Ashes of Hama


Book Description

An insight into Syria's most influential Islamist movement and how its rebirth from the ashes of history is shaping the conflict in Syria. The author draws on previously untapped sources, including interviews with the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood.




Medina in Birmingham, Najaf in Brent


Book Description

Muslim intellectuals may try to define something called British Islam, but the truth is that as the Muslim community of Britain has grown in size and religiosity, so too has the opportunity to found and run mosques which divide along ethnic and sectarian lines. Just as most churches in Britain are affiliated to one of the main Christian denominations, the vast majority of Britain's 1600 mosques are linked to wider sectarian networks: the Deobandi and Tablighi Jamaat movements with their origins in colonial India; the Salafi groups inspired by an austere form of Islam widely practiced in Saudi Arabia; the Islamist movements with links to religious political parties in the Middle East and South Asia; the Sufi movements that tend to emphasise spirituality rather than religious and political militancy; and the diverse Shi'ite sects which range from the orthodox disciples of Grand Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq to the Ismaili followers of the pragmatic and modernising Aga Khan. These affiliations are usually not apparent to outsiders, but inside Britain's Muslim communities sectarian divides are often fiercely guarded by religious leaders. This book, of which no equivalent volume yet exists, is a definitive guide to the ideological differences, organisational structures and international links of the main Islamic groups active in Britain today.




Jihad in the City


Book Description

Tawhid was a militant Islamist group which implemented Islamic law at gunpoint in the Lebanese city of Tripoli during the 1980s. In retrospect, some have called it 'the first ISIS-style Emirate'. Drawing on two hundred interviews with Islamist fighters and their mortal enemies, as well as on a trove of new archival material, Raphaël Lefèvre provides a comprehensive account of this Islamist group. He shows how they featured religious ideologues determined to turn Lebanon into an Islamic Republic, yet also included Tripolitan rebels of all stripes, neighbourhood strongmen with scores to settle, local subalterns seeking social revenge as well as profit-driven gangsters, who each tried to steer Tawhid's exercise of violence to their advantage. Providing a detailed understanding of the multi-faceted processes through which Tawhid emerged in 1982, implemented its 'Emirate' and suddenly collapsed in 1985, this is a story that shows how militant Islamist groups are impacted by their grand ideology as much as by local contexts – with crucial lessons for understanding social movements, rebel groups and terrorist organizations elsewhere too.




The Muslim Brotherhood in Syria


Book Description

A look at the history of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, examining why the group failed to capitalise on its political advantage during the Syrian uprising and civil war.




Of Human Bondage


Book Description

Of Human Bondage (1915) is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Inspired by his experiences as an orphan and young student, Maugham composed his masterpiece. Adapted several times for film, Of Human Bondage is a story of tragedy, perseverance, and the eternal search for happiness which drives us as much as it haunts our every move. Orphaned as a boy, Philip Carey is raised in an affectionless household by his aunt and uncle. Although his Aunt Louisa tries to make him feel welcome, William proves an uncaring, vindictive man. Left to fend for himself most days, Philip finds solace in the family’s substantial collection of books, which serve as an escape for the imaginative boy. Sent to study at a prestigious boarding school, Philip struggles to fit in with his peers, who abuse him for his intelligence and club foot. Despite his struggles, he perseveres in his studies and chooses his own path in life, moving to Heidelberg, Germany and denying his uncle’s wish that he attend Oxford. As he struggles to become a professional artist, Philip learns that one’s dreams are often unsubstantiated in the world of the living. Of Human Bondage is a tale of desire, disappointment, and romance by a master stylist with a keen sense of the complications inherent to human nature. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of W. Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage is a classic work of British literature reimagined for modern readers.




The Makers of Modern Syria


Book Description

In the aftermath of World War I Syria paved a path towards democracy. Initially as part of the French mandate in the Middle East and latterly as an independent republic, Syria put in place the instruments of democratic government that it was hoped would lead to a stable future. This book tells the story of Syria's formative years, using previously-unseen material from the personal papers of Ahmad Sharabati, a prominent nationalist who served in different capacities during colonial times and early independence, first as minister of defense and then as minister of education. His experiences and those of others of his generation tell the story of Syria's short-lived democratic years, up to the union with Egypt as the United Arab Republic between 1958 and 1961.




Son of Hamas


Book Description

The oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding member of Hamas, reveals new information about the world's most dangerous terrorist organization, unveils the truth about his own role in the organization, and explains his dangerous decision to make his newfound Christian faith public.




The Battle for Syria


Book Description

An unprecedented analysis of the crucial but underexplored roles the United States and other nations have played in shaping Syria’s ongoing civil war “One of the best informed and non-partisan accounts of the Syrian tragedy yet published.”—Patrick Cockburn, Independent Syria’s brutal, long-lasting civil war is widely viewed as a domestic contest that began in 2011 and only later drew foreign nations into the fray. But in this book Christopher Phillips shows the crucial roles that were played by the United States, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar in Syria’s war right from the start. Phillips untangles the international influences on the tragic conflict and illuminates the West’s strategy against ISIS, the decline of U.S. power in the region, and much more. Originally published in 2016, the book has been updated with two new chapters.




The Battle for Syria


Book Description

An unprecedented analysis of the crucial but underexplored roles the United States and other nations have played in shaping Syria's ongoing civil war "One of the best informed and non-partisan accounts of the Syrian tragedy yet published."--Patrick Cockburn, Independent Syria's brutal, long-lasting civil war is widely viewed as a domestic contest that began in 2011 and only later drew foreign nations into the fray. But in this book Christopher Phillips shows the crucial roles that were played by the United States, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar in Syria's war right from the start. Phillips untangles the international influences on the tragic conflict and illuminates the West's strategy against ISIS, the decline of U.S. power in the region, and much more. Originally published in 2016, the book has been updated with two new chapters.




Hamas Contained


Book Description

“Judicious and impartial, this important work adds nuance to the portrait of one of the Middle East's most divisive players” (Publishers Weekly). Hamas is a multifaceted liberation organization that rules Gaza and the lives of the two million Palestinians who live there. Demonized as a terrorist group in media and policy debates, it has been subjected to accusations and assumptions that have helped justify extreme military action in the region. In Hamas Contained, Tareq Baconi offers the first history of the group on its own terms. Drawing on interviews with organization leaders, as well as publications from the group, Baconi maps Hamas’s thirty-year transition from fringe resistance to governance. Questioning the conventional understanding of Hamas, he shows how the movement's ideology ultimately threatens the Palestinian struggle and, inadvertently, its own legitimacy. Baconi demonstrates how Hamas's armed struggle has failed in the face of a relentless occupation, and he argues that Israel's approach of managing rather than resolving the conflict has neutralized Hamas’s demand for Palestinian sovereignty. This dynamic has perpetuated a deadlock characterized by its brutality—and one that has led to the collective punishment of millions of Palestinian civilians.