Nahed Artoul Zehr

The War against al-Qaeda (eBook, ePUB)

Religion, Policy, and Counter-narratives

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

In this original and provocative book, Nahed Artoul Zehr explores the theological underpinnings of al-Qaeda and related Islamic movements such as ISIS. She demonstrates how this marginal narrative transformed al-Qaeda from a relatively hierarchical and regional organization to a globalized, decentralized, and diffuse system of networks. She draws connections between religious ideas and strategy in her translation and analysis of leading theoretical and tactical jihad text, The Global Islamic Resistance Call, by Mustafa abu Mus' ab al-Suri.

Just as importantly, she questions al-Qaeda's understanding of the Islamic tradition on the use of force, arguing that it reflects a weak understanding of this tradition. More specifically, it is al-Qaeda's (and related groups') break with this tradition that is key to an al-Qaeda defeat.

Simultaneously, Zehr critiques the US military and policy establishment as it attempts to offer counter-narratives to the al-Qaeda phenomenon that emphasizes good Muslims versus bad Muslims in order to embrace a moderate form of Islam. According to Zehr, this approach is misguided: it is beyond the US government's purview and expertise to make such theological claims about Islam. Better, she argues, to note the counter-narratives that are coming from within the Muslim community and other nongovernment institutions interested in moving this work forward.

By refocusing our attention on al-Qaeda's narrative and the various ways that
it is being contested, the book provides an alternate lens from which to view
al-Qaeda and the al-Qaeda phenomenon for Islamic and US foreign policy scholars and students.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Georgetown University Press
• Seitenzahl: 264
• Erscheinungstermin: 3. Mai 2017
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781626164291
• Artikelnr.: 56800238

Autorenporträt

Nahed Artoul Zehr is the executive director of the Faith & Culture Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Previously she was assistant professor of Islam and
Religious Studies at Western Kentucky University, where she taught courses
on Islam, the Qur-an, comparative religious ethics, and religion and violence. In 20112012 she was Minerva Research Chair at the United States Naval War College.