Out of Step: Politics and Religion in a World at War

Out of Step is a highly controversial book that starts with the story of a senior opposition politician in South Africa. It deals with his early opposition to apartheid and his later political career, leading up to his confrontation with the shocking antisemitism at the World Conference against Racism held in Durban in September 2001. A deeply conscious Jew, Bloom stresses the historical lesson, that what starts with Jews, does not end with Jews, and he links this to the atrocities of September 11 and the suicide bombings of Islamic extremists. He strongly backs the “neoconservatives” in America, and details the corrupt relationship between the South African government and Saddam Hussein. This is a profound work that shatters the myths of politically correct intellectuals. Bloom highlights the achievements of the Judeo-Christian ethic in advancing freedom and progress world-wide, and argues that even sceptical rationalists need to acknowledge the amazing fulfilment of biblical prophecies. The book warns that the “war on terror” needs to be fought as a war against radical Islam, and he makes valuable observations to assist in making religion part of the solution, rather than part of the problem in defusing global tensions.