Contextualising Jihadi Thought: (Columbia/Hurst)

In recent decades, transnational jihadi entities such as Al-Qaeda as well as national and regional militant groups have attracted a great deal of media and scholarly attention. Policy agendas worldwide are now intensely focused on countering militant jihadist thought. Yet few studies fully comprehend the contours of this phenomenon and its rich social and intellectual making. Departing from the traditional security studies approaches that have characterized so much research in this area, Contextualising Jihadi Thought bridges existing disciplines and fields of study to create a framework for understanding jihadi movements, ideologies, intellectual histories, political engagements, and changing geographies. Contributors work in a range of specializations -- including history, anthropology, political science, diplomacy, and religious studies -- and conduct thorough, detailed analyses of jihadism and its impact in Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Edited by a scholar and an experienced diplomat, this volume balances theory and practice with unprecedented skill.

About the Author :
Jeevan Deol is an affiliated research associate of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge. He has taught and researched on South Asian history, South Asian religion, and jihadi ideologies at the University of Cambridge, Oxford University, and the University of London. Zaheer Kazmi is a senior associate member of St. Antony's College, University of Oxford. He is a former senior research analyst at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and holds a Ph.D. in international political theory from the University of Cambridge.

Review :
Jeevan Deol and Zaheer Kazmi have brought together an extremely impressive team of contributors to write one of the best available books on jihadi ideology. It is essential reading for any serious student of Al-Qaeda and the jihadi movement. -- Thomas Hegghammer, director of terrorism studies, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) This is a complex text that aims to understand transnational jihadist networks through the study of their ideologies, intellectual histories, political engagements, and geographic contexts. It includes richly detailed case studies of local militant groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, India, North Africa, Southeast Asia, and the United Kingdom. A breath of fresh air in a subject area dominated by narrow and simplistic commentaries, which take the ideological narratives of jihadist factions at face value. -- Fawaz A. Gerges, London School of Economics, author of The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda If you want to understand the origins, ideological and political worldviews of what is popularly referred to as transnational jihadism, then Jeevan Deol and Zaheer Kazmi's Contextualising Jihadi Thought is the book to read. A masterful and accessible global perspective that will be welcomed by academic experts, policymakers and students alike. -- John L. Esposito, University Professor, Georgetown University and author of The Future of Islam