Simon Maxwell Apter, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, describes the book as "cursory and apparently hastily written" and "bereft of any nuance or counterargument" for its insistence on blaming the mufti for "anything and everything Islamist".

The book "abounds with errors of fact", and Morris describes as "obscene" the authors' digression into a counterfactual history in which the Nazis won the Second World War and exterminated the Jews of Palestine with Husseini's assistance.

Despite this, Morris allows that "much of what [the book] says is soberingly truthful and to the point" [5] James Srodes of The Washington Times describes Icon of Evil, as "another attempt to take a valid avenue for historical exploration and hype its sales" by drawing questionable links between Islamism and Hitler.

"[6] Kirkus Reviews is similarly critical, noting that although the authors had done extensive archival research "their book is not a piece of sophisticated scholarship" and takes "reflexively pro-Israel positions".

The book starts out as "[a]n insightful examination of a rarely studied aspect of World War II — the collaboration of Islamic political parties and Middle East regimes with the Nazis — [but] quickly evolves into a brief for the neoconservative worldview."

"[9] Jonathan S. Tobin of The Jewish Exponent also commends the authors for seeking to shine "a spotlight on a figure who deserves far greater attention than he has received in recent decades", but is critical of their "lack of original research", "sometimes uninformed guesses" and "egregious speculation that adds little of value to the existing literature on the subject", in particular the "especially annoying" use of counterfactual history.

"[10] The British writer David Pryce-Jones notes that Icon of Evil relies entirely on English sources, "ignoring the extensive literature in German and Arabic" including Husseini's own memoirs.

"[11] John R. Bradley, a writer on Middle Eastern affairs, comments in The Straits Times that the book "makes a convincing case that Al-Husseini even had knowledge of and encouraged the Final Solution and should have been tried as a war criminal at Nuremberg."