Knowing the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror (ISBN 0300122578)

THE MIND BEHIND THE MADNESS:
Knowing the Enemy This is an Outstanding Book. As we in the West are beginning to realize, the war against Salafist Jihadists is.... all about ideology. Although unnatural to western minds, which have long been conditioned to compartmentalize ideology - and especially religion - in such a way as to pretend that it has no bearing on the `real' issues in life (meaning: those things we can see, smell, touch or somehow scientifically measure), the fact of the matter is: violent Jihadists act the way they do because they believe the way they do. Action proceeds from belief. (Isn't that usually the case?). That being the case, an understanding of militant Islamist thought is necessary in order to understand their actions, and one day defeat them. As others have said: "It is necessary to understand the ideology of extremists and to counter it with one's own in order to combat terrorism successfully." (Farid Shafiyev) "The struggle underway throughout much of the Muslim world is essentially a war of ideas. Its outcome will determine the future direction of the Muslim world and whether the threat of jihadist terrorism continues..." (Building Moderate Muslim Networks - RAND Corp) "Unless we understand this ideology that gives rise to extremist violence, we will not succeed in defeating either the terrorists or the "non-violent" Islamists who seek to trigger a clash with the West." (Zeyno Baran) Our Strategy Recognizes That The War On Terror Is A Different Kind Of War, Involving Both A Battle Of Arms And A Battle Of Ideas. (U.S. National Strategy for Combatting Terrorism). Mary Habeck's book goes a long, well-worded way toward helping the reader understand the bases of militant Islamist belief. I've been on a personal quest to understand just that since Sep 11 2001 and have read not a little on the subject. Dr. Habeck's book is the best I've seen. She does an admirable job of covering the necessary bases - yet not in the "touch and go" fashion often employed by others. She not only introduces several of the major ideologues of the past, whose ideas underpin current jihadism, but deals with them in sufficient depth to leave the reader with a good grasp of both their significance and the beliefs they left behind them. This book was recommended to me and I, in turn, heartily recommend it to others who have a desire to understand the thought behind the current madness of Jihadist terrorism. It is, after all, a well reasoned and ideologically informed madness. Therein lies the threat - and, one hopes, a vulnerability.

Knowing the ememy:
Good information but it is the same information over and over again. It could have been two chapters instead of a book.

Best Book on the Subject in Existence:
I would give it ten stars if I could. This is a very clear, complete and concise treatment of Jihadist ideology. I have read literally dozens of works on Jihadists, terrorism and Islam (including the Quran, 4 collections of the Hadiths and the works of Qutb and Mawdudi) and have never seen it explained so well. I wish I would have had this book ten years ago. If you want to understand how the Jihadists think, make decisions, treat other Muslims and believe, read this book before all others.

Most thorough and well written book on Jihad I have read:
I came across this book while researching terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism. Of about 20 books I read for research, this book is by far the most thorough and well written. It is repetitive in some ways and could be shorter due to this fact, but overall presents a wealth of understanding on jihadist ideaology.

Knowing the Enemy:
Clear and concise summary of Jihadism in the Middle East. Backed up with many references. Helps understand the history, and relationship to the present Muslim world, of this particularly virulent sect.