Nor is the barbarity confined to the inhabitants of Iraq.

He tells, for instance, of a group of American soldiers at a checkpoint near Yusufiyah who decided to get drunk and make their way to the house of a pretty local girl they had seen passing their position on several occasions.

“They broke in and shot the girl’s parents and 5-year-old sister through the head,” Hider writes.

“They then gang-raped the 14-year-old girl before murdering her and setting her body on fire to destroy the evidence.

“A few months later, an Iraqi gang from Yusufiyah took revenge by attacking another US patrol, killing one soldier and kidnapping two others.

The captives were tortured and beheaded, their mutilated bodies left booby-trapped on the roadside to maim whoever came to retrieve them.”

Hider tells of beetroot-faced British squaddies in full battle armour, swaying in the heat haze as they stood guard over patrol stations, unable to stay out in the heat for more than 20 minutes at a time.

Outside, Iraqis raged that the clock had been turned back centuries in a few brief months.

As well as writing stylishly about the complicated fabric of Middle East quarrels, this brave author also dips into the past history of a region which is unlikely ever to know lasting peace.