What does Islam truly want with the country of Israel?
The world knows the Middle Eastern conflict as an Israeli-Palestinian issue, fought between two peoples seeking to establish independent nations on the same land. But the truth was never that simple. If you want to understand the biggest current geopolitical conflict on Earth, you must first understand where it came from—and the minds who created it.
In It Was Never About Territory, Dr. Yehuda Yemini challenges the paradigm behind every modern peace initiative, arguing that the struggle surrounding Israel cannot be understood through territory and politics alone, but rather through understanding the historical truth behind the headlines—religious belief, historical memory, and a centuries-old ideological conflict that continues to shape how millions of people see Jews, Israel, and the West.
Following hundreds of interviews with Muslims across East Jerusalem and the West Bank, Dr. Yemini offers key insight into the Muslim narratives of the conflict. In his book, he explores:The early historical encounters that shaped Muslim attitudes toward JewsKey theological concepts that influence political behavior in parts of the Islamic worldWhy many Western and Israeli analyses of the conflict miss its deeper ideological foundationsHow religious narratives continue to shape modern political movements and strategiesWhy territorial compromise is irrelevant in resolving the conflict.Possible conclusions to the conflict beyond the present cycle of violence
For readers of Michael Oren and Sam Harris, Yemini offers a provocative, readable
work of contemporary geopolitics and religious history, answering the debate around Islam, Israel, and the ways they have occupied the thoughts and decision-making of Westerners for the past century.
