The New Threat: The Past, Present, and Future of Islamic Militancy

by Jason Burke

Overview

Jason Burke is one of the world's leading experts on militant Islam. He embedded with the Kurdish peshmerga (currently at war with ISIS) while still in college. He was hanging out with the Taliban in the late 1990s. He witnessed the bombing of Tora Bora in Afghanistan in 2001 firsthand.

With the current emergence of ISIS in Iraq and Syria and the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, no one is as well placed as Burke—whose previous books have been chosen as books of the year by The Economist, the Daily Telegraph, and The Independent—to explain this dramatic post-Al Qaeda phase of Islamic militancy. We are now, he argues, entering a new phase of radical violence that is very different from what has gone before, one that is going to redefine the West's relationship with terrorism and the Middle East.

ISIS is not “medieval,” as many U.S. national security pundits claim, but, Burke explains, a group whose spectacular acts of terror are a contemporary expression of our highly digitized societies, designed to generate global publicity. In his account, radical Islamic terrorism is not an aberration or “cancer,” as some politicians assert; it is an organic part of the modern world. This book will challenge the preconceptions of many American readers and will be hotly debated in national security circles.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620971352
Publisher:	New Press, The
Publication date:	11/03/2015
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Jason Burke is the South Asia correspondent for The Guardian and The Observer. His book Al Qaeda is regarded as one of the most perceptive and original books on Islamic terrorism. Currently based in New Delhi, he covers a wide range of social, political, and cultural topics across South Asia and is a regular commentator on television and radio.

Table of Contents

Maps xi

Acknowledgements xv

Introduction 1

1 The Rise of Islamic Militancy 15

2 The Origins of Global Jihad 37

3 Al-Qaeda and the Origins of ISIS 56

4 The Islamic State 80

5 The Affiliates 105

6 The Caliphate's Cavalcade 130

7 Leaderless Jihad 159

8 The Movement 183

9 The New Threat 215

Afterword 247

Select Bibliography 257

Notes 261

Index 291

Editorial Reviews

09/28/2015
Burke (The 9/11 Wars) draws on two decades of reporting on conflicts throughout the Middle East and South Asia for the Guardian and the Observer to deliver a comprehensive, lucid study of Islamic militancy. Wide-ranging and thought-provoking, Burke’s work identifies various factors in the rise of modern-day Muslim extremist groups: a renewed sense of religious identity in the 1970s, oil-rich Saudi Arabia’s promotion of conservative Wahhabism, nostalgia for bygone Islamic empires, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and, most recently, disillusionment with the Arab Spring. He covers the two main global organizations, al-Qaeda and ISIS, and their bitter rivalry, as well as the affiliates (Boko Haram, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Shabaab). Assessing the current threat, Burke finds that al-Qaeda’s ability to launch spectacular attacks is much diminished, and ISIS is focused on the “near enemy,” expending most of its resources in Iraq and Syria. He sees more danger posed to Western nations by the “leaderless jihad”—low-tech attacks by apparently self-motivated individuals such as the Boston Marathon bombers and the Charlie Hebdo attackers. Even in the case of so-called lone wolves, however, Burke shows that terrorism is essentially a social activity, rooted in a shared vision of the world. This timely and well-informed study deserves a wide audience. Agent: Toby Eady, Toby Eady Associates (U.K.) (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Jason Burke:
"[Burke is] the most reliable and perceptive guide to the rise of militant Islam."
—William Dalrymple, author of Nine Lives

Praise for Al Qaeda:
"Essential reading."
—Noam Chomsky

"Burke is a superb journalist."
—The Daily Telegraph

"An expert on Islamic terrorism."
—Robert Mackey, The New York Times

"An indispensable guide to the multidimensional reality of Al-Qaeda."
—John Gray

"…a book which vastly increases our understanding of the Al-Qaeda phenomenon. Burke writes with admirable lucidity and the benefit of his frontline reporting and deep research."
—Peter Bergen, author of Holy War, Inc.

From the Publisher

★ 2015-09-03
A concise summary of the background and present state of Islamic militancy. Guardian South Asian correspondent Burke (The 9/11 Wars, 2011, etc.) sets out to explain the history and theoretical underpinnings of insurgent Islam and to describe and evaluate the most prominent groups engaged in armed struggle. He succeeds admirably on both counts. The author's more than 20 years' experience in reporting on Islamic militancy permits him to write with authority about the motivations, attitudes, and capabilities of the various militant groups. He rejects the belief that "Islamic militancy represents some kind of regressive historical riptide" and calls the "global war on terror" a "monumentally misconceived strategy which is in part to blame for the spread of radical Islamic militancy over the last decade." Burke traces today's Islamic militancy to a resurgence of Muslim faith identities in the 1970s and shows how Saudi oil money has been used to spread the intolerant Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam worldwide. He also ably sets out the evolution of militants' religious and political theories from the 1920s to the frightening current theory of "leaderless jihad." The author brings an unusual clarity to the discussion of this new movement and to his exposition of the theory and practice of Islamic militancy, including its creative uses of the Internet and social media to promote extremist ideologies. Burke clearly describes the differences between the aims and capabilities of al-Qaida and the Islamic State and of the growing number of independent actors disingenuously dismissed as "lone wolves" by security services. Western readers may take some scant comfort in the author's observation that while "the indirect impact of Islamic militancy on [Westerners'] lives is significant…the real impact of Islamic militancy will not be felt in the places where this book is likely to be read." Burke covers a lot of important ground in a compact narrative. General readers looking for a comprehensive guide to this serious global challenge will find this a rewarding, if sobering, read.

Kirkus Reviews