Twenty-First Century Jihad ─ Law, Society and Military Action

The term 'jihad' has come to be used as a byword for fanaticism and Islam's allegedly implacable hostility towards the West. But, like other religious and political concepts, jihad has multiple resonances and associations, its meaning shifting over time and from place to place. Jihad has referred to movements of internal reform, spiritual struggle and self-defence as much as to 'holy war'. And among Muslim intellectuals, the meaning and significance of jihad remain subject to debate and controversy. With this in mind, Twenty-First Century Jihad examines the ways in which the concept of jihad has changed, from its roots in the Qur'an to its usage in current debate. This book explores familiar modern political angles, and touches on far less commonly analysed instances of jihad, incorporating issues of law, society, literature and military action. As this key concept is ever-more important for international politics and security studies, Twenty-First Century Jihad contains vital analysis for those researching the role of religion in the modern world.

Elisabeth Kendall is Senior Research Fellow in Arabic and Islamic Studies,Oxford University. She is the author ofLiterature, Journalism and the Avant-Garde: Intersection in Egypt (2006).

Ewan Stein is Lecturer in International Relations at the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author ofRepresenting Israel in Modern Egypt: Ideas, Intellectuals and Foreign Policy from Nasser to Mubarak (I.B.Tauris, 2012).