Description
Al-Qaeda was unable to realize its lethal potential until it found sanctuary in Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden fled after being expelled from Sudan. But why wasn't Al-Qaeda attacked before September 2001? Mariam Abou Zahab and Olivier Roy argue that the Taliban in Afghanistan was part of a much wider radical Islamist network in the region, whose true center was Pakistan. Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, the Pakistani Deobandis-all of these groups are based in Pakistan, which continues to serve as the regional hub for Islamist movements and their terrorist offshoots. In this critically acclaimed book, Abou Zahab and Roy investigate the almost twenty-five-year gestation of these interlinked radical Islamist networks of Pakistan, Central Asia, and Afghanistan. Taking into account the networks' divergent histories and doctrinal rifts, Abou Zahab and Roy lay bare the political contingencies that enabled these disparate Islamist movements to coordinate with the aim of attacking what would become their common adversary: the United States.
About the Author
Mariam Abou Zahab is a researcher affiliated with the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI) and a lecturer at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), both in Paris. Olivier Roy is a world authority on Islam and politics. His books include Globalized Islam (Columbia University Press) and The Failure of Political Islam.
Reviews
Tackling historical complexities and scholarly references to illuminate cultural and religious motivations, Mariam Abou Zahab and Olivier Roy create a blow-by-blow account of jihadist movements and their relationship with American and secular power. Middle East Journal This work is a gold mine for insights into the little-understood world of Islamist ideologies. -- Caleb M. Bartley, University of Reading Comparative Strategy [Islamist Networks is] interested not in grand ideas but in the details of Al-Qaeda's recruitment and support networks ... [using] biographies of individual terrorists and obscure Al-Qaeda-linked groups to explain the movement's evolving structure. By this path the authors challenge some poorly examined assumptions of familiar public debates. -- Steve Coll Washington Post Book World This excellent study will serve as a valuable reference book to those interested in radical Islamic Movements... Highly recommended. Choice
Book Information
ISBN 9780231133654
Author Mariam Abou Zahab
Format Paperback
Page Count 92
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press