ABSTRACT

This book provides the historical and political context to explain acts of terror, including the September 11th, and the bombing of American Embassies in Nairobi and Dar as Salaam and the West's responses. Providing a brief history of Islam as a religion and as socio-political ideology, Dilip Hiro goes on to outline the Islamist movements that have thrived in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, and their changing relationship with America. It is within this framework that the rising menace of Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaida network is discussed.

The Pentagon's amazingly swift victory over the Taliban in Afghanistan is examined along with implications of the Bush Doctrine, encapsulated in his declaration, 'so long as anybody is terrorizing established governments, there needs to be a war' - a recipe for war without end.

part I|56 pages

Islam

chapter 1|21 pages

The rise of Islam

Sunnis and Shias

chapter 2|18 pages

Orthodox Islam and Sufism

chapter 3|15 pages

Islam in modern times

part II|208 pages

Islamic ideologies and fundamentalist states

chapter 5|66 pages

Saudi Arabia

The oldest fundamentalist state

chapter 6|86 pages

Afghanistan

Fundamentalism victorious, with American backing

part III|157 pages

Islamist terrorism and global response

chapter 7|33 pages

Bombing of US embassies

A wake-up call

chapter 9|20 pages

Ongoing war against terror

An uncharted territory

chapter 10|29 pages

Summary and conclusions

chapter |13 pages

Epilogue