The Canons of Jihad: Terrorists' Strategy for Defeating America [Paperback]

Jim Lacey (Author, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 5, 2008

Since the 9/11 attacks, scholars have struggled to help Westerners understand what motivates the jihadi movement. Noting that the best way to understand jihadists is to ignore statements they release to the West in favor of examining what they say to each other, Jim Lacey provides a definitive collection of writings that intellectually underpins the movement. Rather than guessing about terrorist motivations from a Western perspective, readers are offered essays--including those by the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hasan al-Banna, and a leading early member, Sayed Qutb--that define the movement through the eyes of the terrorists themselves. As jihadist cadres begin to rebuild, Lacey notes that they are turning once again to their original thinkers to justify their actions. This project is sponsored by the United States Joint Forces Command.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jim Lacey, a former U.S. Army infantry officer, is a widely published analyst at the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, VA, where he has written several studies on the war in Iraq and on the Global War on Terrorism. During the invasion of Iraq, he was an embedded journalist with Time magazine, traveling with the 101st Airborne Division.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (March 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591144612
• ISBN-13: 978-1591144618
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #543,453 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Federalist Papers" of the violent Jihadi movement, May 5, 2008

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J. Rudy "Major, USAF" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Canons of Jihad: Terrorists' Strategy for Defeating America (Paperback)

"The imam [Hasan al-Banna], may Allah bless him, shows us that ultimately only Islam can save mankind from itself. And jihad on the individual and international scale will be a necessary part of this process of change." Dr. A.M.A. Fahmy

In 1995, Dr. Fahmy wrote these words as an online preface to "Jihad" by Hasan al-Banna. Al-Banna's document became the cornerstone document for the Muslim Brotherhood, a group formed in 1928 that advocated moral reform in Egypt. Hasan al-Banna was assassinated by Egyptian security forces, but "Jihad" continues to inspire the jihadist movement still today.

"The Canons of Jihad" documents the evolution of jihadist writings from Hasan al-Banna's "Jihad" through Abu Musab al-Suri's 2004 "The Call to Global Islamic Resistance". This compilation of translated writings gives the reader insight into the evolution of jihadist thought through the 20th century.

The editor, Mr. Jim Lacey, is a former US infantry officer who also served as an embedded journalist during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. With the dual perspective of a former military officer and commercial journalist, he is in a unique position to offer insightful analysis for each of the jihadist writings, by putting each document into context for its time and geographic area.

Mr. Lacey includes a second ideological document, "Milestones" released in 1964 by Sayyid Qutb, who joined the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950's. This document is historically significant to the jihadist movement in that it sanctioned violence. This document is still referenced today by the extreme jihadists as their moral justification for violence.

I found "The Management of Savagery" to be the most disturbing chapter of the book. In essence, this document states the goal of the jihad is to cause violent acts in a region to cause the ruling government to lose authority with the populace. With the region in chaos, the jihadists will restore peace to the region as part of the master plan for the caliphate. This chapter also includes guidance on manipulating the western media to spread their message. Furthermore, it describes permissible conditions for beheadings, massacres and kidnappings of innocents.

In another chapter, Mr. Lacey states "'The Qur'anic Concept of War,' by General S.K. Malik of the Pakistani army provides readers with unequaled insight into proper Islamic thinking on war." Having been raised as an American, it was difficult for me to truly comprehend this unique style of thought. The film director Michael Moore may not have this same difficulty. He was quoted by the ghost-writer Abu Ubayd al-Qurashi. In his biographic profile of President George Bush, readers will note al-Qurashi's opinions are very similar to Mr. Moore's.

Lacey's selection for the opening chapter of the book is Osama bin Laden's "Jihad against Jews and Crusaders." Written in 1998, three years before the 9/11 attack, it laid out in clear terms the goals and objectives of Al Qaeda. The book's conclusion, al-Suri's "The Call to Global Islamic Resistance," could be called a State of the Union Address for the jihad. In military parlance, it's a by-country, after-action review for each of the worldwide jihadist movements. Al-Suri was captured in Pakistan in 2006 and has since stopped writing, but his publication serves as the living ideology for the next generation of jihadists.

I knew very little of the jihadist movement before reading this book, outside what can be learned from the Washington Post. After reading the book, I now understand that jihad is an essential part of true Islam; however, violent jihad is not. For over 80 years, the distorted logic of al-Banna and the other authors has formed the basis for a criminalized version of a peaceful religion. The full versions of each documents contain volumes of pseudo-justification to validate their violent views, but Mr. Lacey admits to editing out these references in order to focus on the key points of their thought.

Secondly, it is apparent from reading this book, that this violent jihadist movement is independent of the Al Qaida organization. Although each desires a similar end-state [the return of the caliphate], each movement has differing intermediate objectives. Al Qaida wants to topple America and Israel, whereas the jihadists are focusing the immediate fight in individual nations to rid them of the apostate [Muslims who have renounced Islam] governments.

Finally, in the views of these extremist authors, it is apparent Islam and democracy cannot coexist. According to al-Suri, two generations of jihadists have met Allah, but a cadre survived to train the third generation of fighters. They all strongly believe in Dr. Fahmy's statement of "only Islam can save mankind from itself."

"The Canons of Jihad" are to the jihad, what the "Federalist Papers" are to the United States. This set of documents, absent the onerous religious references, forms the ideological foundation for the jihadi movement. This book needs a place on the bookshelf between Von Clausewitz's "On War" and Sun Tzu's "Art of War". It is unimportant whether one agrees or disagrees with the concepts presented, however it is essential for the public to understand this controversial way of thinking.