Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780300093452)

The terrorist attacks of September 11 have turned the world's attention to areas of the globe about which we know very little. Ahmed Rashid, who masterfully explained Afghanistan's Taliban regime in his previous book, here turns his skills as an investigative journalist to the five Central Asian republics adjacent to Afghanistan. Central Asia is coming to play a vital strategic role in the war on terrorism, but the region also poses new threats to global security.

The five Central Asian republics--Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan--were part of the Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991. Under Soviet rule, Islam was brutally suppressed, and that intolerance has continued under the post-Soviet regimes. Religious repression, political corruption, and the region's extreme poverty (unemployment rates exceed 80 percent in some areas) have created a fertile climate for militant Islamic fundamentalism. Often funded and trained by such organizations as Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda and the Taliban, guerrilla movements like the IMU (Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan) have recruited a staggering number of members across the region and threaten to topple the governments of all five nations. Based on groundbreaking research and numerous interviews, Jihad explains the roots of militant rage in Central Asia, describes the goals and activities of these militant organizations, and suggests ways in which this threat could be neutralized by diplomatic and economic intervention.

Rich in both cultural heritage and natural resources--including massive oil reservoirs--Central Asia remains desperately poor and frighteningly volatile. In tracing the history of Central Asia and explaining the current political climate, Rashid demonstrates that it is a region we ignore at our peril.

Author: Ahmed Rashid
ISBN-10: 0300093454
ISBN-13: 9780300093452
Publisher: Yale University Press
Language: English
Published: 01/11/2002
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.58h x 5.85w x 1.00d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 01/14/2002 pg. 51
Booklist 03/01/2002 pg. 1069
Business Week 03/18/2002 pg. 22
New York Review of Books 04/11/2002 pg. 27
Booklist 09/01/2002 pg. 29
Choice 06/01/2002 pg. 1877
Univ PR Books for Public Libry 01/01/2003 pg. 100 - Outstanding