36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The only journalist who know the region, February 12, 2003
By A Customer
Having spent my whole life up until very recently living and working in Central Asia for the US goverment working with aid agencies, I long ago gave up on finding a book I could share with friends that could explain the Byzantine politics of this region. Here we have countries rich in resources filled with hard working, good people and ruled by dictators that America has unwisely allied with. These dictators are fueling the hatred that will be turned against the US by our enemies.
In fact years ago Rashid warned the west about the Taliban in several articles and had to stay out of that country for years because of the danger to his life.
While the author and I have very different political philosophies, I cannot disparage his journalism. It is thorough and insightful. If you want to understand this region, don't read a book by some Western journalist who spends two weeks here and two months in a public library doing research. Read a book by a man who grew up here and has covered this region for years.
The only people who won't like this book are the despots in the Central Asian nations who are eager to rob that region of it's riches while the eyes of the world are on Afghanistan and Iraq.
It's time to head Rashid's warnings before we end up with a whole region filled with Afghanistans and Iraqs...
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely informative, February 1, 2002
This book is as well-conceived, well-researched, and well-written as Rashid's earlier *Taliban*. It makes a convincing case for why Islamic terrorist groups are likely to base their operations in coming years out of central Asia's ex-Soviet states.
Two points in particular are worth considering. The first is that the collapse of the Soviet Union is still continuing to send out shock waves no one could've predicted. The USSR's abuse of the central Asian republics and their ensuing dismal economic and political status today have created a seedbed for discontent. This is sad confirmation of the destructive legacy of imperialism, regardless of whether the imperialism is practiced by the political right or left. The scond point is that the Islamic extremism that's growing in the central Asian republics isn't at all homegrown. It's imported, largely from Saudi Arabia and wahabism. The homegrown Islam of the Asian states tends to be contemplative and pietistic--Sufism. But the new imported brand, rule-bound, rigid, and obsessed with recreating an international Caliphate, is beginning to destroy the native Sufi orientation.
Rashid's "Jihad,*, just like the earlier *Taliban,* has at least one clear lesson: economic penury and Western overbearing creates material and psychological conditions that can be manipulated by terrorists. The western powers ought to take this lesson to heart. Rashid points out that, despite the growth of militant Islam in the central Asian republics, the natives there aren't particularly anti-American as yet. It remains to be seen whether they stay that way. A great deal of their attitude will surely depend on U.S. foreign policy in the months to come.
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54 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Frankenstein VS Monster, February 21, 2002
The question remains are we the Victor Frankenstein who has turned our back on the monster we created?
The Western perception of Jihad, influenced considerably by the crusades in the middle age is one of an Islamic holy was fought against the non-believers. Contrary to this concept the prophet of Islam Muhammad professed Greater Jihad which is one where each Muslim attempts to become a better person and struggles to improve one self, in doing so benefits the community and society in which they live. To him Jihad is an inner struggle of moral discipline. The lesser Jihad takes place to rebel against an unjust tyrant ruler, irrespective of the ruler's beliefs. Today the jihadi movement from Taliban to Osama Bin Ladens Al Qaeda to the movements in Central Asian sates have conveniently ignored the greater jihad and opted for the lesser one, this choice was a means to complete their self-indulgent political gains. These movements have assassinated the faith and hijacked the religion. Nowhere in the Muslim writings or traditions does Islam sanction the killings of the innocent.
At the heights of the Islamic civilization during, the crusades to moors to Ottoman times Muslims were tolerant and respectful for other cultures and beliefs. Our present times we witness the lows of intolerance, where fanatics measure the goodness of society by the length of a mans beard or the thickness of a woman's veil. These new Islamic fundamentalist are not interested in transforming a corrupt society into a just one, they are un-interested in providing jobs, education or social benefits, they have no viable economic agenda or a political manifesto for good governance.
The Beginning:
Before the 16th century Central Asian states were the envy of many, there economic might was drawn from trade routes connecting Europe to Asia widely known as silk route. With the opening of the sea-lanes and diversion of traffic they lost their glitter and revenues to this new competition. Unable to cope with huge armies and luxuries they obliterated into squabbling city based fiefdoms. In 1861 the American civil war, disrupted the cotton supply to Russian factories, besides the expanding British Empire gave Russians the pretense to conquer this territory. Afghanistan became the buffer between the two empires. The Russians drew a rebellious response from the Basmachi (Muslim) revolts. Stalin drove to isolate this area from the world and strictly prohibited practice of Islam. For the next seven decades they tried to dismember them from their traditions, religion and culture. The spirit lived within them and they practiced in hiding, the more the soviets tried to stamp out the more it spread.
The Spread:
With their independence came a strong desire for expression of speech, movement and religion. The government in turn became intolerant to religion, as most of the rulers were used to the ex-communists from the Soviet republic. This repression turned moderate muslims to radical movements. The growing popularity of militant islam in Central Asia is due to the repressiveness of the regimes. The government jealously guards their power and refuses to broaden their political base, refuse to institute the mildest of democratic reforms or allow political opposition. Whilst poverty and unemployment increase and economic opportunity decrease along with the misuse of power and blatant corruption adds to the ill. The people looking for an alternative solution find one in fundamentalists as no political opposition exists. The following is an observation quoted in Jihad by Ahmed Rashid from European based International Crisis Group.
" The situation is so dire for the vast majority of the population that the patience is beginning to evaporate and unrest to grow sharply. The likelihood is that dire poverty combined with despair and outrage over rampant corruption, repressive policies and government failure to address local needs could led to outbreaks of localized unrest with potential to spread into wider conflict"
There is an abundance of oil wealth in the region, which will bring economic prosperity to the region but may not tackle down to the people at grass roots due to corruption. With this there will be a greater disparity between the poor and the rich, will further cause de-stabilization to the region.
The Fix:
The world has witnessed the unjustified acts of September 2001. There is a moral responsibility for the nations to ensure that a smooth transition from soviet isolation to global engagement occurs in Central Asia. There is an immediate need for the regimes there to provide greater political and personal freedom, minimize corruption and provide economic opportunities to the people. There needs to be a greater interest by the nations to build the infrastructure that was laid to ruins by seven decades of soviet isolation.
On the whole this is an immensely enlightening book on the future hot spots. Ahmed Rashid has done a brilliant work again after his book `Taliban'. It is a must read for anyone who is looking for answers or generally trying to understand the area.
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