Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam - Softcover

Gilles Kepel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845112571 ISBN 13: 9781845112578

Publisher: I B Tauris & Co Ltd, 2009

Synopsis

In recent years, the world order has been rocked by an explosive, unexpected and extraordinary phenomenon: political Islam. 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 the first comprehensive attempt to follow the history and spread of this new political-religious phenomenon today, from the rise of Al Qaeda to the explosion of support for Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad in the wake of the Second Palestinian Intifada. It is the definitive work on what the West has called 'Islamic Fundamentalism', and offers the boldest assessment of its past, its present, and where it might lead in the future. Jihad is vital reading for everyone concerned with the state of the world today.

About this title

Product Description:

Rare Book

Review:

'I read this in Pakistan, over a period of weeks shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Its sweep across the broad landscape of radical Sunni activism was a revelation. The book is one of the few genuinely rigorous academic overviews of the social and historical roots of the phenomenon of modern Muslim extremism ranging geographically from the far east to Europe, and chronologically from the 1960s onwards that also remains readable. Its primary thesis that violent Islamic militancy is in large part a response to the failure of political Islamist activism has stood the test of time. Kepel is famous in France but almost unknown outside. This is a shame. A classic.' -- Jason Burke, The Guardian

'No-one else has attempted so bold an overview of the Islamist phenomenon. Of all the books on this subject, this is the most challenging and the most illuminating.' --The Economist

'deeply researched, deeply measured and deeply instructive - the best survey available and likely to remain so' --Justin Wintle, Sunday Times

'Simply excellent...' -- Malise Ruthven, Prospect

'Kepel's work... spans the world of political Islam, from the assassination of Egypt's President Anwar Sadat, to the establishment of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network in Afghanistan. He has the knack of explaining how events in one part of the Islamic world have affected developments elsewhere.' --Anton La Guardia, The Daily Telegraph

'deeply researched, deeply measured and deeply instructive - the best survey available and likely to remain so' --Justin Wintle, Sunday Times

'Kepel's work... spans the world of political Islam, from the assassination of Egypt's President Anwar Sadat, to the establishment of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network in Afghanistan. He has the knack of explaining how events in one part of the Islamic world have affected developments elsewhere.' --Anton La Guardia, The Daily Telegraph

About this edition

• Publisher: I B Tauris & Co Ltd
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1845112571
• ISBN 13: 9781845112578
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 472