''The War for Muslim Minds'' is the English translation of ''Fitna: guerre au coeur de l'Islam,'' a 2004 book by French author and
Islamic studies scholar
Gilles Kepel. It was translated from the original French by
Pascale Ghazaleh
Pascale is a common Francophone given name, the feminine of the name Pascal. The same spelling is also an Italian form of the masculine name ''Pascal'', and an Italian surname derived from the given name.
Pascale derives from the Latin ''pas ...
. The book explores
Islam's relationship to the West, especially in the aftermath of the
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
. Kepel concludes that most Muslims oppose the attacks on civilians and other militant tactics employed by
Islamist extremists and that these actions are hurting them.
In researching this book, Kepel traveled in both the
Middle East and the
West, interviewing leaders across the
Islamic world
The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...
, as well as Western analysts and European diplomats. He asked them about the rising tide and disaffection of Islamist elements in the West. His argument, based on his findings, was that the most important battle in the war for Muslim minds over the next decade would be fought in Islamic communities in the West, many of which are located in the outskirts of major cities such as
Paris and
London.
External links
*
The War for Muslim Minds-
Harvard University Press page
2004 non-fiction books
Non-fiction books about jihadism
{{islam-book-stub