Al-Qaeda and Sacrifice: Martyrdom, War and Politics

Al-Qaeda and Sacrifice examines the idea of "sacrifice" as a way of understanding agency and motivation in suicide attacks conducted by Al-Qaeda. 

Using political theory to understand the tension between Jihadi groups and Western democracies, Melissa Finn argues that it is necessary to listen to transnational jihadists' voices on their own terms – as a way to increase knowledge of those ideas and thus deal effectively with any threat they might pose. 

Finn argues that the notion of sacrifice reveals a violent approach motivated by heedless certainty and an incapacity to provide the grounds for stable political institutions. This book is a deeply informed and balanced analysis which goes beyond the usual simplistic accounts of what motivates Al-Qaeda and global Jihadi movements.