The Canons of Jihad: Terrorists' Strategy for Defeating America

Since the 9/11 attacks, scholars have struggled to help Westerners understand what motivates the jihadi movement. Noting that the best way to understand jihadists is to ignore statements they release to the West in favor of examining what they say to each other, Jim Lacey provides a definitive collection of writings that intellectually underpins the movement. Rather than guessing about terrorist motivations from a Western perspective, readers are offered essays--including those by the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hasan al-Banna, and a leading early member, Sayed Qutb--that define the movement through the eyes of the terrorists themselves. As jihadist cadres begin to rebuild, Lacey notes that they are turning once again to their original thinkers to justify their actions. This project is sponsored by the United States Joint Forces Command.