Holy terror: Inside the world of Islamic terrorism [Hardcover]

Amir Taheri (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Based on interviews, field studies and internal literature, this is a blunt survey of the history, goals and influence of Islamic fundamentalism, particularly its Iran-based terroristic dimension. Khomeini is presented as one of history's great haters, a charismatic leader whose enmity is directed at all but the strictest adherents to his Manichean interpretations of the Koran. Images of blood and death abound: the Tower of Blood, a shrine in Tehran, is characterized by a guide as "the essence of Islam's message." The book includes descriptions of the organization and training of such groups as the Brides of Blood and the Volunteers for Martyrdom. Taheri calls the Ayatollah's Holy Terror "little more than a hodgepodge of medieval thought and methods borrowed from fascism and communism" and scathingly remarks that death is its highest and noblest goal since it is unable to offer a life worth living. Taheri is the author of The Spirit of Allah.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Taheri is the former editor of Iran's largest paper. Yet he is no advocate of Iran's revolution, but rather lays bare the fundamental dynamics and goals of the Ayatollah. He examines the instrument of terroruse of violence against the enemies of Islam and for coercion within Iranto achieve the expansion of Islam. In this quest the enemy has no worth and all means are justified. The picture Taheri paints of Iran and its posture toward the West is bleak, offering little hope for uncovering common interests. His book's value is in revealing the comprehensive nature of fundamental Islam and its acceptance and systematic use of violence. Richard B. Finnegan , Stonehill Coll., North Easton, Mass.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 332 pages
• Publisher: Adler & Adler (1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0917561457
• ISBN-13: 978-0917561450
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,188,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Amir Taheri was born in Ahvaz, southwest Iran, and educated in Tehran London and Paris. He joined Kayhan International, Tehran's English daily newspaper in 1968 as an opera critic and then cultural correspondent. A year later he was appointed Diplomatic Correspondent and in 1971 became the paper's Political Editor.
In 1972 he was appointed Executive Editor-in-Chief of the Persian language daily Kayhan, Iran's largest newspaper, a post he held until the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Since then he has edited a number of newspapers and magazines in France and Britain and contributed to many leading publications in Europe, the United States and the Middle East. His columns are published by many newspapers across the globe.
In four decades of journalism, Taheri has interviewed many of the world's political leaders and cultural and artistic icons. He has also published 11 books on Islam, Iran, the Soviet Union, and the Middle East.
Taheri was a member of the Executive Board of the Institute for International Political and Economic Studies (IIPES)for four years during which he helped organise a number of seminars on the Persian Gulf and Iran's political developments.
Taheri was a member of the Executive Board of the International Press Institute (IPI) for eight years and a campiagner for press freedom across the globe. He also served on the Executive Board of the Reporters sans Frontieres for three years. He has been a Senior Fellow at the National Committee for American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) since 2002 and Director of its Middle East Project.
Over the past two decades Taheri has emerged as a leading participant in the debate taking place within the world of Islam. A frequent traveler to Muslim countries, Taheri has lectured in many universities, research institutes and political and cultural clubs, offering his ideas for reforming Islam and helping it come to terms with modernity.
Since 1982, Taheri has lived in Paris and London, with frequent and at times lengthy visits to the Middle East.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moslems must read this book before anyone else, September 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Holy terror: Inside the world of Islamic terrorism (Hardcover)

As bombs explode in Moscow and the hunt for Islamic terrorists continues in the four corners of ter world , the world is divided between those who deny that Islam has any problem with terrorism and those who wish to use terrorism as a means of blackening the image of all Moslems. It is aainst this background that Amir Taheri's scholarly and balanced study merits special attention. As a Moslem I believe this book must be read by Moslems before anyone else. This is because we should not imitate those Germans who, after the Second World War, claimed that they simply didn't know. The book shows that the overwhelming majority of the victims of Islamic terrorism are Moslems. Thus by denying that there is terrorism in Islam we shall, in fact, leave our people exposed to this evil. The book is specially important because it provides a who-is-who of Islamic terrorism and details the way in which young people are recruited by governments and suppoedly charity organisations to train as professional terrorists. Western policymakers also need to read this book to understand why and how so many Moslem countries have become bases for international terrorism with the capacity to strike from the World Trade center in the heart of New York to a few hundred yards of the Kremlin in Moscow. Having finished reading this book you are bound to ask for more.A READER IN DUBAI

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ISLAM IS NOT CHIRSTIANITY, March 28, 2002

By 

Pierre Benedile (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Holy terror: Inside the world of Islamic terrorism (Hardcover)

" Islam is not Christianity. It is not the religion of offering the other cheek to the aggressor. Islam is the religion of agitation, revolution, blood, liberation and martyrdom."
This quote from the late Ayatollah Morteza Motahari, one of he brains behind the Khomeinist revolution in Iran is a graphic definition of what the world now faces in the form of Islamist terror.
This is one of many quotes, some of them running into several pages, that the author of this book offers in a bid to provide a direct understanding of the phenomenon. The reader gets a rare chance of directly hearing from those who preach fire and brimstone against non-Muslims.
The Islamist is persuaded that he must not accept peace until he has conquered the whole world for " The Only True Faith". He is ready to kill and to die in order to save mankind from what he regards as " jahiliah" or ignorance.All this he does with the best of intentions.
Islam means submission to the Will of Allah , as revealed in the Quran, the Divine Book. Anyone who resfues such submission is a Taghut or rebel against Allah and must be converted or put to death.
Taheri's book is a fast-paced narrative written by a talented journalist who observed many of the violent events he describes.
At the same time, however, the book is based on solId historical and political research. Thus one can read it either as an extended reportage about Islamist terrorism , or as an introduction to a religion, culture and civilisation that covers more than 1000 million people throughout the world.
" Holy Terror" was originally published many years ago. I found a paperback edition only recently.
What is remarkable is that, apart from some details, it has not dated. The Islamic Republic in Iran still features prominently on the list of states sponsoring international terror. And the number of Islamist terror organisation has, if anything increased. President George W Bush's " War on Terror" has so far not even scratched the surface.
Anyone who wants to know how people like Osama Bin Laden are produced in the Islamic world should read this fascinating book.
Pierre Benedile

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SELL YOUR ROSARY AND BUY A GUN, November 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Holy terror: Inside the world of Islamic terrorism (Hardcover)

Sell your rosary and buy a gun!
This is the chilling advice given to Moslem youths by Hassan al-Banna, an Egyptian schoolteacher who founded the terrorist organization known as the Ikhwan al-Moslemeen or Moslem Brotherhood.
Many took his advice and murdered a string of political leaders and intellectuals in sevberal Arab countries.
Over the half a century that followed the Ikhwan moderated their message and are now trying to impose their brand of Islam on Moslem societies through persuasion rather than murder.
But their message bred other radical groups- from the Fedayeen of Islam to which Khomeini belonged, to Osama Ben Laden's Al Qaeda.
This book tells the story of Islamist terrorism which dates back to 1400 years!
In a sense the author shows that Islam and terror are Siamese twins, inseparable.
The fact that the author himself is a Moslem, with an impeccable pedigree, makes the book more authoritative.
Above all, however, it is the fast pace of the book, the wealth of information it offers, and the honesty of its analysis that are impressive.
PBL