Holy Wars: The Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism [Paperback]

Dilip Hiro (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Journalist Hiro, an authority on Islamic affairs ( Iran Under the Ayatollahs ), effectively delineates the cycles and schisms within Islam and their considerable impact on contemporary events. "Revival and reform have been recurring phenomena in Islamic history," he argues, and his most compelling chapters show how these currents have manifested themselves in different cultures and regions. He carefully contrasts the distinctive development of religious and political values in Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Afghanistan, maintaining an objective stance towards the diversity among Moslem nations. Historical background on the Ottoman Empire and the consequences of British colonialism is necessarily condensed so that the modern evolution of the Middle East can take center stage. As current as the daily newspaper (the epilogue covers Iran's death threat against Salman Rushdie), this book will be a welcome companion for those watching Islam's struggle for balance between authenticity and modernity, which now affects us all.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This clearly written work is an excellent introduction to Islamic political assertiveness. The first five chapters, which deal with the origins and rise of Islam as well as the turbulent histories of Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, are superb. It is therefore disappointing that the last two chapters, on Iran and Afghanistan, are not of similar caliber. Hiro, a freelance journalist and author of Iran Under the Ayatollahs (Routledge, 1985), is a master at description, but he provides a limited amount of analysis. For example, he correctly summarizes a Muslim belief that "Islam has nothing spiritual to learn from the West," but doesn't challenge this assertion. Despite such shortcomings, however, the study is a welcome addition to the limited popular literature on the modern Muslim world. See also Misagh Parsa's Social Origins of the Iranian Revolution , reviewed in this issue, below.
- Ed. -- Joseph A. Kechichian, Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 334 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (November 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415902088
• ISBN-13: 978-0415902083
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,304,692 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars In want of a mainstream, July 20, 2001

By 

Timothy A. Griffy (Rapid City, SD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Holy wars: The rise of Islamic fundamentalism (Hardcover)

This book provides an account of the role Islam plays in the politics of several Middle Eastern countries. It provides useful histories of the Muslim Brotherhood, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Afghanistan. Especially with Iran and Afghanistan, this book already seems dated twelve years after publication. However, these studies will still prove useful in understanding more recent developments in these nations.

Dilip Hiro has geared this book to the general reader, and includes a glossary of commonly used Arabic and Persian terms. The first three chapters set the stage by reviewing the history of Islam. Hiro places modern Islamic fundamentalism in the context of historic revivals in Islamic history intended to purify the religion. He convincingly argues the downfall of the Ottoman Empire made the rise of both modern Middle Eastern States and Islamic fundamentalism possible. In a sense, both are the results of answering the question of what Islam should be today.

As a work on Islamic fundamentalism, however, the work is extremely flawed. Hiro never gives the reader any real description of the Islamic mainstream. Yet this is a key issue, since fundamentalisms exist in relationship with and as a reaction to the mainstream. Was Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini a Shia fundamentalist, or is Shiaism itself an Islamic fundamentalism? The reader will not find a satisfactory answer in this book.

The lack of a mainstream also leads to a vague definition of Islamic fundamentalism. Thus, although it has had its own problems with fundamentalists, Hiro can call Saudi Arabia the oldest fundamentalist state. Hiro's attempt to place Islamic fundamentalism in the context of historical mood swings becomes more problematic as well. In all religions, periodic shifts between liberal and conservative poles are normal. Again, we might ask how Islamic fundamentalism differs from conservative, but still mainstream norms.

It simply will not do just to say fundamentalism is "the effort to define the fundamentals of a religious system and adhere to them" (1). Even the mainstream of a religious tradition does the same in adapting to the world. Fundamentlisms are marked not only by the search for fundamentals, but also a particular and rigid interpretation of them. Yet with perhaps the exception of Afghanistan, Hiro notes most "fundamentalist" leaders placed much emphasis on ijtihad, creative interpretation of the Islamic tradition.

In a book intended for the general reader on Islamic fundamentalism, the failure to give clear descriptions of either mainstream or fundamentalist Islam is inexcusable. If the book's goal is to provide context, it has failed.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Glaring errors detract from the info in this book., October 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Holy wars: The rise of Islamic fundamentalism (Hardcover)

This book's glaring errors(saying that Muslims only pray 3 times a day,etc.)(Muslims must say them 5 times a day,according to Hadith) hurt this book. False assumptions(Sunnism is devoid of warmth, women's emancipation means "emancipating" them from the Sharia(Divine Law)run throughout this book.Love and emotional feeling for Allah and the Prophet(saws)are at the root of Sharia:this is what compells people to submit their wills to Allah.The only way women's due rights(the ones in Qu'ran and Hadith) can be guranteed is through Allah's Law(Sharia). Interesting information that this book gives us on recent and previous " Islamic Fundamentalist" governments and groups is the highlight of this book. If you're looking for this kind of information and not an Islamically correct view, then I'd recomend this book,if you can't find many books with both.