The Shade of Swords

by AKBAR; M. J.

• ISBN13: 9780415328142
• ISBN10: 0415328144
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2003-11-19
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

InThe Shade of Swords,leading Indian journalist and author M.J. Akbar has written the very first cohesive history of Jihad. In this new paperback edition, which has been updated to show how and why Saddam Hussein repositioned himself as a Jihadi against America, Akbar explains the struggle between Islam and Christianity. Placing recent events in a historical context, he also tackles the tricky questions of what now follos for Jihad after the Second Gulf War and what will happen in the new Middle East power vacuum following the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. From the prophet Muhammed through to the Assassins, and from the collapse of the Moghul and Ottoman empires to the modern struggle of Palestine, Akbar shows how Jihad's origins lie in the earliest consciousness of Muslims. With British and American troops in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and once again in Iraq, the potential for Jihadi recruitment is ever increasing. Explaining how Jihad thrives on complex and shifting notions ofpersecution, victory and sacrifice, and illustrating how Muslims themselves have historically tried both to direct and control the phenomenon of Jihad, Akbar shows how Jihad pervades the mind and soul of Islam, revealing its strength and significance. To know the future, one needs to understand the past. M.J. Akbar'sThe Shade of Swordsholds the key.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	ix
Preface	xiii
Introduction	xv
Introduction to This Edition	xxi
Chapter and Verse	1	(11)
The Joys of Death: A Bargain with Allah	12	(14)
Rebellions in the Dark of the Night	26	(14)
A Map of Islam	40	(12)
Circle of Hell	52	(15)
Allah! Muhammad! Saladin!	67	(16)
The Doors of Europe	83	(16)
Jihad in the East: A Crescent Over Delhi	99	(14)
The Holy Sea: Pepper and Power	113	(18)
The Bargain Goes Sour	131	(14)
The Wedge and the Gate	145	(15)
History as Anger, Jihad as Non-violence	160	(17)
Islam in Danger Zone	177	(12)
Jinnah Redux and the Age of Osama	189	(25)
Saddam, Bush and the Shia Jihad	214	(58)
Glossary	272	(5)
A Suggested Reading List	277	(11)
Thumbnail Sketches	288	(11)
A Relevant Calendar	299	(14)
Index	313