The original version of this book sold widely across the Arabic world. Reproduced in translation here, with an extensive introduction from distinguished scholar Ibrahim Abu Rabi, it stands alone as an unrivalled account of the divisions within militant Islamist ideology. The author provides insight into the internal politics of Islamic Jihad, and the radicalisation of bin Laden's deputy; he examines Zawahiri's opposition to efforts by other militant Islamists to call a ceasefire with the Egyptian authorities; and he narrates the redirection of Zawahiri's activities towards the US and Israel.
As an insight into one of the key minds behind Al-Qaeda this book makes unparalleled and disturbing reading. It is an important document for anyone who seeks to understand how a minority extremist ideology came to have such an impact on world events.
Montasser al-Zayyat joined the Islamic movement in Egypt in 1974. He was arrested in the Jihad Case following the assassination of former President Anwar al-Sadat in 1982. After the trial, his activities as an Islamist shifted to defending Islamists in Egyptian courts. He adopted and promoted the peaceful approach to effecting change in Egypt, through reconciliation between Islamists and the Egyptian authorities.
Sara Nimis is the Mellon Globalization Forum Fellow. Her research and teaching deal with a broad range of contemporary topics, including Sufism (Islamic Mysticism), gender, sexuality and the body in Islam, Islamic environmental activism, the social and political history of Egypt, modernization and secularization in Egypt, Arabic language and literature and postcolonial literature.
Ahmed Fekry (the original translator) is a journalist on the Middle East Times and a graduate student at the American University in Cairo (AUC).
Introduction by Ibrahim Abu-Rabi
Notes on the English language edition by Ahmed Fekry and Sara Nimis
1. The Aristocrat as Fundamentalist
2. Aftermath of Sadat's Assassination
3. Afghanistan: Land of Jihad
4. Changes in Zawahiri's Ideology
5. The Ceasefire Initiative of the Gama'a Al-Islamiyya
6. Islamists Pay for the Zawahiri's Mistakes
7. Executing a Boy and Killing a Prominent Group Leader
8. The Struggle Continues
Notes
Index
Read on any device