Jason Burke - Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam

PENGUIN BOOKS

AL-QAEDA

This young, impassioned journalist has made an important
contribution to the growing literature on al-Qaeda
Washington Post

Based on careful on-the-ground investigation and penetrating
inquiry, this fine study, the most illuminating I know, gives
remarkable insight into Islamic militancy, its root causes, its
evolution and likely future. It is essential reading for anyone who
hopes to understand the network of networks loosely termed
Al-Qaeda, and its complex interactions both with the West and
with the societies it intends to reshape. Burkes achievements are
of particular importance for those who hope not only to
understand but also to seek constructive initiatives to
developments that are sure to cast a long shadow over the
years to come Noam Chomsky

This book is an eye-opener Literary Review

A book which vastly increases our understanding of the
al-Qaeda phenomenon. Burke writes with admirable lucidity
and the benefit of his frontline reporting and deep research
Peter Bergen, author of Holy War, Inc.

Fascinating packed with totally new material
Gilles Kepel, author of Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam

Jason Burke has finally got al-Qaeda right. He has broken the
myth of al-Qaeda as some sort of highly organized and rigidly
centralized jihadist version of the old Comintern, and in the
process laid out the true nature of an increasingly diverse, even
more dangerous islamist menace. Al-Qaeda should be required
reading for those charged with protecting the US homeland,
but who seem to have little notion of the nature of their
adversary Milt Bearden, former CIA official and co-author of
The Main Enemy

Alarmingly, the most accurate information about Islamic
extremism is coming not from governments nor intelligence
agencies, but from specialist journalists and scholarsTo
that list should be added Jason Burke. The most reliable and
perceptive guide to the rise of militant Islam yet published
full of new and important information, much of it gathered
on the ground. His obvious knowledge of, and affection for,
the people of the region gives his grim message a credibility
lacking in the ranting of so many other commentators on
Islamic terror William Dalrymple, Observer

Jason Burke has undertaken an impressive amount of both
desk and field research to challenge the myth of al-Qaeda as
a monolith orchestrating terrorist activity worldwide
Peter Marsden, author of The Taliban: War and Religion
in Afghanistan

Al-Qaeda stands out as a beacon of reasoned critical
scholarship; a must-read for anybody with a genuine interest in
an organization that has become a metaphor for the evil of our
times Burkes book might even help us understand why the
war on terror risks making things worse Australian Age

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jason Burke is the prize-winning Chief Reporter for the London Observer. He has covered the Middle East and southwest Asia for a decade, and saw many of the key events described in this book at first hand. He is also the author of On the Road to Kandahar: Travels through conflict in the Islamic world, published by Penguin.

JASON BURKE

The True Story of Radical Islam

Third Edition

PENGUIN BOOKS

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First published as Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror by I. B. Tauris 2003
This revised edition first published by Penguin Books 2004
Reissued in Penguin Books with further amendments 2007

Copyright Jason Burke, 2003, 2004, 2007
All rights reserved

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Except in the United States ofAmerica, this book is sold subject
to the condition that it shall not, by way oftrade or otherwise, be lent,
re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers
prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in
which it is published and without a similar condition including this
condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

EISBN: 9780141901329

In the memory of
Samuel Burke and Sidney Marks.

In the memory of victims of terrorism
and victims of the war on terrorism.

Photographic acknowledgements are given in parentheses.

I have many people to thank. I am particularly indebted to my colleagues at the Observer. Roger Alton, Paul Webster, Andy Malone, John Mulholland, Allan Jenkins and many others have taught me a huge amount and have provided unfailing support. Other reporters on the newspaper, especially Martin Bright, have been generous with their time and contacts. I owe Peter Beaumont, a great reporter and friend, a lot. For their faith in my days as a penurious freelancer, thanks are due to Leonard Doyle and Ian Birrell at the Independent. Without Ciaran Byrnes advice at Lambeth town hall in 1993, things would have been very different.

I also have to thank the many colleagues outside the newspaper who have been so generous with their own work, advice and resources both during the writing of this book and on innumerable days in the field. They must include Abdul Bari Atwan, Scott Peterson, Adrian Levy, Alex Milner, Paul Danahar, Munir Ahmed, Zaffar Abbas, Ahmed Zaidan, Janaullah Hashimzada, Rory McCarthy, Ibrahim, Said Aburish, John Aglionby, Stephen Farrell, Luke Hunt, Syed Salahuddin, Fareed, Mirwais, Abdullah, Ahmed Shah and Azzam in Kabul, Muzamil Jaleel in Srinagar, Peter Popham, Tim Judah, Ben Brown and Dilip Hiro. There are many, many others who have been excellent company on long journeys in strange places, far too many to list here.

I was enormously lucky to be able to tap the profound scholarship of Malise Ruthven, who very kindly read much of my manuscript at very short notice and made many invaluable suggestions. Peter Bergen gave me the benefit of his own deep knowledge with a similarly detailed reading of the book. Brian Whitaker was generous and patient, as were Gilles Kepel, Owen Bennett Jones, Camille Tawil, Peter Marsden and Alice Perman. I am very grateful to them all. My thanks to Simon Reeve too.

Ilyas Masih is the best driver in Pakistan. His brother, Taj, is the second best. Ershad Mahmud of Islamabads IPS and Alexander Evans have been particularly helpful. Ala Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was a huge help in northern Iraq. In five years living or working in Pakistan and Afghanistan, there are many, many people who have assisted me in one way or another. Hundreds of people from prime ministers and presidents to shepherds and kebab-sellers enabled me to travel and work in safety in such interesting times. My thanks to Karen Davies as well. There are many others, diplomats, policemen and security officials in the UK, the Middle East and the Far East, whom I cannot thank by name. They know who they are and I am grateful to them. I owe Ashleigh Lezard thanks too.