Radical Islam Rising - by Quintan Wiktorowicz (Hardcover)

About the Book

This unique book represents one of the first systematic attempts to explain why thousands of Westerners heed international calls to 'jihad' and join radical Islamic groups. Drawing on his unprecedented access to a radical Islamic group, Quintan Wiktorowicz details the subtle p...

Book Synopsis

This unique book represents one of the first systematic attempts to explain why thousands of Westerners heed international calls to 'jihad' and join radical Islamic groups. Drawing on his unprecedented access to a radical Islamic group, Quintan Wiktorowicz details the subtle process that can turn seemingly unreligious people into supporters of religious violence. The author's extraordinary fieldwork forms the basis of a detailed case study of al-Muhajiroun, a transnational movement based in London that supports Bin Laden and other Islamic terrorists. Through its rich empirical detail, the case study explains the larger question of why ordinary people join extremist movements.

Review Quotes

An important new book by Quintan Wiktorowicz...makes clear that the Salafists operate like a cult....Wiktorowicz researched his book by embedding himself with al-Muhajiroun, an extremist Salafist group based in London. He found that the group preyed on disoriented young Muslims - not poor or oppressed themselves but confused and looking for meaning.

A ground-breaking work on the process of radicalization among Western Muslims. Wiktorowicz not only undertook astonishing and difficult fieldwork but brings us a theoretically innovative approach to understanding the case of the Western Muslim 'born-again.'

Wiktorowicz demystifies radical Islam in the first study to lift the veil around a militant Islamist organization in the West. Through careful empirical evidence, he sheds light on how educated but alienated young Muslims adopt their hate-filled messages and cheer for Bin Laden. A must-read for anyone interested in the sources of terrorism.

Wiktorowicz's study makes several important contributions. In addition to illuminating certain psychological aspects of the radicalization process and tactics used by extremist groups, it pinpoints missed opportunities by British moderates. This book is a must-read for anybody interested in radicalization in the West and how to counter it.

About the Author

Quintan Wiktorowicz, a well-known expert on Islamic movements, has taught at Dartmouth College, Rhodes College, and Shippensburg University. He has conducted research on both moderate and radical Islamic movements in Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, and Europe. He is the author of The Management of Islamic Activism: Salafis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and State Power in Jordan, Global Jihad: Understanding September 11 and the editor of Islamic Activism: A Social Movement Theory Approach.