Warrant for Terror - (Hoover Studies in Politics, Economics, and Society) by Shmuel Bar (Paperback)

About the Book

Warrant for Terror examines fatwas, which are legal opinions declaring whether a given act under Islam is obligatory, permitted, or forbidden and which serve as a major instrument by which religious leaders impel believers to engage in acts of jihad.

Book Synopsis

Since September 11, 2001 much has been written about 'Islamist terrorism, ' arguing that it is a perversion that has 'hijacked Islam' in the service of social, political and economic grievances. However, such accounts cannot explain why other people that can lay claim to similar or more serious grievances have not developed such devastating religious terrorist ideologies. Moreover, many of the terrorists themselves have attested to their own religious motivation and their belief that they acted in accordance with the precepts of Islam. In Warrant for Terror Shmuel Bar examines fatwas-legal opinions declaring whether a given act under Islam is obligatory, permitted, or forbidden. Fatwas serve as a major instrument by which religious leaders impel believers to engage in acts of jihad. Bar argues that fatwas, particularly those that come from the Arab world, should not be dismissed as a cynical use of religious terminology in political propaganda. Many terrorists testify that they were motivated to act by them. Indeed, this book shows that Islamic law plays a central role in determining for believers the practical meaning of the duty to jihad. Bar examines the underlying religious, legal, and moral logic of fatwas and the depth of their influence, particularly in contrast to alternative moderate Islamic interpretations. He explores the wide scope of issues that fatwas deal with, covering almost all facets of Islamic 'law of war': the justification for declaring jihad; the territory in which the jihad should be fought; whether women and children may participate in jihad; the legality of killing women, children and other non-combatants; the justification for killing hostages and mutilating their bodies; and the permissibility of diverse tactics and weapons, including suicide attacks and even nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Warrant for Terror also delves into the contradictions between the radical and the mainstream narratives and the sources of the weakness of the latter in the face of the former. In the conclusion, the author raises a number of provocative questions relating to the 'religious policy' of the West in the face of the threat of Islamic extremism. This book is published in cooperation with the Hoover Institution

Review Quotes

"If you are sick of instant experts offering sound-bite style insight into the phenomenon of Radical Islam, then Warrant for Terror is the right medicine for you. Through an exhaustive yet refreshingly readable analysis of fatwas-Muslim religious injunctions-Shmuel Bar takes us deep into the minds of both those who issue calls for jihad and those who heed them. As a tool to understand the logic, the rationale, and the motivation of the enemy in the war on terror, this book is sure to be assigned in counter-terror training courses around the world. Thankfully, the rest of us can read it, too." --Robert Satloff, Executive Director, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

"Shmuel Bar has written one of the most important and compelling books in recent years. If you want to understand Islamic terrorism and jihad, this is the book to read. He has written an absolutely brilliant page-turning analysis of the dynamics underlying radical Jihad today-and for policymakers, analysts and the public, Warrant for Terror will provide you insights that few other books even dare try. This is one of the best books I have ever read on the dynamics of jihad and fatwas. Read it to be educated and to truly understand. Ignore it at your peril. Dr. Bar has performed a wonderful public service by compiling and analyzing the fatwas for us. This book is a bench mark in the literature on Jihad." --Steven Emerson, Executive Director, The Investigative Project on Terrorism, and author of American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Amongst Us.

"Shmuel Bar offers a much needed account of the religious logic that inspires and justifies Islamic radicalism and its terrorist manifestations. His sections on the extremists legal justifications for attacking Americans, fellow Muslims, and particularly Israel are enlightening and useful for anyone who has wondered how religious thinking can be used to support terrorism." --Salt Lake Tribune

"Non-Muslims rarely pay attention to the religious struggle within Islam. They must, urgently. Radical clerics, wielding the deadly accusation of apostacy, have silenced most mainstream Muslim clerics and regimes in the Muslim world on the issues of jihad and terrorism. We are at serious risk of having hundreds of millions of religiously-driven enemies and deferential followers." --R. James Woolsey, former Director of the CIA; Chairman, Woolsey Partners LLC

"Bar has crafted an important book. This short volume is a must-read for anyone disturbed by the government and media's failure to truly elucidate the underpinnings of the terrorism threat that's here to stay." --The Miami Herald

"Drawing on Arabic sources not typically available to English readers, Shmuel Bar outlines the way that fatwas from Muslim religious authorities have in recent years laid a basis for jihadism and terror. Warrant for Terror is critical reading to understand the nature of the challenge posed by radical Islamism today." --Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History and the Last Man

"Warrant for Terror offers many insights." --The Bookwatch

"Shmuel Bar offers a much-needed account of the religious logic that inspires and justifies Islamic radicalism and its terrorist manifestations...His conclusion, that the war of ideas within the Muslim world is primarily a religious war, should be taken seriously." --The Dallas Morning News

"Since the author of this hard-hitting book is Israeli, some may dismiss it out of hand, as politically motivated. However, the depth of research, drawn from Arabic sources, should cause every reader to pay attention. It is invaluable for understanding the reasons for radical Islamism in the 21st century." --Middle East Journal

"This is an important book, its limpid prose matching the authority Bar brings to a subject about which we cannot afford to be ignorant." --Literary Review

"It is invaluable for understanding the reasons for radical Islamism in the 21st century. Bar drives home the point that only Muslims can turn the tide....Warrant for Terror is a compelling book." --Warren Larson, Middle East Journal

Warrant for Terror offers many insights.

Bar has crafted an important book. This short volume is a must-read for anyone disturbed by the government and media's failure to truly elucidate the underpinnings of the terrorism threat that's here to stay.

Drawing on Arabic sources not typically available to English readers, Shmuel Bar outlines the way that fatwas from Muslim religious authorities have in recent years laid a basis for jihadism and terror. Warrant for Terror is critical reading to understand the nature of the challenge posed by radical Islamism today.

If you are sick of instant experts offering sound-bite style insight into the phenomenon of Radical Islam, then Warrant for Terror is the right medicine for you. Through an exhaustive yet refreshingly readable analysis of fatwas-Muslim religious injunctions-Shmuel Bar takes us deep into the minds of both those who issue calls for jihad and those who heed them. As a tool to understand the logic, the rationale, and the motivation of the enemy in the war on terror, this book is sure to be assigned in counter-terror training courses around the world. Thankfully, the rest of us can read it, too.

It is invaluable for understanding the reasons for radical Islamism in the 21st century. Bar drives home the point that only Muslims can turn the tide....Warrant for Terror is a compelling book.

Non-Muslims rarely pay attention to the religious struggle within Islam. They must, urgently. Radical clerics, wielding the deadly accusation of apostacy, have silenced most mainstream Muslim clerics and regimes in the Muslim world on the issues of jihad and terrorism. We are at serious risk of having hundreds of millions of religiously-driven enemies and deferential followers.

Shmuel Bar has written one of the most important and compelling books in recent years. If you want to understand Islamic terrorism and jihad, this is the book to read. He has written an absolutely brilliant page-turning analysis of the dynamics underlying radical Jihad today-and for policymakers, analysts and the public, Warrant for Terror will provide you insights that few other books even dare try. This is one of the best books I have ever read on the dynamics of jihad and fatwas. Read it to be educated and to truly understand. Ignore it at your peril. Dr. Bar has performed a wonderful public service by compiling and analyzing the fatwas for us. This book is a bench mark in the literature on Jihad.

Shmuel Bar offers a much needed account of the religious logic that inspires and justifies Islamic radicalism and its terrorist manifestations. His sections on the extremists legal justifications for attacking Americans, fellow Muslims, and particularly Israel are enlightening and useful for anyone who has wondered how religious thinking can be used to support terrorism.

Shmuel Bar offers a much-needed account of the religious logic that inspires and justifies Islamic radicalism and its terrorist manifestations...His conclusion, that the war of ideas within the Muslim world is primarily a religious war, should be taken seriously.

Since the author of this hard-hitting book is Israeli, some may dismiss it out of hand, as politically motivated. However, the depth of research, drawn from Arabic sources, should cause every reader to pay attention. It is invaluable for understanding the reasons for radical Islamism in the 21st century.

This is an important book, its limpid prose matching the authority Bar brings to a subject about which we cannot afford to be ignorant.

About the Author

Shmuel Bar is a senior research fellow dealing with Middle Eastern and Islamic affairs at the Institute of Policy and Strategy in Herzliya, Israel. Bar retired (in 2003) after 30 years of service in the Israeli civil service (as an intelligence officer in the IDF and in the Office of the Prime Minister) in senior staff and operational positions, including diplomatic posting in Europe. Bar holds a Ph.D. in History of the Middle East from Tel-Aviv University and has published numerous books and papers on Middle Eastern affairs, terrorism, and radical Islam.