| | |  | Threats & Solutions | Home » » Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World | | | | | | | Description: | | A decade after the 9/11 attacks, this groundbreaking book by a preeminent reporter takes readers deep into the struggle within the Muslim world where a growing movement defies and challenges extremism and repudiates Osama bin Laden, his deviant doctrine, and his violent disciples. Robin Wright, an acclaimed foreign correspondent and television commentator, has witnessed the angry birth, violent rise, and globalization of Islamic militancy for almost four decades. In her recent reporting, she discovers a stunning new trend spreading within the Muslim world—the rejection of Islamic extremists. This is a historic evolution, slow to take off but now reaching critical mass. This trend is increasingly visible as clerics publicly repudiate Osama bin Laden, Muslim comedians ridicule militancy altogether, young Muslims rap against guns and bombs, women scholars launch liberation movements using the Koran, Pakistani villagers resist Taliban intrusions, and former Egyptian jihadis debate and then denounce violence. This new jihad, which Wright describes in its many manifestations, has various goals. For some Muslims, it’s about reforming the faith. For others, it’s about reforming political systems. For all, it is about achieving basic rights—on their own terms, not Western ones. What is at its heart is the rejection of venomous ideologies, suicide bombs, plane hijackings, hostage-takings, and mass violence. Muslims, Wright demonstrates, are doing what the West cannot—confronting extremism on its own terms and rescuing the faith from a virulent minority and changing history. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Robin Wright | | Hardcover:
| 320 pages | | Publisher:
| Simon & Schuster | | Publication Date:
| July 19, 2011 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 143910316X | | Product Length:
| 1.25 inches | | Product Width:
| 6.5 inches | | Product Height:
| 9.5 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.13 pounds | | Package Length:
| 9.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.2 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.2 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.15 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
| based on 13 reviews |
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| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
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( 13 customer reviews )
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41 of 43 found the following review helpful:
Wright's in-depth knowledge of Islamic societies' imparts insight to her Compelling Review and Analysis of Islamic SpringJul 26, 2011
By Didaskalex
"Eusebius Alexandrinus"
**** "Tunisia and Egypt both saw regime change in less than 30 days. Syria has now been going on five months. And in many ways, Syria is the most surprising and the most difficult place because it is such a brutal regime and it's also geographically right in the middle of, whether it's Israel on one front, the Gulf states on another, ..., that it is so pivotal to what happens in so many other places." -- Robin Wright
The Casbah, is the fortified citadel in many North African cities, similar to the citadel of Algiers in Algeria, governor's headquarters. The name made its way into English from French in the late 19th century. "Rock the Casbah," expresses the mood of the Arab Spring and the revolt against their Muslim dictators. Over the last few decades, tensions have been brewing in Arabic and Muslim countries on the South and East Mediterranean shores, and around the Gulf of Aden. The Arab Spring has targeted several regimes in the Middle East; first, Tunisia's ruler Ben Ali, then Egypt's Mubarak was forced to step down, leaving the country with uncertain future; and Egypt western neighbor, Libya, has since a civil war to oust Qadhafi after forty years of lunatic dictatorship. Assad's cling to power caused Syria hundreds of deaths and thousands of civilian causalities. Meanwhile Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh; is recovering from his wounds and burns caused by a rocket attack, has vowed to fight to the death against the Yemeni tribes lining up against him.
Robin Wright reviews the chaotic situation caused by the political unrest, populous revolts, and civil wars in the Middle East, and across the Islamic World. She portrays those events as part of a general trend, "the counter-jihad, which is unfolding in the wider Islamic bloc of fifty-seven countries as well as among Muslim minorities worldwide." Young Muslims under 30, constitute a majority in the Islamic world, they are at the forefront of this dramatic change. Not just the protestors blockades in Egypt and Tunisia, but on the demonstration platforms in Morocco and Jordan and even on television in Saudi Arabia. She believes that citizens of Muslim majority countries are not only rocking autocratic regimes, but are also counter revolting the violent extremism of terrorist organizations: Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and the fundamentalist Islamic ideology of Muslim Brotherhood, Wahabi Salafis financed by gulf autocratic regimes, and Iran's supported Hamas and Hizbullah fueling terrorism and theocratic rule in Iran.
Wright's in-depth knowledge of Islamic societies cultures and traditions imparts meaning to facts and circumstance provided in every paragraph of "Rock the Casbah." As she compellingly comments, the critical balance between religion and modernity may cause Western observers a great concern. Young generation of Muslim women, she describes as "committed to their faith, firm about their femininity, and resolute about their rights," will cause a pang of uneasy feelings in most observing feminists, distrustful of the Islamic proclamation that "hejab is now about liberation, not confinement" which uncovers an appeasing deal between Muslim girls and society. Meanwhile, she does not reduce the difficulty of the undertaking facing those in search of an authentic form of islamic democracy.
Her final chapters briefly describes political chaos following revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, and the ongoing battles of brutal oppression in Libya, Syria and Yemen. Various demonstration of dissatisfaction, modes of protest in the hope of achieving some success across the Islamic world, are surveyed; without any attempt to predict their near or ultimate outcomes. She warns that, "There is still a wild ride ahead," because new government will be in a position to meet the popular high expectations of either jobs or social justice in the foreseeable future.
27 of 29 found the following review helpful:
Rock the Casbah Rocks!Aug 02, 2011
By gracie412 In her new book, Rock the Casbah, Robin Wright describes the events of the Arab Spring as examples of a regional "counter-jihad," where young Muslims, who constitute a majority in the Islamic world, are not only fighting to overthrow their own autocratic regimes, but are revolting against the violent extremism of terrorist organizations throughout the region: from Al Qaeda, the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and Wahhabi Salafis financed by gulf royalty, to Iran's support of Hamas and Hezbollah.
We forget or we fail to acknowledge in this country how Islam has been hijacked by the fanatical few. Just as we wouldn't want America to be represented by the McVeigh's or the Unabombers, we shouldn't rush to judge entire land masses, nationalities and religions based on their extremists.
This book is a fascinating portrait of the Arab Spring, Wright's analysis is thoughtful and erudite. Strangely enough, I just finished reading another portrait of the Arab Spring, a fictional dark comedy called The Publicist by Veronica Wright(a relation?).
Both books -- one non-fiction, and one fiction -- make fascinating and entertaining reading about the Islamic pro-Democracy movement. I have a feeling I'll be referring to both books as the real life story continues to unfold.
19 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Rock the CasbahAug 14, 2011
By jem Remarkable book both in details and perspective that most of the US media are missing. Listening to poets historically revered in the Middle East, hip-hop rappers utilizing new technology, feminists in pink hejab, standup comedians mocking irrational fears of all Muslims, and Muslim clerics with a wide television following, Robin Wright has caught the backlash within the Muslim community against Islamic extremism that only her years of experience as an international journalist can interpret. This is a must read for any American who really wants to understand the current turmoil across the Middle East. Despite Wright's warning that the young revolutionaries expect too much too soon, and her cautions that all change encounters setbacks, her overall perspective is definitely encouraging. She has great faith that it will be the worldwide Muslim community that determines its own fate. It would be helpful if American politicians and diplomats were listening more closely to this reporter who has spent years developing an understanding not only of Middle Eastern leadership but the vast variations among Sunni and Shia populations in countries with very different cultures. For the majority of Americans who do not have a close Muslim friend nor the opportunity to travel in a Muslim country, reading this book is the next best thing.
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
A post 9/11 mustSep 03, 2011
By Paulette Lee Anyone who has wondered, "Why don't Muslims speak out about Islamic extremism?", or wants to know the behind-the-scenes details about the "Arab Spring" revolutions and where the Arab world is headed, must read this book. It's a fascinating, well-researched, detailed account of what the Muslim youth (primarily) are doing about taking control of their futures -- and their religion -- and how they're doing it.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
The Spark that Ignited the Arab SpringSep 05, 2011
By Pete Rosato and Barbara Rosato I heard Robin Wright interviewed on PBS NewsHour. That interview led me to purchase this book which is essentially a series of events that occurred in Arabic/Muslim countries over the past 12-15 months. The book provided to me an understanding of what ignited the recent protests in the Arab/Muslim world. I now have considerably more hope for democratic style freedoms in those areas of the world. This is a very readable book, one that the reader will enjoy while being informed.
See all 13 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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