The world of Islamic fundamentalism has become; more or less; a daily preoccupation; not only of journalists and scholars; but; more importantly; of almost all governments and security services across the globe. This book presents a striking analysis of how and why Islamism and Jihadism have become such potent contemporary political forces; shedding new light on a much-misunderstood situation. This revised edition offers an analytical survey of the modern and contemporary Islamist movements by linking their emergence and potency to the historical background of Muslim societies and their encounter with Western globalism. Thus; it also locates the advent of new Islamist espousals of democratic governance. It includes an entirely new section dealing with post-1997 aspects; a section on al-Qa'ida and the aftermath of 9/11; as well as a discussion of the global reach of Islamism. This comprehensive volume explores the advent of a new wave of Islamism and its manifestations in Western countries; concluding with an overall evaluation of the future prospects of Islamism and alternative Western policies ranging from direct confrontation to political dialogue.
#5115785 in Books 2014-10-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .77 x 5.98l; 1.12 #File Name: 0826316719344 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A history lesson well worth reading!By Kindle CustomerWell researched and written receiving an award from the governor of Kansas2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. An unsung hero; well describedBy Lance ChiltonFrom the New Mexico Mercury; which says why the book should be read better than I could:A riveting movie could be made about the life and times of Edmond G. Ross; the territorial governor of New Mexico in the late 1880’s and a man who was on what history has proven to be the right side of the great issues of his day.Few people have heard of Ross; even those of us with an intense interest in New Mexico’s past. But now his time has come thanks to a detailed; fast moving; insightful biography by Richard A. Ruddy entitled Edmund G. Ross: Soldier; Senator; Abolitionist; published recently by UNM Press.This is Ruddy’s first book. It’s a prodigious and readable work by a man long fascinated with New Mexico and Albuquerque history. Ruddy retired from a 30 year career in commercial photography in 2002 and three years later launched into a six year research project on Governor Ross; uncovering the story of a man of conscience with a heroic if stubborn streak that served him well on the battle fields of the Civil War and as an anti-slavery mid-westerner who early in his life helped a runaway slave escape to Canada. Ruddy makes Ross; his idiosyncratic personality and the political context of his times; come alive.Edmund G. Ross is best known for his moment of senatorial glory commemorated in a chapter of John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage. Ross; a Republican from Kansas at the time; cast the deciding vote against the first impeachment trial of a president in American history. President Andrew Johnson was acquitted in the 1868 senatorial trial over Reconstruction policies. Ross was one of seven Republican senators to go against their party. The basic issue was over a punitive attitude toward Reconstruction which viewed the South as a conquered enemy state to be readmitted to the Union piecemeal as the federal government decreed; and Lincoln and Johnson’s more lenient view of allowing the South to repair itself and its culture; state by state in its own way. Some argue that leniency eventually gave rise to the Jim Crow south in which slavery was perpetuated by “other means†when federal authority might have prevented it early on.Ruddy has a gracefully clear way of getting into the complications of that moment in history. Ross apparently voted as he did; not because he believed in hands off Reconstruction policy but because he felt the pretense of the trial; that Johnson had violated an act of Congress; was specious. And indeed the law; the Tenure of Office Act; was repealed a year later. Ross’s vote was a principled move on the part of an ardent abolitionist and former Union Cavalry officer who fought in the Civil war with passion and conviction. He seems to have thought the trial was politically rigged and a decoy for other issues. He’d have no part of it.Ross is a stirring example of a man who knew his own mind. While serving as Territorial Governor of New Mexico from 1885 to l889; he was a champion of Native American and Hispanic land grant claims and strongly opposed what he; with a long term perspective; rightly considered land grabs by wealthy and unscrupulous land speculators.In a report that the territorial governor was required to make annually to President Grover Cleveland; Ross described what Ruddy calls “the fundamental promise of the United States to New Mexican residents†over land grants. Ross wrote “As a rule the lands actually occupied are held by an unimpeachable tenure; having been handed down from generation to generation ….which leads them to suppose that there is not necessity for a public record for their holdings or a formal patent from the government.†Ross railed against land grabbing “rings†and syndicates.George W. Julian; the surveyor general for New Mexico in l885 wrote publically that the rings and syndicates “hovered over the territory like a pestilence. To a fearful extent they have dominated governors; judges; district attorneys; legislatures; surveyors-general and their deputies….They have confounded political distinctions and subordinated everything to the greed for land.†In trying to clean up the mess Ross proposed a Court of Private Land Claims. In testifying before Congress on New Mexico land grants; Ross said ‘These grants were held under special concessions to individuals or communities….Their ownership was universally recognized; and the indefinite nature and lack of minute description of boundaries was of small moment in a country whose population was so sparse that there was ample room for all and land was practically valueless.†I wonder what Ross and the New Mexico land grant heirs and activists in the l960s would have made of each other.Ross ended his days without wealth. Needless to say he did not benefit from the land grabbing rings that dominated his tenure in office. He became the editor of the Deming Headlight; found many a good editorial fight; and died in Albuquerque in l907 “a poor man;†Ruddy writes; “but a man who generations later; is still admired for the courage of his convictions.â€What I admire most about Ruddy’s book is the deep level of detail he gives his readers while at the same time guiding them with clear writing and his own sense of fairness and perspective to see the rich paradoxes and hidden realities of the times in which Edmund Ross lived and which he influenced for the better.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Bringing Edmund G. Ross Out of ObscurityBy Jazz LoverRichard A. Ruddy has performed a public service by writing the only definitive biography of the most important character of American history who most of us have never heard of. This is true unless you happen to have read John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage; which includes Edmund G. Ross. Based on my reading of Ruddy's very engaging and informative biography; I would say that much of Ross's life was just such a profile; not just his vote against the conviction of Andrew Johnson; as presented by the late president. Among other things; this biopgraphy describes Ross's life as an eloquent editorial writer; an abolitionist who led a large group of people into Kansas to help secure it as a free state; a civil war volunteer who rose to the rank of major; a founder of the Atchison; Topeka; and The Santa Fe Railroad; and; eventually; a territorial governor of New Mexico. In addition; the book presents the American history associated with Ross's life in a very readable and educational manner. All of this is from a man for whom history is essentially a hobby.
