Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism

Book excerpt: With an unsettled Middle East, al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups actively plotting against America and its allies, and spillover from religious conflict in Muslim countries spreading instability and violence worldwide, George Weigel’s Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism is an acute analysis of one of the most dynamic forces in world politics today – Islamist jihadism. After tracing the complex historical and theological roots of the jihadist movement, Weigel offers a comprehensive strategy for defeating jihadism and supporting those forces within Islam that seek a Muslim accommodation with religious freedom, the separation of religious and political authority in the state, and other key accomplishments of political modernity. Above all, Weigel insists, the West must take seriously the religious origins and rationale of jihadism if it is to meet the challenge posed by men of violence who claim to act in the name of God. Essential reading in a time of momentous political decisions, Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism is a clarion call for a new seriousness of debate and a new clarity of purpose in American public life.