The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global (Cambridge Middle East Studies)
by Fawaz A. Gerges
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Number Of Pages: 358
Publication Date: 2005-09-05
ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0521791405
ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780521791403
Binding: Hardcover
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Book Description:
Since September 11, Al Qaeda has been portrayed as an Islamist front united in armed struggle, or jihad, against the Christian West. However, as the historian and commentator Fawaz A. Gerges argues, the reality is rather different and more complex. In fact, Al Qaeda represents a minority within the jihadist movement, and its strategies have been vehemently criticized and opposed by religious nationalists among the jihadis, who prefer to concentrate on changing the Muslim world rather than taking the fight global. It is this rift that led to the events of September 11 and that has dominated subsequent developments. Through several years of primary field research, the author unravels the story of the jihadist movement and explores how it came into being, the philosophies of its founding fathers, its structure, the rifts and tensions that split its ranks, and why some members, like Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, favored international over local strategies in taking the war to the West. This is an articulate and original book that sheds light on the tactics used by the jihadis in the last three decades. As more alienated young Muslims are seduced into joining, the author asks where the jihadist movement is going and whether it can survive and shed its violent character. Fawaz A. Gerges holds the Christian A. Johnson Chair in International Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies at Sarah Lawrence College.He was educated at Oxford University and the London School of Economics and has previously been a Research Fellow at Harvard and Princeton universities. He is also a senior analyst and regular commentator for ABC television news. His books include America and Political Islam: Clash of Interests or Clash of Cultures? (Cambridge,1999) and The Journey of the Jihadis: A Biography of a State of Mind (Harcourt Press, 2006). He has written extensively on Arab and Muslim politics, Islamist movements, American foreign policy, and relations between the world of Islam and the West. His articles have appeared in several of the most prestigious journals and newspapers in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
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Summary: Multi-demensional Jihads
Rating: 4
The term Jihad is based on the Qur'an saying "...you who believe fight the unbelievers who are near to you." In practice this has been interpreted to mean defending Islam, including the Shari'a (Islamic Law), against internal and external threats. This interpretation has produced the concepts of the `near enemy' that is threats from within the realm of Islam (Dar al Islam) usually from secular or apostate rulers and the `far enemy' that is threats to Islam from non-Islamic States such as those of the West or Israel.
This is a way of introducing this most important book by Fawz A. Gerges. Its central thesis is that the concept of Jihad is far from monolithic, but has splintered into many separate movements with very different agendas. According to Gerges these include a relatively small movement that adheres to the far enemy ideology of Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda movement. This movement see the principal threat to Islam as coming primarily from the U.S. and Israel as well as the West in general. Gerges does not discount the threat posed by this movement, but does note that it is very much a minority movement within a much broader spectrum of Jihadist movements. The inference from Gerges book is that if al Qaeda is understood for what it is, a relatively minor group in a much wider Jihadist movement, it can be better combated.
As Gerges makes clear the concept of Jihad is a complex one and requires a good deal knowledge to understand the implications of Jihadist movements for U.S. National Security. This is not a perfect book and Gerges is at best a pedestrian writer. Yet, the attentive reader can extract a good deal of relevant information about the ideology and institutional structure of the perpetrators of the dreadful attacks of September 11 2001.
Summary: Hard to Finish Book
Rating: 1
It took me over a year to finish this book, and there were times when I had to force myself to continue reading just a few more badly-written pages. The book is touted as having something to do with globalization, but I don't see where it has anything to do with that. Instead, it's a critique of the American war on terror disguised as a scholarly text, and that's if you call the author citing himself (what he said on previous pages) scholarly. It implies that the al-Qaeda or jihadist movement would self-destruct on its own if we just left its inherent disorganizational tendencies run the course. In fact, it argues al-Qaeda is a fluke, and repeatedly argues that peace, love, and/or truth-making is what Mohammed practiced and what real Muslims are all about. It argues the root cause of terrorism is a need for upward mobility in the Arab world, and that becoming a transnationalist, antiglobalist terrorist provides that kind of upward mobility. Neither of these latter two ideas are supported by anything but argument and a cursory swipe at Marxism. What is extensively supported and cited via interviews and analysis of tape recordings are the contradictions in logic by al-Qaeda leaders and supporters. Hence, the book cherry picks the easy things to do, and glosses over the hard stuff. I'd call that insignificant.
| 358p PDF | 3.32 MB | WinRAR Compression: 1.19 MB | no password | credit: cuppa |
by Fawaz A. Gerges
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Number Of Pages: 358
Publication Date: 2005-09-05
ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0521791405
ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780521791403
Binding: Hardcover
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Book Description:
Since September 11, Al Qaeda has been portrayed as an Islamist front united in armed struggle, or jihad, against the Christian West. However, as the historian and commentator Fawaz A. Gerges argues, the reality is rather different and more complex. In fact, Al Qaeda represents a minority within the jihadist movement, and its strategies have been vehemently criticized and opposed by religious nationalists among the jihadis, who prefer to concentrate on changing the Muslim world rather than taking the fight global. It is this rift that led to the events of September 11 and that has dominated subsequent developments. Through several years of primary field research, the author unravels the story of the jihadist movement and explores how it came into being, the philosophies of its founding fathers, its structure, the rifts and tensions that split its ranks, and why some members, like Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, favored international over local strategies in taking the war to the West. This is an articulate and original book that sheds light on the tactics used by the jihadis in the last three decades. As more alienated young Muslims are seduced into joining, the author asks where the jihadist movement is going and whether it can survive and shed its violent character. Fawaz A. Gerges holds the Christian A. Johnson Chair in International Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies at Sarah Lawrence College.He was educated at Oxford University and the London School of Economics and has previously been a Research Fellow at Harvard and Princeton universities. He is also a senior analyst and regular commentator for ABC television news. His books include America and Political Islam: Clash of Interests or Clash of Cultures? (Cambridge,1999) and The Journey of the Jihadis: A Biography of a State of Mind (Harcourt Press, 2006). He has written extensively on Arab and Muslim politics, Islamist movements, American foreign policy, and relations between the world of Islam and the West. His articles have appeared in several of the most prestigious journals and newspapers in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary: Multi-demensional Jihads
Rating: 4
The term Jihad is based on the Qur'an saying "...you who believe fight the unbelievers who are near to you." In practice this has been interpreted to mean defending Islam, including the Shari'a (Islamic Law), against internal and external threats. This interpretation has produced the concepts of the `near enemy' that is threats from within the realm of Islam (Dar al Islam) usually from secular or apostate rulers and the `far enemy' that is threats to Islam from non-Islamic States such as those of the West or Israel.
This is a way of introducing this most important book by Fawz A. Gerges. Its central thesis is that the concept of Jihad is far from monolithic, but has splintered into many separate movements with very different agendas. According to Gerges these include a relatively small movement that adheres to the far enemy ideology of Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda movement. This movement see the principal threat to Islam as coming primarily from the U.S. and Israel as well as the West in general. Gerges does not discount the threat posed by this movement, but does note that it is very much a minority movement within a much broader spectrum of Jihadist movements. The inference from Gerges book is that if al Qaeda is understood for what it is, a relatively minor group in a much wider Jihadist movement, it can be better combated.
As Gerges makes clear the concept of Jihad is a complex one and requires a good deal knowledge to understand the implications of Jihadist movements for U.S. National Security. This is not a perfect book and Gerges is at best a pedestrian writer. Yet, the attentive reader can extract a good deal of relevant information about the ideology and institutional structure of the perpetrators of the dreadful attacks of September 11 2001.
Summary: Hard to Finish Book
Rating: 1
It took me over a year to finish this book, and there were times when I had to force myself to continue reading just a few more badly-written pages. The book is touted as having something to do with globalization, but I don't see where it has anything to do with that. Instead, it's a critique of the American war on terror disguised as a scholarly text, and that's if you call the author citing himself (what he said on previous pages) scholarly. It implies that the al-Qaeda or jihadist movement would self-destruct on its own if we just left its inherent disorganizational tendencies run the course. In fact, it argues al-Qaeda is a fluke, and repeatedly argues that peace, love, and/or truth-making is what Mohammed practiced and what real Muslims are all about. It argues the root cause of terrorism is a need for upward mobility in the Arab world, and that becoming a transnationalist, antiglobalist terrorist provides that kind of upward mobility. Neither of these latter two ideas are supported by anything but argument and a cursory swipe at Marxism. What is extensively supported and cited via interviews and analysis of tape recordings are the contradictions in logic by al-Qaeda leaders and supporters. Hence, the book cherry picks the easy things to do, and glosses over the hard stuff. I'd call that insignificant.
| 358p PDF | 3.32 MB | WinRAR Compression: 1.19 MB | no password | credit: cuppa |