Review: Jihad

I apologize for being a little slow with any more reviews. Frankly, I have been spending a lot of time reading the books and not so much time thinking about writing up reviews. That said, I hope to be posting some on a more regular basis. And by all means, feel free to comment as to whether you find these interesting and useful or not.

I finished reading Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia about two weeks ago. This book, by Ahmed Rashid, is a detailed account of how militant Islam has taken hold in several ex-Soviet states and countries like Afghanistan. There is a long and detailed account of how the Soviet system mistreated the people in this area, how the successor states have continued to oppress their people, and how that mistreatment and government-sponsored religious repression fueled a philosophy that is now causing so many problems around the world.

One of the more interesting aspects of the book is its treatment of the Taliban and its associated/affiliated organizations. Simply put, these people are not looking to create any sort of functioning state as we would understand it. Rather, they are looking to dominate the people living in what they believe is Islam's native ground and then spread their doctrine around the world. What's worse, they're are not looking to build a functioning state - their apparent goal and philosophy is to keep people in a medieval level of technology and government and focus existence entirely around religious life and preparation for the afterlife. In other words, if, when, and where the Taliban wins, life is going to be quite bleak by Western standards.

One downside to the book (and I do have to remember that it was written more than ten years ago) is that for all of its detailed explorations of how this mess started, it does not offer much in the way of what to do about it. Now, I do not necessarily cite that as a flaw of the author, for he may well have been intending only a journalistic/historical treatment of how radical Islam arose in this region. Still, it would be helpful to hear ideas about what can be done to root it and out and rehabilitate the people to whom radical and militant Islam appeals.

While this book is a bit old and many people may feel like they have heard all they want to hear about Afghanistan, Islam, and the Taliban, it is a quality read nevertheless. For those interested in a historical treatment and a "how did this all happen" narrative, this is a great book. For those more interested in current events and practical solutions, it may seem lacking.