Shahram Akbarzadeh

This is an exhilarating coverage of everything to do with the politics of the Middle East. Gilles Kepel takes the reader on a journey over the trouble spots and offers a bird’s eye view of the complexities of Islamic radicalism in the region. The book starts slowly but soon settles into a quick pace, taking the reader from place to place and event to event with case and mastery. Kepel does not s ... (read more)

What can explain the growing assertiveness of Islamist groups? Why are key aspects of the Islamic faith and civilisation that helped Islam flourish in its Golden Age – respect for life and property, philanthropy, tolerance and a thirst for science – being sidelined in the Muslim world? How can we explain the seemingly unstoppable slide from rational thinking in the Muslim world? ... (read more)