Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam

Covering aspects such as Jihad and charting the development of Osama bin Laden's early career this book seeks to shed some light on modern Islam and its links to terrorism.  Pointing out that Islam is not alone in its struggle with modernity (Christianity also struggles with it) this treatment is more understanding than many other works on the subject.  Esposito also recognises the limits and dangers of a 'war on terror' in terms of the limits that a military campaign can have in resolving the issue, and in the danger of a curtailment on civil liberties that such a war can 'justify'.  Esposito argues that only by seeking to understand and address the political and economic causes of this current wave of unrest can we hope to successfully end it and this is not necessarily best achieved through conflict.