Warriors of the Prophet: The Struggle for Islam [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Mark Huband (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 1999

Based on eyewitness accounts and original interviews, this bold new work provides a vivid portrayal of the evolving political and cultural role played by Islamic fundamentalist movements. Drawing on his firsthand experiences, Mark Huband moves deep inside the contemporary Islamic movements of countries as diverse as Morocco and Afghanistan.Huband reveals how Western powers have contributed to the rise of Islamic movements by their earlier support of the Afghan Islamic resistance and gives detailed accounts of his discussions with militant groups, Muslim scholars, and political opponents of the Islamic movements.Enriching these discussions, the author contextualizes the movements by exploring their historical and intellectual framework. The book uniquely illustrates the variety found within the movements, as well as the range of relationships the Islamic movements have to the various countries in which they are active.Warriors of the Prophet details the current crisis in Algeria; the disappointments of Arab nationalism and socialist experiments in Egypt; the social breakdown of Somalia in relation to the ideal of an Islamic way of life; the disaffected youth in the Islamic movements of Morocco, Egypt, and elsewhere; and the Islamic experiment and its relationship with the non-Islamic world as revealed in Sudan’s experience since 1989. Through these insightful accounts, Huband gives us a penetrating exploration of one of the major issues of the late twentieth century.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What were the Americans thinking when they funneled weapons and money to the Afghan resistance during the Soviet occupation? Thanks to charismatic Muslim loyalists like Osama Bin Laden, Arabs began pouring into Afghanistan, which became, according to one "Afghan Arab," a 10-year university for jihad resistance. Long-time Middle East news correspondent Mark Huband tells the story, noting that when the Afghan Arabs were kicked out after the war, they returned to their respective homelands to contribute to radical Islamist movements. Hubard isn't sounding an alarm, though. His thesis is that so-called Islamic fundamentalists, whom he prefers to call Islamists, have less to do with religious imperialism than with local politics. Through first-hand accounts in the Muslim countries of North Africa and the Middle East, Huband sketches a world in which Islamism is a response to national conflict, not a gambit for global domination. In countries like Sudan, Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt, where political repression and economic disadvantage persist long after colonialism and Cold War posturing, Hubard finds that Islamism is the only indigenous vehicle for change. Hubard puts it best, "The Islamist turns to his own country and hopes to reform it by using political pressure. When he fails he becomes frustrated. The consequences are multifarious." --Brian Bruya --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In these probing dispatches, Financial Times Cairo correspondent Huband examines how Islam has reasserted itself in global politics, presenting the views of political figures, dissidents and Muslim scholars in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia to show the evolution of the "Islamic Revival." In Algeria, a resurgent Islamist movement of anti-French intellectuals, the unemployed and militant veterans of Afghanistan's mujahideen attacks Algeria's political/military elite for perpetuating colonialism through its ties to French business interests. In Sudan, a nine-year experiment to build an Islamic theocratic state has brought stagnation to a country ravaged by a civil war that has claimed a million lives. In the patchwork of warring clans that Somalia comprises, armed Islamic groups vie for a role in government, claiming that only the implementation of Muhammad's original teachings will save the nation from further anarchy. Huband argues that contemporary militant Islam represents a historic phase of the evolving religion. Huband's emphasis is intentionally on the more radical, militant end of the spectrum, rather than on the mainstream, but his survey still subverts the conventional Western view of Islam as a homogenous movement intent upon returning to an idealized past.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• ISBN-10: 0813327814
• ASIN: B000F6Z6BM
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,261,233 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Huband Offers Incredible Insight, September 14, 2001

By 

Kristin Kuelthau (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Warriors Of The Prophet: The Struggle For Islam (Hardcover)

...I turned to this book with the hope that author Mark Huband could shed some light upon the enigma known as the fundamentalist Islamic phenomenon. From a layperson's standpoint, this book was an invaluable resource for understanding the complexities of the Middle East factions, including their history, motives, religious beliefs, and political alliances. Fortunately, the book takes specific notice of Osama bin Laden and the Islamic movements in Afghanistan, an eerie predilection of their role in future world events. With the author's journalistic style and personal anecdotes, the book held my interest as well as its significance to present circumstances. Educating ourselves is the only way we can begin to make sense of the motives behind the terrorist acts, and I found no better resource than Warriors of the Prophet. It has my highest recommendation.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The rise of political Islam., October 24, 2004

By 

Kevin M Quigg (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Warriors Of The Prophet: The Struggle For Islam (Paperback)

I believe the author to be a well versed authority on the subject he is writing about which is the rise of political Islam. This book gives a valid critique of many of the regimes of the Middle East, and the West's policy toward this vast region. Since this book was written before 9/11, it does not include any of the current developments in this region. Huband slants his writings against the West (and in particular the U.S.) and Israel. Therefore we get many criticisms of the U.S. in its policy against Iraq and as a occupying force in Saudi. We also get the comments of duplicity by the Israelis in their policy against the Palestinians. I think both comments are off the mark, and that is one reason I rated this book only a three star.
This is a short book, but the language used in the writing of this book makes it unnecessaryly difficult. The reader will learn of how the failures of the present Middle East regimes gave rise to political Islam. Failures in providing social services also gave rise to the Fundamentals. I also think the author panders to much to the Middle East audience. He blames the policies of the West and those of the elite which rule these countries of the Middle East. A difficult read and one not recommended for the beginning historian.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Islamists vs Isalm, November 7, 2001

By 

charles slaughter (palm desert, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Warriors Of The Prophet: The Struggle For Islam (Hardcover)

A magnificent book, all 228 pages. Huband's documentation alone is enough to guarantee the high quality of this book to anyone interested in the Islamist movement.