Jihad Academy: The Rise of Islamic State
by Nicolas Hénin
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Politics. Religion & Spirituality. Nonfiction. A former Islamic State hostage and veteran Middle East journalist explores misperceptions of Islamic State and their consequences.For more than a decade, French journalist Nicolas Hénin has reported from the front lines of conflict in the Middle East, much of his time spent in Iraq and Syria. He witnessed the events leading to the rise of Islamic State, and in June 2013, he was himself captured by IS and spent ten months in captivity with James show more Foley and others who were beheaded soon after Hénin was released. Those barbarities and the first strikes against Islamic State prompted Hénin to present in Jihad Academy what he knows IS to be, in contrast to the misperceptions he sees perpetuated on an ongoing basis.Hénin sees Islamic State as a political entity, having arisen out of a sense of injustice and lack of hope and as the natural result of the Western inability to support Syrian democracy activists. The West, however, sees IS only as a terrorist organization, ignoring its political message and goals; by doing so, we act as a recruitment agent for Islamic State and largely overlook the greatest victims of IS violence: civilians on the ground. IS will only be ultimately defeated, he argues, by the people of the region, just as others have overthrown groups that practiced political violence on their people.Jihad Academy is a fresh and powerful assessment by a writer with the perspective of a historian, the passion of a journalist long committed to the region, and the credibility of someone who has witnessed terrorism firsthand. Hénin's is an important new voice in the ongoing debate about our role in the Middle East. show lessTags
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The author, French journalist Nicolas Henin, has a unique perspective on ISIS, having been held captive by them for approximately 10 months. In his book, "Jihad Academy", he makes the point that we in the West are playing into the hands of ISIS in Syria, basically because we don’t understand the players. There's the Assad forces, which we oppose, and the ISIS forces, which we oppose, and the various rebel groups who we struggle to support. To many Syrians, Assad's troops are as bad as or worse than the ISIS fighters. And the various rebel groups don't appear to be receiving much support in terms of much needed weapons, money, intelligence, training, or ammunition.
When we do strike at ISIS targets, Henin believes our air strikes show more either hit the wrong people, or cause too much collateral damage. Add to that the fact that the Russians air strikes throughout Syria are taking a toll on all except Assad's military. As a result, the local people suffer and are forced to flee. They feel that we are ignoring their plight, and our opponents point to our policy failures as proof that we're unwilling or unable to help them. To the people in the region, our policies often make it appear as if we're really supporting the regime, and left with two bad choices, ISIS may appear to be the lesser of two evils.
To prevail in the region, we need to work harder to win the hearts and minds of the people. According to Henin, our practices and policies are, more often than not, adding to the misery and disaster for the local people, and fueling our enemies. If we can provide security for the people, and provide hope for a political solution, ISIS would be weakened substantially.
Henin's book provides an understanding of the current crisis in Syria, and how ISIS has grown during the crisis. He did not go into as much detail looking into who the key ISIS leaders are, and how ISIS began and grew to such a force in the area. For that background, I recommend Joby Warrick's book "Black Flags". show less
When we do strike at ISIS targets, Henin believes our air strikes show more either hit the wrong people, or cause too much collateral damage. Add to that the fact that the Russians air strikes throughout Syria are taking a toll on all except Assad's military. As a result, the local people suffer and are forced to flee. They feel that we are ignoring their plight, and our opponents point to our policy failures as proof that we're unwilling or unable to help them. To the people in the region, our policies often make it appear as if we're really supporting the regime, and left with two bad choices, ISIS may appear to be the lesser of two evils.
To prevail in the region, we need to work harder to win the hearts and minds of the people. According to Henin, our practices and policies are, more often than not, adding to the misery and disaster for the local people, and fueling our enemies. If we can provide security for the people, and provide hope for a political solution, ISIS would be weakened substantially.
Henin's book provides an understanding of the current crisis in Syria, and how ISIS has grown during the crisis. He did not go into as much detail looking into who the key ISIS leaders are, and how ISIS began and grew to such a force in the area. For that background, I recommend Joby Warrick's book "Black Flags". show less
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Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- General David Petraeus; Donatella Rovera; Bashar al-Assad
- Important places
- Syria; Middle East; Iraq
- Quotations
- It is still too early to say whether Iraq will be able to heal its wounds by bridging the Shia-Sunni divide. It looks like an impassable hurdle and makes the country's survival as a united state unlikely (104)
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, General Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality
- DDC/MDS
- 363.325 — Social sciences Social problems and social services Other social problems and services Other aspects of public safety Social conflict Terrorism
- LCC
- HV6433 .I722 .H46 — Social sciences Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Crimes and offenses
- BISAC
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- 47
- Popularity
- 634,299
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.25)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 2
