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Excellent. An intelligent, nuanced and innovative analysis of a key ...
(Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, Graduat)
Excellent. An intelligent, nuanced and innovative analysis of a key phenomenon of our times. Melissa Finn takes the scholarly debate on transnational terrorism into the next phase by critically unpacking Al-Qaeda's thought, phraseology, and logic of political violence.
(Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and Geneva Centre for Security Policy, author of Understanding Al Qaeda)
This book fills a large void in the literature and ...
(Wanda Krause, Assistant Professor and Co)
This book fills a large void in the literature and shows the promise of offering practical solutions to one of humanity’s major challenges at this time. It will find a wide audience including academics, policy makers, and broadly all those interested in a better understanding of terrorism.
(Wanda Krause, Assistant Professor and Coordinator, Gulf Studies Program, College of Arts & Sciences, Qatar University)
Brilliant, precise, nuanced and very timely. Finn brings together spiritual ...
(Shannon Bell, Department of Political Sc)
Brilliant, precise, nuanced and very timely. Finn brings together spiritual texts, continental theory and situated politics in a way that has not been done in this context. This book will appeal to a broad audience in political theory, international relations, religious studies, terrorism studies and the study of violence.
(Shannon Bell, Department of Political Science, York University (Toronto))
Groundbreaking... sheds new light on al-Qaeda's thought and actions. Finn ...
(Rohan Gunaratna, Professor of Security S)
Groundbreaking... sheds new light on al-Qaeda's thought and actions. Finn challenges terrorism literature by examining suicide attacks through the lens of sacrifice. Her sustained analysis of Arabic words dealing with sacrifice, and their use in Islamist and jihadist thought, is the first such review in the English language. A must-read for scholars and practitioners of counterterrorism.
(Rohan Gunaratna, Professor of Security Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, author of Inside al Qaeda)
Finn's uniquely eclectic book problematizes the prevailing wisdom about Al-Qaeda's ...
(Mohammed M. Hafez, Associate Professor, )
Finn's uniquely eclectic book problematizes the prevailing wisdom about Al-Qaeda's violence and challenges us to see "suicide" attacks from their point of view. Delving deeply into Islamic conceptions of sacrifice, she sheds light on how the martyrdom frame can be employed to give meaning to self-immolation. Finn is careful to give voice to the jihadi other without slipping into apologia or essentialism. In doing so, she exhibits a rare mastery of the subject.
(Mohammed M. Hafez, Associate Professor, Center on Contemporary Conflict, Naval Postgraduate School)
Finn provides us with a fascinating and alternative insight into ...
(Professor Beverley Milton-Edwards, Schoo)
Finn provides us with a fascinating and alternative insight into the universe of al-Qaeda and its importance in understanding twenty-first-century global politics.
(Professor Beverley Milton-Edwards, School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy Queens University of Belfast)
A fresh perspective on the motivations behind al-Qaeda's suicide operations. ...
(Christina Hellmich, University of Readin)
A fresh perspective on the motivations behind al-Qaeda's suicide operations.
(Christina Hellmich, University of Reading, author of Al-Qaeda: From Global Network to Local Franchise)
It is rare for terrorism research to engage directly with ...
(Richard Jackson, University of Otago, Ne)
It is rare for terrorism research to engage directly with the voice of the terrorist. Finn joins the small but notable list of scholars willing to take terrorist subjectivity seriously. In a courageous, eloquent but always robust analysis of the notion of sacrifice in jihadist thought, she lays bare the inner world of al-Qaeda. An essential book for anyone serious about understanding al Qaeda on its own terms.
(Richard Jackson, University of Otago, New Zealand)
Anyone with an interest in al-Qaeda and the 'War on ...
(Alex Houen, author of Terrorism and Mode)
Anyone with an interest in al-Qaeda and the 'War on Terror' should read this carefully argued and well-researched book. Finn draws on a wide range of sources to show how al-Qaeda fosters a 'sacrificial subjectivity' for its jihadists. Building a sophisticated comparative analysis of jihadi and Western notions of militant sacrifice, the book offers important insights into the mindsets and practices of bombers.
(Alex Houen, author of Terrorism and Modern Literature: From Joseph Conrad to Cieran Carson )
Al-Qaeda and Sacrifice
Martyrdom, War and Politics
Product Description
Al-Qaeda and Sacrifice is a pioneering critical intervention into the study of terrorism. Challenging the commonly held idea that ‘suicide-bombings’ are motivated by a nihilistic hatred of life, Melissa Finn argues that it is more honest and helpful to examine such violent agency through the concept of ‘sacrifice’. The book provides a unique look at the way ‘sacrifice’ is used in the Arabic language and in the writings of Islamists and jihadis.
Finn offers penetrating insights into jihadi thought on its own terms, arguing that it constitutes a political theory which can be usefully compared and related to western political theorists, from Machiavelli and von Clausewitz to Hannah Arendt, Julia Kristeva and Judith Butler. She critically examines the strategy of ‘sacrifice’ in martyrdom operations and ultimately concludes that the heedless certainty of such violence undermines attempts to redress political grievances.
Al-Qaeda and Sacrifice is a unique contribution which goes beyond simplistic or apologetic explanations of terrorism and allows the authentic jihadi voice to speak for itself.
About The Author
Melissa Finn is a lecturer in the Department of Political Science and the Department of Global Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada. She is the co-editor of a special edition of Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, entitled ‘Veiled Constellations: The Veil, Critical Theory, Politics, and Contemporary Society’ (Spring 2012).
Additional Information
Al-Qaeda and Sacrifice is also available in ebook format from a number of retailers. Click the following links for more purchasing information:
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Introduction
1 From the Vantage Point of Sacrificial Violence: Al-Qaeda’s Worldview in Context
2 The Meanings of Sacrifice in Islam
3 Etymological Reflections on Sacrifice
4 Comparative Political Thought on War, Sacrifices, and Politics
5 The Limits of Sacrificial Subjectivity for Politics
6 Conclusion: Sacrificial Subjectivity for Acephalic Politics
Notes
Index
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