This collection was far too rich to be pressed into a brief review. This book needs to be read in depth, especially by those wanting to know more about specific local problems experienced in certain parts of South Asia today, specifically Balochistan, Afghanistan and the Pashtun region, and Pakistan and Bangladesh. Readers should expect to find quite disturbing yet insightful material, presented from various insider perspectives, often in the words of people with direct experience of violence.

South Asia Research

Richard L. Benkin has put forth a solid collection of essays on one of the most critical topics of the day—distinguishing between moderate Muslims and Islamists. With the growing threat of Islamist groups in the Middle East and their affiliates in the West, the issue of identifying moderates necessitates a clear and guided answer, which is detailed throughout these essays. This book is a must read for anyone seeking to understand the complexities and nuances of the Muslim world at large.

Asaf Romirowsky, Middle East Forum

Is Islam at its core ‘moderate’ or ‘radical’? Can the ‘moderates’ ultimately win out over the ‘extremists’ in a battle for the soul of Islam? How does ‘radical Islam’ gain a foothold in Muslim communities that have lived in peace with their non-Muslim neighbors? In this eye-opening book, Richard L. Benkin and an array of South Asian Muslim scholars confront these questions and more. The emphasis on Pakistan and Bangladesh creates a fascinating paradigm with numerous applications to study of the larger Islamic world. Essential reading for all those—especially policymakers—who are baffled as to how and why Islam’s jihad imperative has made, after a long period of relative (but not absolute) quiescence, such an unexpected and spectacular reappearance in the modern world.

Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch