In the Name of Osama Bin Laden: Global Terrorism and the Bin Laden Brotherhood [Paperback]

Roland Jacquard (Author), Samia Serageldin (Editor), George Holoch (Translator), Shannon Mullin (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 11, 2002

“A must read for all who continue to grapple with the twin legacy of hatred and hope from September 11. . . “*

International terrorism expert Roland Jacquard’s In the Name of Osama bin Laden presents a dramatic portrait of the world's most wanted terrorist and his extensive brotherhood--the network of people who operate “in his name.” Published originally in France the very week of September 11, as events in the United States shook the world, the book has become an international bestseller.
Jacquard details how bin Laden became an international emblem of fundamentalist, pan-Islamic, anti-U.S. fervor and the leader of a brotherhood so passionate that devotees who have never met him will act autonomously in his name. The author explains the global character of bin Laden’s organization, elaborating the extent of his sphere of influence in Europe and Asia. Jacquard reveals the construction of bin Laden’s networks—including a profile of his inner circle—and their collaboration with overlapping webs of banking, drug trafficking, religious, and terrorist organizations. He considers the brotherhood’s access to biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons and warns that, with or without bin Laden, this global terrorist force will remain a threat.
Now in English, this edition has been substantially updated in light of recent world events and expanded to include previously unpublished materials, featuring a new introduction and afterword. New documents include an April 2001 interview by the author with bin Laden; a September 24 proclamation by bin Laden to Muslims in Pakistan; and a key page from Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri’s book justifying eternal jihad, which was smuggled out of Afghanistan in October 2001.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This latest entry into the Osama bin Laden publishing sweepstakes stands out for its exhaustive research and prescience it was published in France the week of September 11 and catapulted onto the bestseller lists there. Jacquard, a French terrorism expert, details Osama bin Laden's rise from his childhood in Saudi Arabia to turning into the world's largest terrorist menace. While the story has been told elsewhere (most popularly in Peter Bergen's Holy War Inc.), Jacquard brings new details. He's particularly provocative on bin Laden's travels during the early 1990s, arguing that he returned to Afghanistan only after quarreling with the Sudanese government. He also effectively details the tentacles of al-Qaeda throughout the world, putting together the most comprehensive description of a broad network in Europe and throughout Asia. Documents translated from Arabic and French give additional evidence and background. Now, despite several post-September 11 updates, some of the information published here is no longer novel, but this still stands as a balanced, sweeping description of the bin Laden threat. As the author adds in a new, ominous epilogue, the threat remains: al-Qaeda, he writes, wants "to lead the world into the apocalypse."
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As one of several recent works on Osama bin Laden, Jacquard's provides the deeper examination of the worldwide structure of Islamic fundamentalism and its associated terrorism. Tracing the roots of the Islamic Jihad to Egypt and the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Jacquard subsequently brings bin Laden into the narrative as a mujahedeen in Afghanistan fighting the Soviet Union, as a refugee in the Sudan, and as a radical leader with associations with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Jacquard's themes, however, embrace much more than the life of bin Laden. They address America's role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, American military presence in Saudi Arabia, Islamic terrorist financing, and the growing threat of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons in the hands of Islamic fundamentalists. With deep irony he points to the Western drug culture, well supplied from Afghan poppy fields, as a major financial resource for terrorists' operations. Jacquard, president of the International Observatory on Terrorism in Paris, asserts that hope may reside in popular debate and discourse regarding the future development of Islam and the unlikelihood of its holding an eternal monolithic hostile view of the West. An appendix consisting of 40 documents brings a chilling reality to the narrative. For all libraries. John F. Riddick, Central Michigan Univ. Lib., Mount Pleasant
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 293 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press Books; Revised Edition edition (February 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822329913
• ISBN-13: 978-0822329916
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,497,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of insight, March 22, 2002

By 

H. Harris (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Name of Osama Bin Laden: Global Terrorism and the Bin Laden Brotherhood (Paperback)

In the Name of Osama bin Laden is a close as we're likely to get to an insider's view of al-Qaeda and the interworkings of those closest to bin Laden. The author has incredible access to internal documents--including terrorist training manuals, translations of communiques from bin Laden to his brotherhood, and intelligence papers--that reveal much about the relationship between political/religious groups and the passions of the bin Laden brotherhood. Some will consider them important to coming to an intellectual understanding of the bin Laden network and the mindset of the terrorist while others might see them as evidence--in either case they definitely reward reading.
Roland Jacquard's access to players in the drama distinguishes this book. His April 2001 interview with bin Laden is included. This and the other supporting documents (some in English for the first time) that appear toward the end of the book provide important documentation for Jacquard's analysis and descriptions. They are a crucial part of understanding that the bin Laden Brotherhood is active around the globe and there are large issues that must be dealt with. Chilling, but important.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maybe the best book on the subject, May 9, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: In the Name of Osama Bin Laden: Global Terrorism and the Bin Laden Brotherhood (Paperback)

This is not you typical USA-centric CNN analysis of UBL and al-Qaeda. Jacquard's book carries the insight of a foreign intelligence organization which is arguably the most adept in the world at counterterrorism. Unlike Bodansky's UBL bio, which though informative was dry and repetitive, this is written in a journalistic style which makes it exceptionally readable. I learned more about al-Qaeda from this book then any other single text. Very highly recommended.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Competent though not Terrific Book, May 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Name of Osama Bin Laden: Global Terrorism and the Bin Laden Brotherhood (Paperback)

Jacquard provides a competent if somewhat truncated book that covers much of the same ground covered by other Bin Laden authors. At something like 167 pages, the book is also a little on the short side. Nonetheless the book does provide some interesting tidbits not found in other books. For example, there are a few pages on Bin Laden's links to Iraq, interesting stuff. Overall this book provides a decent overview of Bin Laden and his objectives, there are better out there though. For the price of a paperback, however, this book gets the job done.