Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill
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Book Overview
For four years, Jessica Stern interviewed extremist members of three religions around the world: Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Traveling extensively--to refugee camps in Lebanon, to religious schools in Pakistan, to prisons in Amman, Asqelon, and Pensacola--she discovered that the Islamic jihadi in the mountains of Pakistan and the Christian fundamentalist bomber in Oklahoma have much in common.
Based on her vast research, Stern lucidly explains how terrorist organizations are formed by opportunistic leaders who--using religion as both motivation and justification--recruit the disenfranchised. She depicts how moral fervor is transformed into sophisticated organizations that strive for money, power, and attention.
Jessica Stern's extensive interaction with the faces behind the terror provide unprecedented insight into acts of inexplicable horror, and enable her to suggest how terrorism can most effectively be countered.
A crucial book on terrorism, Terror in the Name of God is a brilliant and thought-provoking work.
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Customer Reviews
Rated 5 starsTechnology as religion
Both religion and technology are seductive in their ability to both soothe and explain - but both are dangerous in the hands of zealots of either discipline. Stern, a Harvard professor and former fellow on terrorism at the Council on Foreign Relations, expands her definition of religious terrorists worldwide by including the Muslim jihad in Indonesia, militant Palestinians, zealous Israelis, and Americans who kill abortion...
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Rated 5 starsA valuable look at a difficult subject
I have grown utterly weary of the explosion of terrorism studies following 9/11, but this book held me rapt from beginning to end. Stern has written a deeply personal work far removed from either dry academic prose or "I was there" anecdotes without losing the ability to present a fairly balanced view across a number of regions and religions. The result is a remarkable look at both the personalities of those she interviewed...
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Rated 5 starsWhat can we do about it?
Jessica Stern's book "Terror in the name of God" can be divided into three parts. The first part consists of interviews with terrorists. This was absolutely amazing. Imagine this young Jewish woman interviewing anti-Semitic Palestinians! Nevertheless she was able to extract a great deal of interesting information from them. Surely many of them lied to her -- but the lies are useful too.Of course, they were all different. They...
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Rated 5 starsAn excellent framework for understanding terrorism
In surveying books on terrorism for my college course, I found this one of the best. Wish it wasn't hardcover! Stern analyzes the different types of reasons for terrorism (humiliation, alienation, demographics, territory, and history) and explains both on the psychological and sociological level how they operate. She also explains how the different methods of terrorism operate to bring about the psychological trance/bliss...
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Rated 5 starsStraight from the terrorist's mouth
With the avalanche of books on terrorism and Islam cluttering the bookstores and library shelves, I was hesitant to plunge into this one. I am glad I reconsidered. It is a remarkable account using primary sources, primarily insiders or inmates who have been active in pursuing their perfidious goals. Many are the actual villains in some of the high profile terrorist crimes of our era. Sparing a lot of details and personalities,...
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