Jihad : the rise of militant Islam in Central Asia

Ahmed Rashid, whose masterful account of Afghanistan's Taliban regime became required reading after September 11, turns his legendary skills as an investigative journalist to five adjacent Central Asian Republics—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—where religious repression, political corruption, and extreme poverty have created a fertile climate for militant Islam. Based on groundbreaking research and numerous interviews, Rashid explains the roots of fundamentalist rage in Central Asia, describes the goals and activities of its militant organizations, including Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, and suggests ways of neutralizing the threat and bringing stability to the troubled region. A timely and pertinent work, Jihad is essential reading for anyone who seeks to gain a better understanding of a region we overlook at our peril. The terrorist attacks of September 11 have turned the world's attention to areas of the globe about which we know very little. Ahmed Rashid, who masterfully explained Afghanistan's Taliban regime in his previous book, here turns his skills as an investigative journalist to the five Central Asian republics adjacent to Afghanistan.

Central Asia is coming to play a vital strategic role in the war on terrorism, but the region also poses new threats to global security. The five Central Asian republics-Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan-were part of the Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991. Under Soviet rule, Islam was brutally suppressed, and that intolerance has continued under the post-Soviet regimes. Religious repression, political corruption, and the region's extreme poverty (unemployment rates exceed 80 percent in some areas) have created a fertile climate for militant Islamic fundamentalism. Often funded and trained by such organizations as Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda and the Taliban, guerrilla movements like the IMU (Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan) have recruited a staggering number of members across the region and threaten to topple the governments of all five nations.

Based on groundbreaking research and numerous interviews, Jihad explains the roots of militant rage in Central Asia, describes the goals and activities of these militant organizations, and suggests ways in which this threat could be neutralized by diplomatic and economic intervention. Rich in both cultural heritage and natural resources-including massive oil reservoirs-Central Asia remains desperately poor and frighteningly volatile. In tracing the history of Central Asia andexplaining the current political climate, Rashid demonstrates that it is a region we ignore at our peril.

Author Biography: Ahmed Rashid is a journalist based in Lahore. He is the Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review and the Daily Telegraph. He also writes for the Wall Street Journal. Rashid's previous book, Taliban (published by Yale University Press), reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into more than twenty-five languages.

An exploration of the five Central Asian republics adjacent to Afghanistan - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Based on research and interviews, it explains the roots of militant rage in Central Asia and suggests ways in which this threat could be neutralised. The terrorist attacks of September 11 have turned the world's attention to areas of the globe about which we know very little. The author turns his skills as an investigative journalist to the five Central Asian republics adjacent to Afghanistan