Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam - Softcover

Kepel, Gilles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1860646840 ISBN 13: 9781860646843

Publisher: I.B. Tauris, 2003

Synopsis

The late 20th century saw the emergence of an unexpected and extraordinary phenomenon culminating in a devastating onslaught on the West in 2001: Islamist political movements. Beginning in the early 1970s, militants revolted against the regimes in power across the Muslim world and exacerbated political conflicts internationally. Their jihad - or "Holy Struggle" - aimed to establish a global Islamic state based solely on a strict interpretation of the Qur'an. "Jihad" is a comprehensive attempt to follow the history and spread of this new political-religious phenomenon. Gilles Kepel has travelled throughout the Muslim world gathering documents, interviews and archival material inaccessible to most scholars.

About this title

Review:

'Kepel's book is a wonderfully panoramic account of political Islam that weaves the story of demographic, class and political change in different Muslim countries together with the story of the international struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran for the future of Islam.' -The Guardian 'This work is deeply researched, deeply measured and deeply instructive-- the best such survey available and likely to remain so for a while.' -Justin Wintle, Sunday Times '...Halliday's contribution to the debate on September 11th is thoughtful, readable and informative, a combination which elevates it above Tariq Ali and most of the competition in this field.'-Irish Times 'The virtue of this excellent book is the broadness of its coverage of the Islamist movements.' -Malise Ruthven, Prospect 'Kepel has the knack of explaining how events in one part of the Islamic world have affected developments elsewhere, bringing coherence to the world that Westerners call "Islamic Fundamentalism."' -Daily Telegraph

About the Author:

Gilles Kepel is one of the world's foremost experts on the current Middle East and is director of research at the CNRS in Paris, and Professor at the Institute for Political Studies in Paris.

About this edition

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1860646840
• ISBN 13: 9781860646843
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 364