{"product_id":"9781626164291","title":"The War against al-Qaeda: Religion, Policy, and Counter-narratives","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn this original and provocative book, Nahed Artoul Zehr explores the theological underpinnings of al-Qaeda and related Islamic movements such as ISIS. She demonstrates how this marginal narrative transformed al-Qaeda from a relatively hierarchical and regional organization to a globalized, decentralized, and diffuse system of networks. She draws connections between religious ideas and strategy in her translation and analysis of leading theoretical and tactical jihad text, \u003ci\u003eThe Global Islamic Resistance Call\u003c\/i\u003e, by Mustafa abu Mus’ ab al-Suri.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJust as importantly, she questions al-Qaeda’s understanding of the Islamic tradition on the use of force, arguing that it reflects a weak understanding of this tradition. More specifically, it is al-Qaeda’s (and related groups’) break with this tradition that is key to an al-Qaeda defeat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSimultaneously, Zehr critiques the US military and policy establishment as it attempts to offer counter-narratives to the al-Qaeda phenomenon that emphasizes “good Muslims” versus “bad Muslims” in order to embrace a “moderate” form of Islam. According to Zehr, this approach is misguided: it is beyond the US government’s purview and expertise to make such theological claims about Islam. Better, she argues, to note the counter-narratives that are coming from within the Muslim community and other nongovernment institutions interested in moving this work forward.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy refocusing our attention on al-Qaeda’s narrative and the various ways thatit is being contested, the book provides an alternate lens from which to viewal-Qaeda and the al-Qaeda phenomenon for Islamic and US foreign policy scholars and students.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Georgetown University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47130784039152,"sku":"9781626164291","price":59.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781626164291_p0.jpg?v=1772500259","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781626164291","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}