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816 pages, Hardcover
Published March 1, 2021
I read this book right after , where closing chapter mentioned influence of Qutbs teaching on Arab-Afghan Militants after soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and formation of Al-Qaeda (AQ). There was a missing link in how Qutubism , the violent Muslim Brotherhood faction, whose goals were toppling national governments, went global in the form of AQ and start fighting wars of liberation. This missing link was Abdullah Azzam who then influenced islamists across the globe to neglect state borders and wage jihad in faraway countries bypassing the classical authority of head of state to declare Jihad. This detailed researched biopic covers Azzam life in different roles in not-necessarily chronological order with great details of political turmoil's of middle east and Af-Pak. Hailing from a small village in Palestine, al-Silla in suburbs of Jenin and dying a tragic death in Peshawar Pakistan was natures affirmation of his global ambitions.
After 1967 Arab-Israel war dissent grew among members of Muslim brotherhood and the militant narrative within them grew to an extent that most of them were curbed by their respective govts. These hyper zealous and charged militants then found a new haven in Af-Pak region where they can organize and train without state restrictions as in their home countries , have firsthand experience of war at fronts and then this rouge multinational militia will liberate Palestine and other contested Muslim Lands against foreign invasions. Azzam was instrumental in channelizing these Arabs and western/US fighters to Pakistan , where they would organize, get basic military training and then sent to warfronts along with Afghan fighters. But the problem with such anarchist militants is there is no authority that could stop things from getting more radicals, even if Azzam was preparing these Arabs as a defensive force and was considered a moderate among contemporary militants.
All this was made possible by his links in Muslim brotherhood, its Pakistani ideologue partner Jamaat-e-Islami and other pan Islamist organizations as well as with some Afghan warlords like Rabbani ,Haqqani and Sayyaf. All the details of his activities are astonishing as how easily he was allowed to move freely for lectures and recruiting specifically in US more than any country. The role of non-militant charity and relief organizations as front for monetary activities and indoctrination through relief activities is very shameful. Even organizations like OIC who have very negligible achievements on its credit from their manifesto was active to facilitate this global radicalization . This same organization is active once again to lobby for Afghan Taliban to recognized as authentic representatives of Afghans.
His role as a diplomate for global Jihad outshine his work in other capacities. His involvement with Muslim brotherhood from early teen years, his lifelong attachment with teaching and writing and awareness of ground realities with extraordinary oration skills made him acceptable to a wide strata of Islamist Ideologues. He never hesitated to use exclusive Sufi terms like karamat (miracles) if helps his cause of Global Jihad. Although, like Qutb, he was also name-called sufi by some fundamentalists , but his extensive use of supernatural dimension of Afghan war and divine favor for Mujahedeen in both writing and speeches was what influenced militants around the world for the recruitment to afghan war and this legacy continues in modern day Jihadi literature both in print and audiovisuals.
Would recommend to anyone interested in political Islam, religious militancy, middle east in late 20th century , and early Afghan war. This is a meticulously researched and written book from and well informed writer.