In May 2000, British investigators searching the apartment of a suspected Al Qaeda terrorist in Manchester discovered a veritable "terrorist cookbook." This revealing document, which later was submitted as evidence in the African embassy bombing trials in the United States, clearly outlines the goals of terrorist cell members and many of their techniques. This edition, translated by the FBI Counterterrorism Division, provides a wide-ranging view of Al Qaeda's ideology and operational philosophy, as well as the kind of hard-headed, practical advice it inculcates in its members. The manual discusses the development of security plans for terrorist acts, including assassinations, establishment and maintenance of safe houses and meeting places, and the use of counterfeit currency, forged identity documents, and codes and ciphers. Other sections deal with weapons training and the manufacture of explosive devices and booby traps. Some sensitive parts of this section have been redacted to allow for public release. In one particularly chilling "lesson," the manual states: "The religious scholars have also permitted the killing of a hostage if he insists on withholding information from Moslems...The scholars have also permitted the exchange of hostages for money, services, and expertise, as well as secrets of the enemy's army, plans, and numbers." Of particular interest are the sections on surveillance detection and evasion, how to maintain cover in foreign lands, and how to deal with arrest and interrogation. Most important, the manual provides insight into the general mindset of radical Islamic terrorists and should prove useful to law enforcement officers involved in counterterrorism investigations, as well as members of the military, scholars researching the theory and practice of contemporary terrorism, and anyone interested in the mentality and operational activities of Al Qaeda and related groups. 182 pages, ill.

In popular and academic literature, jihad is predominantly assumed to refer exclusively to armed combat, and martyrdom in the Islamic context is understood to be invariably of the military kind. This perspective, derived mainly from legal texts, has led to discussions of jihad and martyrdom as concepts with fixed, universal meanings divorced from the socio-political circumstances in which they have been deployed through the centuries. Asma Afsaruddin studies in a more holistic manner the range of significations that can be ascribed to the term jihad from the earliest period to the present and historically contextualizes the competing discourses that developed over time. Many assumptions about the military jihad and martyrdom in Islam are thereby challenged and deconstructed. A comprehensive interrogation of varied sources reveals early and multiple competing definitions of a word that in combination with the phrase fi sabil Allah translates literally to "striving in the path of God." Contemporary radical Islamists have appropriated this language to exhort their cadres to armed political opposition, which they legitimize under the rubric of jihad. Afsaruddin shows that the multivalent connotations of jihad and shahid recovered from the formative period lead us to question the assertions of those who maintain that belligerent and militant interpretations preserve the earliest and only authentic understanding of these two key terms. Retrieval of these multiple perspectives has important implications for our world today in which the concepts of jihad and martyrdom are still being fiercely debated.

Ayman al-Zawahiri--co-founder of al Qaeda and successor to bin Laden--was one of the most influential terrorists of the modern era. In the first in-depth biography of the Egyptian doctor and ideologue, Sajjan M. Gohel meticulously unpacks al-Zawahiri's long career, which spanned over 50 years, in the growth and evolution of transnational terrorism. From an illustrious Egyptian family, al-Zawahiri chose to rebel against his own society and the international order. Through his travels across multiple continents, the Egyptian found himself in many of the places where history was made. A pioneer of terrorist strategies and tactics, al-Zawahiri left an indelible legacy for al-Qaeda and other terrorists to build upon.

In light of asymmetrical security threats in western democracies as well as in conflict regions, this timely book examines the actors, strategies and tactics of Islamist terrorism and transnational organized crime around the globe. The authors develop an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the ideologies, forms of cooperation, and technological means used in new forms of terrorism. The book starts with an empirical analysis of the new Jihadism as a global Islamist theology and strategy. Furthermore, it investigates the interaction, cooperation and fusion of transnational organized crime and Islamist terrorism and highlights new communication technologies as vital tools for terrorism. Lastly, the book provides an analysis of asymmetrical strategies and tactics used by terrorist organisations, and of low-level terrorism. As such, it will appeal to all political scientists and criminologists studying terrorism, as well as to professionals at various national and international security services.