Timothy R. Furnish

Countering terrorist groups is one of the most important military, intelligence, and foreign policy issues in the world today. Over three-quarters of global terrorist organizations claim Islam as their motivation, according to the US State Department's official figures. Most wage violent jihad in order to extend the reach and severity of Islamic law, and to (re)establish a caliphate. They are thus an insurgent threat to existing Muslim states, as well as a terrorist danger to the West. Works on this issue deal almost entirely with how Western powers have fought terrorism and insurgencies: the French in Algeria, the Brits in Malaysia, the Americans in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, for example. But Islamic states have had to fight their own Muslim insurrections, across space and time. The Ottoman Empire is the best example of this. Controlling territory on three continents (Asia, Europe and Africa) and lasting for over 500 years, the Ottoman caliphate was challenged by many movements that declared jihad in the name of a competing brand of Islam. Both these insurgencies and Ottoman counterinsurgent responses are worth studying in their own right. But they may also provide insights into how modern versions of these movements could be parried-and defeated. This work is the first book-length treatment of the topic matter, written by an expert in Islamic history with experience in the field of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency.

High Towers and Strong Places: A Political History of Middle-earth surveys Tolkien's world from Beleriand to Barad-d r and Utumno to Umbar, and from the First to the early Fourth Age. It examines not just types of political systems, but cultural differences, international relations and why there were so many wars over 7000 years of Middle-earth's history. (How those conflicts were waged will be covered in the successor volume, Bright Swords and Glorious Warriors: A Military History of Middle-earth.) If you've ever wondered how Sauron controlled his Orcs, what Gondor owed N menor, the way the Shire was governed or why Dwarves and Elves didn't get along-this is the book for you.

Scholars estimate that a fifth of the world's population is Muslim, and this figure is growing rapidly. Traditionally, very few people in the West are familiar with the specific beliefs of Islam, but in an increasingly interconnected global society, there is growing interest in gaining a clearer understanding of the faith. This text, written by an American scholar, highlights one of the lesser-known aspects of Islam called Mahdism, which centers belief on a rightly guided one, a prophet who will at some point return to earth to rally Muslims and make the world right. This belief is powerful and potentially dangerous, and deserves the attention it receives in this volume. Before September 11, 2001, most Western Islam scholars ignored Mahdism, dismissing it as a relic of Muslim history. However, today it is nearly impossible to ignore the topic, as we have seen first-hand the ways in which religious beliefs can lead to violent acts of terrorism. The Mahdist movement's very aim is to re-order global society into a Muslim community—a cause for which many Islamic faithful would gladly fight and give up their lives. This book serves as a guide to this aspect of Islam. Topics covered include: The Origins of Mahdism; Mahdist Movements throughout History; Counter-Mahdist Rationales and Policies; and Mahdism and Anti-Mahdism Today. While the text is richly detailed, the writing is nonetheless very readable and engaging, making it ideal for students of religious philosophy, for people wishing to understand what leads to religious wars, and indeed for all Americans living in the post-9/11 world.