Synopsis
Jihad, or "Holy War" is very much alive in the Islamic world, and plays a prominent political role. Western observers usually associate jihad with fanaticism, while Islamists emphasize its mission as a crusade against drugs and other societal scourges.
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About the Author
Rudolph Peters is professor at the University of Amsterdam and former director of the Netherlands Institute in Cairo.
From Library Journal
To Americans and Europeans, the word jihad conjures up fanatical Arab warriors overwhelming a Crusader citadel. Jihad ("struggle") denotes holy war for Islam, and in this sense is comparable to crusade, holy war for Christianity. But there is much more to jihad than this. One may struggle not only against an enemy outside Islam, but against heretics within, social evils like poverty and crime, and unbelief in oneself. Peters, a professor at the University of Amsterdam and the director of the Netherlands Institute in Cairo, has collected previously published information (six translations of Arabic texts, and two of his own articles) to help us understand the wider social and moral senses of jihad. While Peters terms this material "basic," it is both highly technical and complex, and presupposes some familiarity with Islam and its history. It will appeal to the scholar and specialist, not to the casual reader.?James F. DeRoche, Alexandria, Va.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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