Jihad Academy: The Rise of Islamic State

Nicolas Hénin

Sep 2015 · Bloomsbury Publishing

About this ebook

When you keep repeating that the worst is about to happen, it finally does. The threat of terrorism has caught up with us. By invading Iraq in 2003 and not intervening in Syria since 2011, we have helped fuel radicalization. And we continue to fuel it, by making diplomatic compromises with dictators, by refusing to heed the suffering of populations, and by failing to invent counter-speech. What is the responsibility of our societies in the creation of these new jihadists? How are they molded? How have we played the Islamic State's game and spread its propaganda, allowing it to invade our neighborhoods and enlist more and more recruits ready to fight for a distorted fantasy of Islam? Nicolas Hénin presents the case against the West, showing how its mistakes and inaction have contributed to the disaster. He also advances possible strategies to repair what can still be repaired.

Ratings and reviews

This book has done what I hoped it would. The author consicely provides the reader with appropriate information to allow the reader to comprehend why ISIS was formed and why it continues to prosper despite its barbaric tactics. I had hoped to read about his ordeal but I am happy he wrote about the psychosocial and geopolitical factors surrounding the conflicts amongst the forces fighting for legitimacy amongst civilians in Iraq and Syria. At times, the book gets a bit complicated with all the different groups involved in the conflict, but the author has an excellent grasp of the complex Dynamics and does a superb job trying to connect them. No, it isn't a comprehensive book about the middle-eastern conflict but it does provide you with the appropriate basic concepts to make sense of it all. If you're a physician, this book is your Anatomy class (perhaps not extremely detailed). It's the best reference I can think of at this time. Definitely worth a read.

A much needed perspective correction

About the author

A freelance journalist (Le Point, Arte, etc.), Nicolas Hénin has spent most of his career between Iraq and Syria. From the fall of Bagdad to the capture of Raqqa, he has witnessed the events leading to the rise of the Islamic State. He has come into very close contact with jihadists. (He was held hostage by the Islamic State in Syria for ten months.)