Description

Jihad is the most organized force against Western capitalism since the Soviet era. Yet jihadism is multifaceted and complex, much broader than Al-Quaeda alone.

In the first wide-ranging introduction to today’s rapidly growing jihadism, Khosrokhavar explains how two key movements variously influence jihadi activists. One, based in the Middle East, is more heavily influenced by Islamic religion and political thought. The other, composed of individuals growing up or living mostly in Europe and Western democracies including the United States, is motivated by secular as well as religious influences.

Khosrokhavar interprets religious and lesser-known Arabic texts and the real world economic and political dynamics that make jihadism a growing threat to Western democracies. Interviews with imprisoned jihadists on what motivated their plots and actions help the readers understand reality as seen by jihadists. The author concludes with recommendations to safeguard democracies from future jihadism.

• Introduces the sophisticated ideology of jihadists
• Shows how jihadism is a perverse form of modernization and not traditional Islam
• Conveys the importance of death as part of the jihadists' culture
• Underlines the attraction of jihadism among people with extreme right and extreme left leanings, for different reasons
• Illustrates how jihadism thrives in a multicultural world
• Underscores the birth of new intellectuals and foot soldiers of Jihad in the West
• Includes interviews with many jihadists

Author Info

Farhad Khosrokhavar is Professor at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris and author of 14 books translated into 10 languages. Khosrokhavar continues his travels and work on Islam, Muslim radicalization, and postrevolutionary Iranian society. His most recent books in English include Suicide Bombers: Allah’s New Martyrs (Pluto 2005).

Reviews

"The author's intimate knowledge of and keen insight into the dynamics of jihadism and his reliance on important primary sources make this book essential reading for anyone interested in obtaining a critical understanding of jihadism.”
—Library Journal

“In the field of studies on radical Islam that is overwhelmed in the West by junk ideological literature and fake expertise, Farhad Khosrokhavar stands out as a true and distinguished expert with first hand and intimate knowledge. One great advantage of his approach is that it knits together discourse analysis and sociology—including first hand sociological research—according to the best tradition of social sciences. His study of Jihadism, defined as the most radical and violent brand of Islamic fundamentalism, is a most welcome and useful addition to the serious literature on this most complex of global sociopolitical phenomena.”
—Gilbert Achcar, Professor, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London; coauthor with Noam Chomsky of Perilous Power: The Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy