The Jihadis Path to Self Destruction

 The Jihadis' Path to Self-Destruction -
[A5] Hardback with Dustjacket - 306 pages,
by Nelly Lahoud,
Published by Hurst & Company, London.
RRP £45.00


Description :

Are violent jihadis an enduring feature of modern international affairs, or do they hold in their own doctrines the seeds of self-destruction? Historical precedent suggests the latter. Jihadi ideologues have formulated an individualist-centered Islam to mobilise Muslims far and wide, youths above all, to join a global jihad. However, the duty and right to an individually initiated jihad constitutes just one side of this do-it-yourself Islam; the other is the duty to protect the purity of doctrinal beliefs against any perceived deviation by even their fellow jihadis.


This book explores the religious philosophy underlying jihadism, as set against the background of the Kharijites, the first counter-establishment movement in Islam, whose idealistic and individualistic practice of Islam inevitably led them to deploy takfir against each other and thereby to self-destruct. By investigating the links between Kharijism and jihadism, Lahoud argues that the same doctrinal beliefs that appear to unite today’s jihadis will also be the cause of their downfall.

Reviews :

     ‘[…] brings to the table a completely different set of analytical tools and source
      materials which will supplement existing theories and thus greatly enrich our
      understanding of jihadism.’ _{–– Dr Thomas Hegghammer, Harvard University}.

     ‘The book is essential reading to anyone involved in making foreign policy in the
      Middle East.’ _{–– Digest of Middle East Studies}.

Nelly Lahoud is associate professor with the Combating Terrorism Center in the department of Social Sciences, U.S. Military Academy, West Point. Her publications include Political Thought in Islam: A Study in Intellectual Boundaries.




Table of Contents :

---Acknowledgements,
---Notes on Translation, Transliteration and Sources,
---Preface.

---Introduction : Is Jihadism on the Path of Self-Destruction?
------Jihadism : The calling of a Physician with the Fixations of a Hypochondriac,
------Jihadism : Reclaining Islam and Losing Muslims,
------Jihad as an Individual Duty (fard 'ayn),
------Regretful Takfiris.


---Chapter [1]. Past and Present Jihadis,
------Why the Kharijites and Why Now?
------The 'Kharijites' as a Contentious Label,
--------(a). Jihadis as Kharijites,
--------(b). Non-Jihadis as Kharijites,
------Beyond Polemics,
------The Jihadis,
------Kharijism and Jihadism in Perspective.

---Chapter [2]. Contesting Islam: The Kharijites,
------The Rise of the Kharijites,
------Religious Idealism,
--------(a). Loyalty to God Alone,
--------(b). Khuruj (rebellion),
------The Kharijites and the Authorities,
------The Kharijites' Islamic Exceptionalism,
--------(a). Egalitarianism,
--------(b). Individualism versus Institutionalism/Legitimism,
--------(c). Islamic Exceptionalism,
------From Exceptionalism to Extreme Exceptionalism :
--------Second Generation Kharijites,
--------(a). Believers versus Community,
--------(b). Takfir,
------Over-Qualified Muslims,
------Past and Present.

---Chapter [3]. Islam Re-considered : Islamism and Jihadism,
------Islam and Hierarchy of Knowledge,
------Decentralisation of Islam,
------Islamism and Jihadism : Islamisation versus Jihadisation of Islam,
------Hasan al-Banna,
------Sayyid Qutb,
------From Islamisation to Jihadisation of Islam,
------The Route to Jihadism,
------Jihadi Ideologues,
------Muhammad 'Abd al-Salam Faraj,
------'Abdallah 'Azzam,
------Dr Fad'l,
------Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi,
------Tension bewteen Strategic Objectives and Doctrinal Purity,
------Conclusion.

---Chapter [4]. Why Jihad and not Democracy?
------Qualifying the Question in the Title,
------Islamist Discourses on Democracy,
------The Jihadis' Rationale against Democracy,
------An Unholy Alliance : Democracy & Authoritarianism,
------Ayman al-Z'awahiri on the Muslim Brotherhood,
------Al-Qa'ida on Hamas,
------Doctrinal Solutions,
------Why is Democracy a Religion?
------Why Jihad?
------Past and Present Jihad,
------Concluding Remarks.

---Chapter [5]. Islam Giveth, Islam Taketh Away :
------Takfir and Jihad as a Recipe for Self-Destruction,
------The Intellectual Foundation of Takfir,
------Ayman al-Zawahiri on wala' and bara'
------The Union that was not Meant to be,
------The Islamic credibility of the shi'a in the Eyes of the Jihadis,
------Jihadism in Iraq Post al-Zarqawi,
------The Islamic Credibility of the Taliban in the Eyes of the Jihadis,
------Jihadi Leadership and the Future of Jihadism,
------Dr Fad'l,
------Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi,
------Jihadism and Leadership,
------Conclusion.

---Final Conclusion.


---Bibliography,
---Index.


RRP £45.00

---

'' Recommended ...well researched given the current middle-eastern turmoil.''