David Patrikarakos

Progression through Regression

Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea

By

Hurst & Co 275pp £25 order from our bookshop

The terms ‘Salafist’ and ‘Jihadist’ appear on television and in our Facebook and Twitter feeds almost daily. But they have become akin to Orwell’s description of the word ‘fascist’, terms rendered ‘almost entirely meaningless’, so overused that they now convey little except in so far as they signify ‘something not desirable’. This is where Shiraz Maher steps in with Salafi-Jihadism, an illuminating and necessary book for our times. That the West is facing a jihadist challenge is indubitable. The questions are what, precisely, is the nature of that challenge, what is its ideological basis and where does it come from.

Sign Up to our newsletter

Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.

Follow Literary Review on Twitter

  • Last Tweets

    • 'Seventy years on, the time we have left to gather such first-hand testimony is running out.' John Keay on the sig… ,
    • The author 'seethes with contemptuous indignation at the shiny junk that an unregulated construction industry dumps… ,
    • 'The physical courage he demonstrated as a young man [...] gave way to intellectual power; radical thought, gifted… ,
    • 'While Jane Austen didn’t perhaps achieve the full recognition that she deserved in her lifetime, even then she out… ,
    • 'All I have is a voice To undo the folded lie, The romantic lie in the brain Of the sensual man-in-the-street And t… ,
    • 'You are interested in a particular subject; basic research hardens this interest into an obsession, after which th… ,
    • 'Keynes predicted that future generations would enjoy such an improved standard of living that they might work just… ,
    Follow Us