Description
Since the 9/11 attacks, scholars have struggled to help Westerners understand what motivates the jihadi movement. Noting that the best way to understand jihadists is to ignore statements they release to the West in favor of examining what they say to each other, Jim Lacey provides a definitive collection of writings that intellectually underpins the movement. Rather than guessing about terrorist motivations from a Western perspective, readers are offered essays including those by the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hasan al-Banna, and a leading early member, Sayed Qutb that define the movement through the eyes of the terrorists themselves. As jihadist cadres begin to rebuild, Lacey notes that they are turning once again to their original thinkers to justify their actions. This project is sponsored by the United States Joint Forces Command.
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It is important to understand the "jihadist canon," argues Lacey (Institute for Defense Analysis), but he believes that the average reader will likely be put off by the typically numerous Qur'anic justifications and historical exegeses. He has therefore stripped these materials out of the documents he presents, which include the World Islamic Front's "Jihad against Jews and Crusaders," Hasan al-Banna's "Jihad," Al Shaheed Sayyid Qutb's "Milestones," Muhammad al-Salam Faraj's "The Neglected Obligation," Abu Bakr Naji's "The Management of Savagery," General S. K. Malik's "The Qur'anic Concept of War," Sheikh Abdullah Yusuf 'Azzam's "Join the Caravan," Abu-'Ubayd al-Qurashi's "Bush under the Microscope," Muhammad Khalil al-Hakaymah's "Torwards a New Strategy in Resisting the Occupier," and al-Suri's "The Call to Islamic Resistance." Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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