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The Al Qaeda Reader
from: Broadway
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 363.325
EAN: 9780767922623
ISBN: 076792262X
Label: Broadway
Manufacturer: Broadway
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: August 07, 2007
Publisher: Broadway
Release Date: August 07, 2007
Studio: Broadway
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Editorial Review:
What do our enemies believe? What motivates their war against the West? What is their vision of the ideal Islamic society? Surprisingly, more than five years after 9/11, there is very little understanding of these questions. Despite our tendency to dismiss Islamic extremism as profoundly irrational, al-Qaeda is not without a coherent body of beliefs. Like other totalitarian movements, the movement’s leaders have rationalized their brutality in a number of published treatises. Now, for the first time, The Al Qaeda Reader gathers together the essential texts and documents that trace the origin, history, and evolution of the ideas of al-Qaeda founders Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden. This extraordinary collection of the key texts of the al-Qaeda movement—including incendiary materials never before translated into English—lays bare the minds, motives, messages, and ultimate goals of an enemy bent on total victory. Al-Qaeda’s chilling ideology calls for a relentless jihad against non-Muslim “infidels,” repudiates democracy in favor of Islamic law, stresses the importance of martyrdom, and mocks the notion of “moderate” Islam.Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of these works is how grounded they are in the traditional sources of Islamic theology: the Koran and the teachings of the Prophet. The founders of al-Qaeda use these sources as powerful weapons of persuasion, reminding followers (and would-be recruits) that Muhammad and his warriors spread Islam through the power of the sword and that the Koran is not merely allegory or history but literal truth that commands all Muslims to action.In addition to laying bare al-Qaeda’s ultimate motives, The Al Qaeda Reader includes the organization’s propagandist speeches, which are directed primarily at Americans, Europeans, and Iraqis. Here, al-Qaeda’s many "official" accusations against the West are meticulously delineated, from standard complaints such as the Palestinian issue and Iraq to wholly unexpected ones concerning the U.S.’s exploitation of women and the environment.Taken together, the Theology and Propaganda sections of this volume reveal the most comprehensive picture of al-Qaeda to date. They also highlight the double-speak of bin Laden and Zawahiri, who often say one thing to Muslims in their religious treatises ("We must hate and fight the West because Islam commands it") and another in their propaganda directed at the West ("The West is the aggressor and we are fighting back merely in self-defense").Westerners from across the political spectrum will be fascinated and enlightened by The Al Qaeda Reader’s insights into the nature of Islamic texts and the ways in which al-Qaeda has used these texts to manufacture hatred against our civilization and our way of life.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Interesting
This very well researched and documented book is a must for those who need to understand current conflicts.
Rating:  - Frightening !
If there is anyone that thinks it is possible to negotiate with the likes of bin Laden, they need to read this collection of communiques. These stark documents illustrate the megalomaniac, and mentally unstable condition of the head of Al Quaida. Raymond Ibrahim presents some of the most frightening writing since Mein Kampf, and the Communist Manifesto. This is serious reading for anyone that wonders what Al Quaida is really up to.
Rating: - Modern Mein Kampf
A collection of dozens of theological essays and press releases, The Al Qaeda Reader offers a terrifying look at the men who masterminded September 11th.
The book is divided into two broad sections: Theology and Propaganda. In the first, Ibrahim has gathered four essays written to fellow Muslims. The message sent to a more sympathetic audience of coreligionists is strikingly different that than proclaimed to the United States and the rest of the world. Rather than criticizing the Jews ... Read More
Rating: - Sobering.
Interesting reading, though probably not the book you'll want to carry-on for your next flight. Obviously one-sided arguments, but quite striking in their 1) vehemence and 2) repetitiveness (as noted within, probably to help with indoctrination). Gives some insight into "The Arab Mind," though - hopefully- not most of them.
Rating: - Al Qaeda, in its own words...
To the very considerable extent that the confict between the West and al Qaeda is a war of ideas, 2007's "The Al Qaeda Reader" is essential for understanding al Qaeda's point of view. Raymond Ibrahim has done American readers a great service in translating and editing a selection of al Qaeda documents on theology and propaganda. As Ibrahim notes in his introduction, "This volume of translations, taken as a whole, proves once and for all that, despite the propaganda of al-Qaeda and its sympathizers, ... Read More
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