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Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill Paperback – August 17, 2004

by Jessica Stern (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 119 ratings
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For four years, Jessica Stern interviewed extremist members of three religions around the world: Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Traveling extensively—to refugee camps in Lebanon, to religious schools in Pakistan, to prisons in Amman, Asqelon, and Pensacola—she discovered that the Islamic jihadi in the mountains of Pakistan and the Christian fundamentalist bomber in Oklahoma have much in common.

Based on her vast research, Stern lucidly explains how terrorist organizations are formed by opportunistic leaders who—using religion as both motivation and justification—recruit the disenfranchised. She depicts how moral fervor is transformed into sophisticated organizations that strive for money, power, and attention.

Jessica Stern's extensive interaction with the faces behind the terror provide unprecedented insight into acts of inexplicable horror, and enable her to suggest how terrorism can most effectively be countered.

A crucial book on terrorism, Terror in the Name of God is a brilliant and thought-provoking work.

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  1. Print length
    400 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Ecco
  4. Publication date
    August 17, 2004
  5. Dimensions
    5.31 x 0.9 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0060505338
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0060505332
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From The New Yorker

This sophisticated examination of religiously motivated terrorism is a welcome antidote to the armchair analyses of Islamic extremism that surfaced in the wake of September 11th. Stern spent five years interviewing religious terrorists of all stripes, including anti-abortion crusaders, Hamas leaders, and militants in Pakistan and Indonesia. She found men and women who were driven not by nihilistic rage or lunacy but by a deep faith in the justice of their causes and in the possibility of transforming the world through violence. That faith, Stern suggests, is fuelled by poverty, repression, and a sense of humiliation, and then exploited by "inspirational leaders" who turn confused people into killers. The West cannot fight terror by intelligence and military means alone, she argues; a "smarter realpolitik approach" toward the developing world would use policy to deprive terrorists of not only funding and weapons but potential recruits.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

Review

“A significant addition to a growing shelf of timely books on terrorism.” — Christian Science Monitor

“Stern’s firsthand encounters bring a valuable and much-needed perspective to the problem of religious violence.” — Publishers Weekly

“Timely and compelling.” — Booklist

“Wise and Thorough.” — Christopher Dickey, Newsweek

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ecco (August 17, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060505338
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060505332
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.9 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 119 ratings

About the author

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Jessica Stern

Jessica Stern

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Jessica Stern is one of the foremost experts on terrorism. She serves on the Hoover Institution Task Force on National Security and Law. In 2009, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for her work on trauma and violence. Jessica is a member of the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations. She was named a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow, National Fellow at the Hoover Institution, fellow of the World Economic Forum, and a Harvard MacArthur Fellow.

She has authored TERROR IN THE NAME OF GOD: Why Religious Militants Kill, selected by the New York Times as a notable book of the year; THE ULTIMATE TERRORISTS; and numerous articles on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. She served on President Clinton’s National Security Council Staff in 1994–95 (read a May 1995 letter and July 1995 letter from the President and this note from the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs expressing their gratitude for her work and contribution).

Jessica was included in Time magazine’s series profiling 100 people with bold ideas. The film, “The Peacemaker”, with Nicole Kidman and George Clooney, was based on a fictional version of Jessica’s work at the National Security Council. Her new book, DENIAL: A Memoir of Terror, is now available, published by Ecco, a HarperCollins imprint. She lives in Cambridge, MA.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
119 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the research very insightful, fantastic, and useful for studies. They also describe the content as engaging, thought-provoking, and well-written. Readers also mention the book covers a broad range of terrorism.

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21 customers mention "Research"21 positive0 negative

Customers find the research in the book very insightful, captivating, and excellent. They also say it provides excellent insight on terrorist mindset and recruiting.

"...The book is a fascinating look into religiously motivated violence...." Read more

"Jessica Stern is an excellent writer and incredibly well informed on the subjects of her writing...." Read more

"...to terrorist leaders and recruits, Stern creates an engaging, thought-provoking book about the nature of religious terrorism...." Read more

"Fantastic book if you want to learn about terrorists. Easy to read with very interesting descriptions. I did not find it morbid, but very informative." Read more

8 customers mention "Readability"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book very well written and highly informative.

"...Her writing style is engaging and I would highly recommend this book to anyone with even a remote interest in the subject matter." Read more

"Fantastic book if you want to learn about terrorists. Easy to read with very interesting descriptions. I did not find it morbid, but very informative." Read more

"...Stern's book is a well written contribution to the subject...." Read more

"one of the few books I kept from school. It was interesting and an easy read." Read more

4 customers mention "Content"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and thought-provoking.

"...By speaking to terrorist leaders and recruits, Stern creates an engaging, thought-provoking book about the nature of religious terrorism...." Read more

"one of the few books I kept from school. It was interesting and an easy read." Read more

"This book is really thought provoking...." Read more

"...Read this book. Stern keeps you entertained while she tells you about what drives terrorists to kill." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

C. Townsend
5.0 out of 5 stars Exploration into the poorest-lit corners of the human psyche
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2015
Verified Purchase
Fundamentalism seems to be on the rise in the world. Stern circles the globes to talk to men who have committed violence in the name of religion. While Stern does not specifically address the reasons for the resurgence of faith over reason, she does take the reader to some dark places where men who believe their actions are directed by God speak of their callings. The book is a fascinating look into religiously motivated violence. While much of the literature recently has focused on Islamist extremism, this book is an important reminder that any sufficiently narrow and powerful ideology can inspire violence from its adherents.

More work is needed to understand why fundamentalism is so resurgent in the modern era, but this book introduces you to the soldiers, some fresh from the battlefields of their so-called holy wars. Here in their own words is the chilling response to the question of the masses when these atrocities occur: Why?
One person found this helpful
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Manjushri
5.0 out of 5 stars Another outstanding and well-informed book from Jessica Stern
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2015
Verified Purchase
Jessica Stern is an excellent writer and incredibly well informed on the subjects of her writing. I have read all of her books and Terror in the Name of God maintains her high standards. It is as current in the information as a book could possibly be. I highly recommend this book and her other books for anyone who wants to understand how terrorists evolve, why they evolve and the machinations involved in their evolution. Her writing style is engaging and I would highly recommend this book to anyone with even a remote interest in the subject matter.
2 people found this helpful
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Michael Griswold
4.0 out of 5 stars In God We Terrorize
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2011
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Jessica Stern's Terror in the God is a revealing analysis of what happens when ideas and places are mixed with god and given a divinely purpose. By speaking to terrorist leaders and recruits, Stern creates an engaging, thought-provoking book about the nature of religious terrorism. The combining of terrorism with God creates a super-potent cocktail for violence because the goals of the organization now have sanction from a higher power providing all the justification many leaders and followers need to justify their actions. Stern does not target one individual religion as any religion can be used as a pretense for evil. However, Stern goes further in her interviews by providing insight as to why some people join terrorist organizations, while not making broad sweeping generalizations or creating the prototypical image of a terrorist. Highly recommended reading for anyone interested in learning about religious terrorism.
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Thomas Bogar
5.0 out of 5 stars Terror in the Name of God
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2008
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A real page turner! I have never felt compelled to write a book review . . .until now. Dr. Stern has spent years interviewing American terrorists motivated by faith and international jihadists and has compiled an interesting profile of the religious terrorist. What I found so very refreshing was that she does not write like most academics; rather, she writes and approaches the topic like a novel. Considering the sensitive topic of religion, Dr. Stern has approached the subject in a fair and, in what I believe, impartial matter. I would urge attorneys representing terrorist suspects, or prosecutors for that manner, analysts, investigators and the like, to read this book and keep it close for future reference.
3 people found this helpful
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Joan LM
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read book
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2018
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Fantastic book if you want to learn about terrorists. Easy to read with very interesting descriptions. I did not find it morbid, but very informative.
One person found this helpful
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Mr. Burke
1.0 out of 5 stars Keep Hammering- That Square Peg Must Fit
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2007
There is no moral equivalence between Christianity and Islam. It sounds so neat and tidy, this idea that 'fundamentalists' of every stripe are dangerous. The only problem is that if a belief system is based on loving ones enemies, then a fundamentalist of such belief would be a very loving person, not a terrorist. Of course, there are historical exceptions and a very few contemporary ones. People like to mention the Spanish Inquisition but fail to mention that more people are killed by Islamists in any given year than died in all 350 years of the Inquisition. I am amazed by these people who search high and low, far and wide to find some nerdy kooks who "plan to" "want to" were going to" do some terrible thing when Islamic terrorists by the hundreds of thousands are committing acts of terrorism, large and small, in 30 countries around the world. And within 10 miles of most American homes there is probably a Muslim family sending his check every month to support the charity/terrorist network. Oh yes, but what about the KKK? A few impotent bigots in Alabama and one or two lone gunmen here are there are not equivalent in severity, number, motive, or scope to the cancer of Islamic terror.

There simply is no moral equivalence between Islam and Christianity, fundamentalist or otherwise. People have committed atrocities in the name of the Christian God but such acts (comparatively minute in scope compared to Islamic aggression) put the terrorist at odds with Christian orthodoxy. You cannot be a good Christian and kill abortion doctors. The act of murder is forbidden and therefore the terrorist is no better than the abortionist. On the contrary a Muslim can and must participate in violent Jihad, either personally or through the financial support of it, according to most schools of thought within Islam. If a Muslim blows up a bus full of Jews, he is a hero and a martyr and a very good Muslim.

The Quran implores its legions, "make war on the infidels who dwell around you." Sura 9:123. Such verses are found throughout the Quran while there are no such incitements to violence in the New Testament but rather admonishments to humility, charity, and forgiveness. I know hundreds of Christian fundamentalists. Even the slightest suggestion of extremist thought would not be tolerated among them. The author must be a practitioner of yoga, because she has twisted herself and this book into a pretzel of faulty logic and research.

Just to mention the atrocities of one small drop in the river of blood that is Islam, one can consider the Danish cartoons furor. Estimates are that more than 250 people were killed and many buildings bombed and burned as a result of the cartoons. What was the Christian response to a much more offensive product though equally blasphemous to Christians--The Davinci Code? The result was a robust public discussion that caused millions of the faithful to read the book to see and decide for themselves. It is fine to talk about the religious roots of terror. They are not hard to find. Open the Quran and read how a Muslim will be rewarded for the horrific murder and dismemberment of innocent women, men, and children. Make that case, but leave Christians out of it.
28 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Really interesting
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2020
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I had to buy this book for grad school but it gives great insight into how some groups manipulate religion to advance their causes. You will not be bored.
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ct reader
4.0 out of 5 stars One piece of the puzzle
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2005
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This is a valuable study. Through interviews, it examines the background, motives, mission, inspiration, and organization of terrorists. How can they justify murder with religion and morality? Though it doesn't fully answer this contradiction (can anything?), Stern's book is a well written contribution to the subject.

Also worthy: Richard Rhodes, 'Why They Kill' (A study of murderers based on interviews); Robert Pape, 'Dying to Win' (the strategy of terrorism).
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

David Umaru
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 19, 2020
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Excellent read
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RR Waller
4.0 out of 5 stars A look into the minds and hearts of relisigious terrorists
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 27, 2011
Verified Purchase
Jessica Stern has boldly gone where few have ventured unless, of course, they are religious fundamentalists intent on terrorism on behalf of their god. She interviewed a wider range of religious fundamentalists - Christians, Jews and Muslims - in an attempt to understand what makes these people tick, in both senses of the meaning.

Investigating an attack on the CIA and asking whether the attack was a jihad, she receives the answer: "No. This was a religious duty. But not jihad. I am not sure whether God will reward me for what I did." (P 176) With answers such as this, usually delivered by seemingly rational people, probably over coffee, it is a inner-world which puzzles, frightens and alienates most people. During four years of its preparation, Stern penetrates deeply this world in this well-researched and carefully organised book. In addition to the interviews, she builds the scene carefully, creating the atmospheres in which the interviews were conducted, atmospheres which would have frightened most people. Not Stern. She pursues her quarry with intellectual and physical vigour. As an American (she lectures at Harvard), she considers much of her evidence from that standpoint, e.g. "In Egypt, Pakistan, Palestine, the Persian Gulf, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia and increasingly, Africa, a virulent anti-Americanism is gaining ground." (P 286) This edition is a 2003 investigation re-published, with additions and alterations, in 2004. A great deal has happened since then, much of which vindicates her conclusions.

The book is organised into two, each with five sub-divided sections: Part One - Grievances That Give Rise to Holy War, Part Two - Holy War Organisations, ending with recommendations and 80 pages of notes and an index.

This was a brave venture for an academic to undertake, suggesting that relationships were not as complicated in 2003, e.g. for a western lady to travel throughout the Middle East investigating fundamentalism. Having read it, I was still uncertain about my thoughts on fundamentalism and, despite all the interviews and the evidence, I did not understand it any better. (It is not my first book on this subject.)

However, I am pleased I read it and would recommend it to anyone trying to understand fundamentalist terrorism and what can be done by Governments to make their people safer. One worrying conclusion I reached is that the "war on terror" will be no conventional war and that, ultimately, unless our intelligence services are very effective, there is little we can do apart from constant vigilance and, of course, re-education.

Review edited and previous incorrect dates corrected 10/8/2013
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