A Portrait of Egypt: A Journey Through the World of Militant Islam

by Mary Anne Weaver

Book Overview

For centuries Egypt has been a citadel of Islamic learning and thought, and since the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty in 1979, it has been of immense strategic importance to American... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374235422
• ISBN13: 9780374235420
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

The best pre 9/11 book on "Militant" Islam

The best pre 9/11 book written on mind-set, practices, and goals of Islamists. Mary Anne Weaver masterfully interweaves Egyptian history, with interviews between, the Islamists, clerics, university students, government officials, political thinkers, writers, lawyers, and common people. She documents from taped interviews the moral and religious justification for the militant Islamists behavior (e.g., forcing Egyptian Copts to pay Jizyah "tribute", and kill "those who oppose Islam" to plunder their wealth to buy more arms for Jihad). In 1997, this book gave a chilling portent of the global network that was developing and their goals for global Sharia. If you want the true dope from the horse's mouth, this is the book.

A Political Portrait

Don't expect a history of Egypt or a travel guide in this book--you won't find that kind of information--but you will find a very credible political analysis of Egypt today. I thought I was savvy about mid-East politics, but this book taught me a lot. Mary Ann Weaver makes a convincing case for the belief that Egypt is a ticking bomb of political discontent. I appreciate her thoughtful reporting, since the press is so preoccupied with Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, that Egypt is almost never in the news. Mary Ann Weaver is also an excellent writer.

Terrorism in Egypt

This is one of the best books I have read in a very long time. Mary Anne Weaver gave a very honest and true oponion of what goes on in Egypt. Her portrait of the Islamists and the rulers of Egypt is excellent. I just wish she could add her opinion on the horror of 9/11. Although I do not condone the treatment of the terrorists in Egypt, I strongly believe this was the only way to stop them. Those terrorists were brutal in their acts, and according to the Koran, they should be treated the same way they treated others. I applaud Ms. Weaver for her honesty and integrity and I highly recommend this book for all those who want to know about the mentality and the mind of the terrorists.

EXCELLENT OVERVIEW OF THE ISLAMIC EXTREMISM IN EGYPT

This is excellent reading for those of you who know little of modern Egyptian politics or the rise of the revolutionary Islam in the Middle East. This book shows exactly how the US military aid went awry in Afghanistan, it delineates the major extremist islamic organizations as well as key players involved. Throughout the years the author must have had incredible access to political leaders and oficials at all levels, including Mubarak, the current President in Egypt and Sheikh Abdel-Rahman, the mastermind of the first attack on the world trade center and the man believed to be behind the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. This book is not about Egypt, but the expansion of extremist Islam and the resultant struggle for power in it. Not only does this work show a connection between the Afghan war and the rise of Islamic extremism, but it also shows how Edyptian terrorists can be tied to Bin Ladin and how the US is drawn into the conflict beyond its support of Israel. Considering that this work was written well before the events of September 11, it is uncanny how accurate this book turned out to be with regards to its message of the dangers posed to the US by Islamic extremism.

A Very Good Read

This is one of the best books I've read about the Middle East. Until I did, I had no idea how significant a figure Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman was. The chapter about the "Afghan Arabs" was superb.The author's only mistake was not to interview a few of the people who have suffered because of the Islamic Group (like the Copts or perhaps even a survivor of the Luxor Massacre). As a result, she comes off as slightly one-sided.Still, an excellent book.