Warriors Of The Prophet: The Struggle For Islam (Paperback)

by Mark Huband (Author) "KARIM OMAR stroked his neatly trimmed beard as the rain beat hard against the window of the terraced house in north London..." (more)
Key Phrases: jailed leaders, dual containment, factional leaders, United States, Middle East, Muslim Brotherhood (more...)

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: 248 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (September 23, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813327814
• ISBN-13: 978-0813327815
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #803,806 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

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.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Underated:...., September 19, 2001

By	Don Ceppi (Westport, CT USA) - See all my reviews

More than ever, it has become imperative for the West to understand the Arab world. Warriors of the Prophet chronicles Osama bin Laden's ascent to power during the Islamic Afghan resistance to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Author Mark Huband reveals the important role bin Laden played in uniting the Arab Muslims with their Afghan compatriots and spreading the ideology of the jihad, or holy war, to protect Islam, to all the various Islamic factions that took part in the war in Afghanistan. Although a number of recent books address the rise of fundamentalist movements in the Islamic world, none attempt to explain to general readers the emergence, character, and significance of that revival, nor do they bring together the many voices dividing both conservative and liberal currents in the region. I found this book extremely useful and quite compelling - a surefire way to get at the Middle East "problem" and ways in which we can do something about it. The tone is fluid yet serious, just the kind of perspective I needed. I recommended this with great confidence.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Kevin M Quigg (Carol Stream, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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.