03430cam a2200373 i 4500 281320308 TxAuBib 20161228120000.0 161220s2017||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 9780812988758 0812988752 (OCoLC)964928522 TxAuBib rda Wood, Graeme. The way of the strangers : encounters with the Islamic State / Graeme Wood. 1st ed. New York : Random House, 2017. xxix, 317 p. : ill. ; 25 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references (p.[285]-305) and index. The Islamic State view of humanity -- A note on terminology -- Prologue -- The chosen sect -- Madness and methodology -- Musa cerantonio -- Yahya the American -- A dream deferred -- Dissent -- The war of the end of time -- Afterlife. LJ 09/15/2016. Tens of thousands of men and women have left comfortable, privileged lives to join the Islamic State and kill for it. To them, its violence is beautiful and holy, and the caliphate a fulfillment of prophecy and the only place on earth where they can live and die as Muslims. The Way of the Strangers is an intimate journey into the minds of the Islamic State's true believers. From the streets of Cairo to the mosques of London, Wood interviews supporters, recruiters, and sympathizers of the group. We meet an Egyptian tailor who once made bespoke suits for Paul Newman and now wants to live, finally, under Shariah; a Japanese convert who believes that the eradication of borders--one of the Islamic State's proudest achievements--is a religious imperative; and a charming, garrulous Australian preacher who translates the group's sermons and threats into English and is accused of recruiting for the organization. We also learn about a prodigy of Islamic rhetoric, now stripped of the citizenship of the nation of his birth and determined to see it drenched in blood. Wood speaks with nonIslamic State Muslim scholars and jihadists, and explores the group's idiosyncratic, coherent approach to Islam. The Islamic State is bent on murder and apocalypse, but its followers find meaning and fellowship in its utopian dream. Its first caliph, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, has declared that he is the sole legitimate authority for Muslims worldwide. The theology, law, and emotional appeal of the Islamic State are key to understanding it--and predicting what its followers will do next. Through character study and analysis, Wood provides a clear-eyed look at a movement that has inspired so many people to abandon or uproot their families. Many seek death--and they will be the terror threat of the next decade, as they strike back against the countries fighting their caliphate. Just as Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower informed our understanding of Al Qaida, Graeme Wood's The Way of the Strangers will shape how we see a new generation of terrorists. 20161228. IS (Organization.) Terrorists Syria. Terrorists Iraq. Terrorism Religious aspects Islam. Terrorism Middle East. Middle East History 21st century. TXDRI