World almanac of Islamism 2011 / American Foreign Policy Council.

From Western Europe to Asia, from the Middle East to the Horn of Africa, societies are finding themselves under growing assault from radical Islamist forces. In some countries, such as Spain and France, the challenge posed by radical Islam is still limited in scope and embryonic in nature. But in others, including Somalia and Pakistan, it poses a mortal danger to the future of the existing state. The World Almanac of Islamism is the first comprehensive reference work to detail the global reach of Islamism across six continents. Each country study, written by leading subject-matter experts, examines the full scope of the Islamist phenomenon, from the activities of radical Islamist groups to the role of Islamist actors and ideas in society to the response - or complicity - of the local government. An additional series of "movement" studies explores the global reach, ideology, and capabilities of the world's most powerful transnational Islamist movements. Finally, the Almanac includes regional summaries and a global overview designed to provide context and strategic insights into current and emerging trends relating to Islamism the world over.

This collection makes a major contribution toward properly defining the Islamist threat and paving the way for the implementation of more effective strategies to counter the rise of radical Islamism by the United States and its allies. It provides policymakers, the news media, scholars, and students with a more comprehensive understanding of the threat we now confront from Islamic extremism. Additionally, the full Almanac is available electronically in database form. It can be accessed online at almanac.afpc.org.

Author Notes

For nearly three decades, the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC) has played an essential role in the U.S. foreign policy debate. Founded in 1982, AFPC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing information to those who make or influence the foreign policy of the United States and to assisting world leaders with building democracies and market economies. AFPC is widely recognized as a source of timely, insightful analysis on issues of foreign policy and works closely with members of Congress, the executive branch, and the policymaking community. It is staffed by noted specialists in foreign and defense policy and serves as a valuable resource to officials in the highest levels of government.

Reviews (3)

Booklist Review

Islamism is defined here by the American Foreign Policy Council as movements, groups and individuals which harness religious values and ideals to serve a larger political agenda aimed at spreading or imposing Islamic law, either locally, regionally or internationally. Divided into geographic regions, such as North America or East Asia, this almanac provides a brief overview of Islamism in each region, followed by detailed reports for selected countries. The country reports all follow the same format, with sections on Islamist activity there; Islamism and society; and Islamism and the state. The latter two sections discuss, respectively, the place Islamists have within the greater society and the response to or support of Islamism by the country's government. Concluding the work are reports on a few of the larger Islamist groups, such as Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood, that all include descriptions of the group's history and ideology, global reach, and recent activity. All the reports are written by an expert on that country or group. No other reference work brings together so much historical and statistical information and analysis on global Islamism. The Historical Dictionary of Islamic Fundamentalist Movements in the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey (1999) is geographically more limited and was published more than a decade ago. The Dictionnaire geopolitique de l'islamisme (2009) may be inaccessible to some on account of language. It should be noted that the World Almanac of Islamism, 2011 is not a neutral reference source. It regards Islamism as a global threat, particularly to the West and liberal democracies, and aims to provide a better understanding of that threat and to inform policy decisions to counter it. Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries.--McConnell, Christopher Copyright 2010 Booklist

Choice Review

This is the inaugural edition of the World Almanac of Islamism, a comprehensive and thorough resource dedicated to tracking the rise and decline of radical Islam and its ideology at the national, regional, and global levels. The almanac's primary focus is on the contemporary Islamist threat and the current activities of radical Islamist movements. As with many American Foreign Policy Council publications, this new work is timely and extremely insightful in its topical analysis. It is very suitable for all levels of readership. Organized by global region and subsequently subdivided by country, the volume provides demographic statistics for each country/nation, followed by three distinct sections titled "Islamist Activities," "Islamism and Society," and "Islamism and the State." It concludes with extensive bibliographic information. Readers will find this work very well organized, insightful, and easy to use and comprehend. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. W. Jakub Franciscan University of Steubenville

Library Journal Review

Attempting to present a comprehensive guide to radical Islam and terrorism around the world, this volume provides entries on 57 countries across North America and seven other regions as well as a "Global Movements" section with background on al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Taliban, Muslim Brotherhood, Hizb ut-Tahrir-, and Tablighi Jamaat. The movements section would benefit greatly from the inclusion of more groups and explanations on how they relate to one another. Also, with different authors for each section, the entries feel uneven, and in some the term -Islamist is used synonymously with terrorist. For example, the section describing power struggles between Muslim factions in Albania is more informative than alarmist, and coverage of the tension between secularists and those pushing for an Islamic state in Syria has good background information on arrests, oppression, and protests. In contrast, the material on Canada describes it as a terrorist haven- and gives the impression that the country may be taken over by rapidly breeding cells of violent extremists. The introduction claims that there is "considerable evidence that Islamist groups.have begun to make significant inroads in Latin America," yet the only Latin American countries profiled are Nicaragua, as the country has diplomatic ties with Iran, Venezuela, which allegedly supports Hez-bollah, and Bolivia, which has a Muslim population of 2000 and no significant conflict. Including Bolivia purely because its government has a policy of tolerance and is not fond of the U.S. government is misleading, suggesting that the entire Muslim population there is a potential threat to the United States. VERDICT- Useful only for those who are already familiar with the topic of militant Islam.-Susanne Caro, Univ. of Montana Lib., Missoula (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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