The Mind of the Islamic State: ISIS and the Ideology of the Caliphate

In an epoch that seems fated repeatedly to face assaults from forces we didn’t see coming and find bewilderingly difficult to understand, this book is a revelation.”—Martin Krygier, Gordon Samuels Professor of Law and Social Theory, University of New South Wales, Australia . "If you want to understand how it all began, this is an essential read: a deep dive into how the ideologues behind salafi jihadism shaped the global menace that we now know as Islamic State."—Martin Chulov, Middle East correspondent for the Guardian"Manne has given us a crystal clear guide to jihadist thought: why they do what they do and why they believe what they believe. What political figures and specialists say to each other, Manne tells us. Essential reading for anyone interested in terrorism and how it has evolved, this concise but thorough study takes one on a

Between 1987 and 2005 he was a columnist on public affairs for all the main Australian newspapers--the Melbourne Herald, the Australian, the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Between 1990 and 1997 he was editor of one of Australia's most significant magazines of ideas, Quadrant. In Denial won the Queensland Premier's Prize in 2001 for a

He introduces readers to a strange, cruel, but internally coherent and consistent political ideology, which has now entered the minds of very large numbers of radicalized Muslims in the Middle East, North Africa, and the West.     However disturbing and unsettling, this book is essential reading for anyone concerned about terrorist violence.. This book traces the evolution of this ideology from its origins in the prison writings of the revolutionary jihadist Sayyid Qutb, through the thinking of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, who planned the 9/11 terrorist attack, to today's incendiary screeds that motivate terrorism via the Internet. Professor Manne provides close, original, and lucid readings of these important documents. Chief among these recent texts are two documents that provide the foundation for ISIS terrorism. The other is the online magazine of horror called Dabiq, which combines theological justifications with ultraviolent means, apocalyptic dreams, and genocidal ambitions. One is called The Management of Savagery, essentially a handbook for creating mayhem through acts of violence.