Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72774 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 472 pages

Review
'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

'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 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.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic summary of political Islam
An excellent book offering the reader a deep insight into the world of political islam. At points the book can be slightly heavy going but only due to the detailed wealth of knowledge it delivers. If you are looking for a book for studing the Middle East or just to gain a real understanding of the region and the religion then this book is definately for you. I enjoyed it very much and despite having read extensively on the subject I learnt something new on every page. Well researched and a very informative writer Kepel, professor of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques and a CNRS luminary, adds an optimistic veiw. Even despite the inclusion of Osama bin Laden and the recent attacks he presents this as a last ditch attempt of a dying phenomenon. He claims the movement peaked in the 1970's and 80's and that we are entering an inevitable post-islamic era. This upbeat angle will please many of its US readers. Definately recommended

Serious and rather objective
Gilles Kepel is excellent. In this work he manages to scrutinize the both broad and complicated problem of political Islam without ever wandering off track. His view of islam appears to be neutral. He communicates the central problems of political islam, and more importantly, the central differences between the broad political movements and the violent extremes in an absolutely sober tone. I strongly recommend this book for serious students of the subject, i.e. university students or the like. This is not to be read as an introduction to the subject - its closer to being a conclusion.

A serious historical non partisan view of Political Islams history
This book covers the evolution of numerous Islamist/Jihadist groups over the last century. Kepel writes from a historical sociopolitical perspective analysing many of the Islamic movements resulting from population growths, agrarian reform and urban shifts, with the development of Pious Intelligentsia that gradually formed during the Arab Nationalist phase. They gradually commandeered the political agenda away from a secular platform to a religious one.
Chapters include fairly basic historical overviews of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and its clash with Nassers oppressive policies. The influence of Sayed Qutb and more critically the intellectual issues he left unresolved are very interesting reading, since much of Jihadi ideology is a continuation of his intellectual theories. The influence of Ayatollah Khomeini and the effects of the Iranian revolution is likewise highly relevant to an understanding of the political changes of the last 30 years.
Where Kepels book is of great use is in giving relatively brief but helpful insights into the different paths of Islamists from countries such as Pakistan, Sudan, Iran and Saudi Arabia and how and why they have evolved in the way they have.
What the book lacks is an analysis of the Wests role in assisting these Islamists come to power, their relations ( with the exception of the USA assisting the Anti Soviet Afghan Jihad ). Also important are the effects of Israel on Middle Eastern politics, which is notable for its absence, and the title Jihad does not really match up with the content of the book which makes few references to why there are Jihadist ideologies abound today. Indeed there is barely a single reference to the Quran which is also surprising, since must Western vitriol is vented at passages in the Quran, whilst much Jihadi ideology of the extreme fringe often refers to similarly lesser known scripts. The first Sura of the Quran - the Cow- also the longest Sura refers to Christians, Jews and Sabians as all people of God, who if good will receive their rewards from God. indeed that all share the same God. It refers to exterminating Polytheists in the context of being persecuted by them, and therefore needing to take extreme measures. However in the first Sura alone is repeated the refrain to not overstep the mark in such matters, and there is a clear reference to not taking ones own life.
Finally another shortcoming I feel is the lack of reference to the effects of the collapse of the Soviet Union on the Political landscape of the Middle East, which after all underlied much Western thinking in backing Islam as an anti-Soviet bulwark in the first place.

Where the book is very good is in definitions of recent Islamic developments. A definition of Takfirists - those who are self-appointed excommunicators of other groups of Muslims is helpfully explained, and all throughout the sociological dimensions of political inequality and class differences of the various countries under scrutiny are highly revealing. Al Qaeda and OBL also have an interesting chapter dedicated them.
I would say this is a serious book on an issue which has been treated with appalling crassness by rabble rousing writers ( and book reviewers! in recent years, and though a little dated, will give a serious reader of recent political history, many useful insights into the tumultuous changes of the Post Soviet Middle East.
His final analysis is that Islamism is disfigured and discredited by the extreme violence that has been perpetrated in its name. The Islamic Revolution of Iran is cited as a case in point. He refers to many Islamists who are looking towards a parliamentary democracy as a more 'Islamic' mode of governance, than the centuries of endured dictatorship. With the failed nationalist models of the 60's, and in Kepels view, the discredited radical Islam beyond that, it may very well be that a Post-Islamic era will indeed usher in an era of moderating Islamic reforms.