God's Terrorists - Hardcover

Allen, Charles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316729973 ISBN 13: 9780316729970

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, 2006

Synopsis

God's Terrorists: The Wahhabi Cult and Hidden Roots of Modern Jihad

About this title

About the Author

Charles Allen is one of the most celebrated travel writers and historians of his generation.

From Publishers Weekly

British author Allen (Soldier Sahibs) argues persuasively that violent Islamic extremism isn't as new as we might think, but unfortunately, his book doesn't do much to explain the phenomenon. Carefully drawing distinctions between mainstream Islam and the fanaticism that spawned al-Qaeda (which he calls "as much a threat to Islam as to the West"), Allen goes back to the 18th-century founding of Wahhabism, a strain of Islam fostered in the Arabian desert that now serves as the Saudi state religion. Fixated on removing any hint of deviation from their interpretation of Muhammad's teachings, violent Wahhabists have traditionally killed more Muslims than non-Muslims. A Central Asia expert, Allen focuses on the form of Wahhabism that developed against the backdrop of waning British imperialism in that area, gradually leading up to Osama bin Laden's arrival. But his rapid-fire account is littered with names and battles, explaining little about how an ideology always rejected by most Muslims, and whose proponents were nearly annihilated on many occasions, managed to survive so spectacularly. Nor does he explain why Wahhabists' anger has shifted from supposed infidels in their midst to citizens of the West. (Sept.)
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Edition details

• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0316729973
• ISBN 13: 9780316729970
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1