Customer Reviews

Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam

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Kepel's `Jihad' is an excellent introduction to modern Islamism. This is a great book if you want to know more about various Islamist movements such as: bin Laden's al-Qaeda, the civil war in Algeria, the Shi'ite revolution in Iran, the Taliban in Afganistan, and the various Islamist movements from Egypt to Malaysia.

Kepel comes to an interesting and controversial conclusion. At a time when the US administration is making vast increases to the budget to fight the war on terror (against Muslim terrorists), Kepel writes that Islamism has seen its peak as a political movement and has been on the decline since the mid 1990's. He wrote in his conclusion:

"In spite of what many hasty commentators contended in its (September 11th) immediate aftermath, the attack on the United States was a desperate symbol of isolation, fragmentation, and decline of the Islamist movement, not a sign of its strength and irrepressible might."

My reaction to this conclusion (I read the conclusion before reading the entire book) was similar to what Walter Laqueur wrote in his article `A Failure of Intelligence', published in The Atlantic Monthly - March 2002:

"However, the same conditions that gave birth to Islamism thirty years ago persist: economic stagnation or even negative growth, the unemployment of the young. So do resentment and free-floating rage. If Islamism is bankrupt, where is the ideology to replace it?"

These are good observations, but they miss the point of Kepel's book. Kepel does not cover what he thinks will replace Islamism. Laqueur's arguments make me wonder if he even read the entire book. (Laqueur also finishes with some ridiculous statements about a lack of Middle Eastern self-criticism, which makes it sound like Laqueur has digested the ideas of the famous orientalist Bernard Lewis more than anything Kepel wrote.) Kepel is not making a sweeping statement about Islam and the West - that the tension is over and everyone will live happily ever after. Kepel realizes there will be violence in the name of Jihad. For example, his conclusion also stated:

"This does not mean that we shall not see other outbursts of terrorism that claim the mantle of jihad. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular will be ripe for more violence."

Kepel's book is more informed and specific than Laqueur acknowledges. It is about specific movements within the Islamic world, started by theorists such as Mawdudi from Pakistan or Qutb from Egypt. These movements seemed to be ready to take over the Middle East as recent as five years ago. Islamist movements succeeded in Iran and Afganistan, and in various other places in the Middle East. But since then the theories behind Islamism have not been as accepted. This is due to complex reasons, such as the increased power of the middle class in the various countries, which Kepel covers in detail.

If there is a fault in Kepel's `Jihad', it is that the text takes a while to get used to, since it was originally written in French. I found myself reading some paragraphs two or three times over - especially in the first half. I'm not sure if I got used to the text in the second half, or the writing improved. Also, he could have spent some pages on a definition of Islamism - what theorists such as Mawdudi and Qutb wanted. You would have to get that research from another book, such as Qutb's `Milestones'.

Having spend several years living and traveling in the Gulf during the 1970's I felt this book was extremely informative and thorough in its review and discussion of political islam. For anyone who really, really wants to know what is going on in that part of the world - this is the book to get.

Kipel's book is both an authentic guide and a quick survey of the rise - and his assessment of the fall - of militant Islamic Jihad. Kipel traces the origins of Muslim radical movements in all of the Islamic countries and highlights the circumstances that diverted them from theological preaching to violent activity.
From the very beginning, Kipel offers a unique analysis saying that the events of 9/11 signaled the end of Islamic terrorism and not its climax since militant Muslim groups felt compelled to win some attention among fellow Muslims by embarking on a grandiose terror activity, but to no avail.
Kipel also tells of the reaction of the different regimes to these movements. At the time some rulers quenched Muslim radical groups and systematically destroyed them later, other sovereigns contained them or even used them to consolidate their rule.
The book has a peculiarly interesting entry about the Muslim community in Europe and describes its growth and eventual politicization.
Fitting this voluminous information into a single book, however, meant that Kipel had to sacrifice other pieces of info. When describing the relations of these movements with foreign - regional and international groups - the book only provides a quick narration of the CIA support of Muslim Mujahideen in their war in Afghanistan against the Soviets.
In other Muslim countries that witnessed a rise in militant Islamic activity, relations of these groups were put only in their domestic context.
The book also offers a unique analysis of the Islamic movement as it ties its dynamics, in a Marxist manner, to the relations between the different social classes and their socioeconomic circumstances, especially the always rising unemployment.

An outstanding book!! Although his underlying assertion is controversial (militant Islam is on its last legs...), Kepel's work is an impressive, and worthwhile, history. The subtitle (The Trail of Political Islam) is a good description of the book's contents, as it doesn't deal with Jihad per se, but it's causes. In it's pages Professor Kepel describes the recent cultural, historical and political circumstances which occasioned the rise of Militant Islam in different geographical areas across the globe. He displays a breadth and depth of knowledge that is amazing. In the book, he details political currents, players, sentiments and events in country after country (Palestine, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Algeria, Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, to name most). The circumstances he describes are complex, but he evidences a deep understanding of underlying culture, motives, and history. It is a tribute to his skill as a writer that he is able to do this without his book becoming a mere historical catalogue.

In reading these various stories of militancy's birth, certain recurrent themes begin to emerge. For instance, it was interesting to see the phenomenon of `vacuum' as a precursor to the rise of Fundamentalist Islam. That is, in case after case, Kepel details the emergence of political, cultural or religious vacuums - yawning societal chasms which cry out to be filled. Time after time it is Islamism which rushes in to fill that hole. (It seems that `the vacuum' is abhorred by culture as well as nature) Unfortunately, in most cases it seems that Fundamentalist Islam was the only option available at the time.

Also of interest was the sophisticated political savvy with which emerging and established Islamist leaders were able to operate in order to manipulate the populace and maintain power. Some of their shenanigans were all too familiar to me as a Westerner.

As a result of reading this book, my understanding of militancy as a worldview birthed in personal and corporate history, has grown. One caveat, however, is in order: Although well written and basically without rabbit trails or much wasted verbage, the book is not a light read. (Considering the subject matter, that's understandable.) I would say that a certain level of genuine interest on the part of the reader is required in order to effectively engage this presentation. That said, for those who are interested, for those who wish to understand the underlying themes which give rise to Islamic extremism, and gain a better understanding of extremism itself, I highly recommend this book.

Kepel knows his subject. You can't ask for a more comprehensive sweep of Islamist history. That said, the author's fundamental thesis (that Salafism is on the wane, and will die out under its own weight) seems to read as slightly optimistic. Particularly violent brands of Islam, such as Wahhabi Islam, will come and go, but the intrinsic moral and emotional flaws (they are not solely socio-economic) that give ground to such movements will always exist. We will see sea changes, waxing and waning trends, as well as the rise and fall of more positive groups, but groups that advocate a political jihad will always find a voice and an audience. (Just as those who advocate Judeo-Christian, Maoist, and/or Secular crusades will always find a voice and an audience.)

That said, anyone wishing to better understand the figures and ideas behind Salafist political movements will enjoy this work immensely. The translation is dry, but the information is robust.

Kepel is an ideal guide to Islamism as an international movment. Though somehwat controversial, Kepel has produced quality scholarship with an eye for detail for a long time and is well-known and widely recognized scholar in the field. Islamism has become over time a politically moribund ideology driven more by desperation and disillusionment than by anything resembling political success or ascendency. He covers all the major topics and personalities--not nearly enough for indepth study but that's not the purpose of his book--and has a talent for connecting the dots of the international scene, thereby demonstrating the geopolitical nature of the movement despite its diversty and diffuse organization. While some may be taken aback by his assertion of the 'failture' of Islamism in light of the extreme actions committed, he nonetheless makes a good case for argument not equivocating politcal failure with political impotence. Likely the best introduction to the topic available.

Kepel's book is considered an excellent source on political Islam by a variety of sources. The reviews are true. In this book, Kepel gives a thematic and historical explanation of Islamism. His writing also gives recent events in the Middle East a context and continuity that they deserve and is often ignored by our soundbyte media.

Although published just after the American destruction of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Kepel's lessons are easily applied to the Iraq War. He brilliantly analyzes the Islamist movement over the last half century and shows that, far from being the wave of the future, Islamism has failed virtually everywhere and the current violent phase is actually the movement's death throes. More than speculating, Kepel shows WHY this has happened in Algeria, Egypt, Pakistan, and elsewhere and holds out real hope for the future. Islamism sounded good in comparison to brutal, corrupt authoritarian regimes, but looks bad compared to democracy. READ THIS BOOK!

I have read the French original. This is simply the best account of modern Islam: intelligent, balanced, immensely well-informed. There is nothing comparable to it available.

Kepel's book is a brilliant analysis of events in the Islamic World from the second half of the twentieth century, covering all of the momentous disturbances throughout Islamic society and registering Western reactions and involvement. Below is the contents page that shows at a glance just how comprehensive a study this is:

Part 1 Expansion

1. A Cultural Revolution
2. Islam in the Late 1960's
3. Building Petro-Islam on the Ruins of Arab Nationalism
4. Islamism in Egypt, Malaysia, and Pakistan
5. Kohmeini's Revolution and Its Legacy
6. Jihad in Afghanistan and Intifada in Palestine
7. Islamisation in Algeria and Sudan
8. The Fatwa and the Veil in Europe

Part 2 Decline

9. From the Gulf War to the Taliban Jihad
10. The Failure to Graft Jihad onto Bosnia's Civil War
11. The Logic of Massacre in the Second Algerian War
12. The Threat of Terrorism in Egypt
13. Osama Bin Laden and the War Against the West
14. Hamas, Israel, Arafat, and Jordan
15. The Forced Secularisation of Turkish Islamists

In short, Kepel leaves no stone unturned but makes all of this comprehensible by explaining the historical, political and social environments out of which came the ideological blue print for indiscriminate murder.

Kepel's contentious conclusion is that Political Islam reached its high water mark with the Iranian revolution in 1979 and has since been in decline; a decline paralleled by desperate acts of murder or terrorist activity.

In his introduction, Kepel outlines the strategy of "Provocation" and claims September 11 was an act of "provocation on a grand scale" that was calculated to bring the wrath of America down upon a civilian population. The original aggressor, in this case Al Qaeda, then turns passive and incredulous over any retaliatory measures brought against it, hoping to reap resentment against those who were first attacked and claim moral indignation for itself. This has been a recurring pattern we have seen with morbid, monotonous regularity.

It seems like an axiom of Political Islam to constantly foster the fear of an external foe as a means of deflecting attention away from its own political failure. Kepel claims Ayatollah Kohmeini understood this which is why, after the Iran-Iraq war; he issued a fatwah against Salmon Rushdie to deflect attention away from Iran's depressed state. He makes a good point when mentioning the frustration and anger of Iranian youth who experienced nothing of the Shah's rule but have only experienced oppression by the Mullah's. This seems to me a strong argument for leaving Iran to itself as internal dissatisfaction will mount against the regime without external interference. Fundamentalist regimes like Iran, Hamas, and the Taliban need an enemy on the horizon to justify their own impotency, if not; the strategy of "provocation" becomes an integral part of foreign policy.

Aside from the loss of life from all the different cultures of the World, the real victim of this bare faced cynicism is Islam.

Kepel's book is an antidote to over reaction which is exactly what murderous networks like Al Qaeda feed upon. For those of us who admire the unique vision Islamic culture has given to the world, these are sad days indeed. We can only hope Kepel's optimism will bear positive fruit with regard to those Muslims who have experienced open societies and are willing to leaven the traditional bread; exert pressure and openly criticise rule by the Mullah's as unacceptable.

This is no excuse but let's not forget it took Europe hundreds of years before religion was forced to concede and bowed out of its bloody contest with politics.

Even then, democracy still needs to be established to prevent exploitation from secular tyrants like Saddam Hussein.

Kepel's book is astonishing and indispensable, mandatory reading for any politician in the White House!