This book examines contemporary jihad as a cult of violence and power. All jihadi groups; whether Shiite or Sunni; Arab or not; are characterized by a similar bloodlust. Murawiec characterizes this belief structure as identical to that of Europe's medieval millenarians and apocalyptics; arguing that both jihadis and their European cousins shared in a Gnostic ideology: a God-given mission endowed the Elect with supernatural powers and placed them above the common law of mankind. Although the ideology of jihad is essentially Islamic; Murawiec traces the political technologies used by modern jihad to the Bolsheviks. Their doctrines of terror as a system of rule were appropriated by radical Islam through multiple lines of communication. This book brings history; anthropology; and theology to bear to understand the mind of jihad that has declared war on the West and the world.
#1160925 in Books Cambridge University Press 1998-03-13Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.98 x .43 x 5.98l; .63 #File Name: 0521634490212 pages
Review
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Its okayBy Nik88This book is alright. Its major downfall is that it is just too short. This was assigned reading in a Graduate Level American Civil War Seminar class I took. I ended up writing my historiography for this class on the topic of Back Soldiers in the American Civil War. Much better books on the topic; in my opinion; are "Black Soldiers in Blue" by Smith and "Like Men of War" by Trudeau. Still if you are writting a historiography Freedom's Soldiers should be in it. Its place in historical texts on the topic of Black Soldiers during the American Civil War is important; though it is not my favorite one.1 of 3 people found the following review helpful. For my daughterBy thetrueone83It was used for my daughter for a writing project. I am so happy that it was available at the price that it was for because other places wanted much more. We will hold on to this book because it offers a lot of information from the past.
