no. 12 autumn 2007 QQualityuality Non-Fiction From Holland 111G2581G258 NNON-FICTIE.inddON-FICTIE.indd 1 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:3709:19:37 Hans Jansen is Professor of Contem- porary Islamic Thought at the University Hans Jansen of Utrecht. He frequently publishes work on modern radical Islam or ‘jihad ideology’ and in 1997 he edited the Dutch translation of the Koran. His The Historical Mohammed previous books include The Neglected Duty (1986), The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism (1997) and The Usefulness of God (2001). The Historical Mohammed looks primarily Ishaaq as a reliable source. at the legendary Mohammed as portrayed The fantasy Mohammed of legend has * in old, unreliable biographies. But this lost none of his importance over the cen- The Historical Mohammed is a courageous Mohammed, although a product of the turies and many Muslims still regard him and important book, and its accessibil- imagination, has probably made a deeper as an infallible example. For them the ity makes it unique. impression on world history than his biographies are historically accurate and nrc handelsblad historical namesake who, Islam specialist they believe it is possible to deduce from Jansen has produced a minor master- Hans Jansen believes, almost certainly them how they must follow the prophet. piece, a scholarly historical commen- did exist. This is dangerous, Jansen argues, since the tary on an early-medieval text that biographies are marked by a bloodlust that offers an insight into Islamic orthodoxy, Jansen has no illusions that researchers is contagious even after fourteen centuries. is a pleasure to read, yet also makes a will ever discover the real, historical The prophet commits many mass murders, link with contemporary times – an Mohammed. The source material is too particularly of Jews. Cynicism is rife. ‘Keep achievement few Arabists can match. fragmentary. In his account he takes as that she-devil away from me,’ exclaims de volkskrant his starting point an Arabic biography Mohammed as a Jewish woman weeps at * written by Ibn Ishaaq in the mid-eighth the sight of the bodies of Jewish men at the publishing details century, around 120 years after the pre- Khaybar oasis, where he also has a man De historische Mohammed: de Mekkaanse sumed date of Mohammed’s death. Jansen tortured to death. verhalen (2005) & de verhalen uit Medina shows how this biography, like other old For extremist Muslims these ancient (2007) Arabic biographies, is full of fabrications. stories convey commands that are as valid De Mekkaanse verhalen 312 pp He wonders how generations of Western today as ever. Jansen suggests that the (88,000 words) experts were able to follow the example murder of fi lmmaker Theo van Gogh in De verhalen uit Medina 234 pp of orthodox Muslims in accepting Ibn 2004, for example, perfectly fi ts the pattern (62,000 words) of assassination of those who mock, re- With references gularly ordered by the prophet. A close 7,000 copies sold acquaintance of Van Gogh, Jansen is a * formidable participant in the current translated titles debate surrounding Islam in The Nether- The Neglected Duty. New York: Macmil- lands and he denounces attempts by col- lan, 1986. leagues in the fi eld to gloss over uglier The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamental- aspects of the faith, one such being the ny ism. London/Ithaca : Hurst/Cornell acclaimed Scottish academic William University Press, 1997. Montgomery Watt. The Historical Mohammed. Munich: Beck, In The Historical Mohammed Jansen tries in preparation. to remain charitable, even funny, but the * underlying tone is sombre. The dazzling rights narratives and sometimes delightful jokes De Arbeiderspers are outweighed by horror stories. Herengracht 370-372 nl - 1016 ch Amsterdam t +31 20 524 75 00 f +31 20 622 49 37 e [email protected] www.arbeiderspers.nl 2 111G2581G258 NNON-FICTIE.inddON-FICTIE.indd 2 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:4009:19:40 Journalist Janny Groen has worked for de Volkskrant since 1980, including Janny Groen en Annieke Kranenberg a period as its us correspondent. She has published books on South Africa, America and religion. Annieke Kranen- berg has been at de Volkskrant since Allah’s Woman Warriors 1998, writing among other things about the Yugoslavia Tribunal and the murderers of Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh. Janny Groen and Annieke Kranenberg Gogh in 2004. They talked with heavily are the fi rst investigative journalists to veiled young women, who were remarkably * have succeeded in penetrating the social frank, mainly because they felt publication We need ideas and stories to counteract world of radical Muslim women. Allah’s would be good ‘dawa’ – a way of winning terrorist stories – and to keep potential Woman Warriors is the breathtaking story others to Islam. recruits away from the temptations of of what goes on in the heads of these For almost two years the two journalists the jihad. This book represents a major young women who seem so impervious maintained close contacts with a group contribution. jessica stern, kennedy school of govern- and unreachable. of Muslim women. They found themselves ment, harvard university, author of in an unfamiliar and oppressive world THE ULTIMATE TERRORIST AND TERROR IN The Dutch secret services recently reported where patiently, by trial and error, they THE NAME OF GOD that young Muslim women are allowing discovered how closely allied the women themselves to be led astray by extremist were to the jihadi-salafi stic movement, Groen and Kranenberg offer a wealth young men. This book demonstrates that which permits the killing of those who of material on the activities of these the opposite is true – the ‘sisters’ quite think differently, while at the same time young women. often develop a more radical outlook than being thoroughly Western and emanci- nrc handelsblad the men. Their lives are completely devoted pated. They read glossy magazines as * to Islam, polygamy is not unusual, and for well as the Koran and enjoy watching publishing details them the internet is a vital means of dis- television soaps. Strijdsters van Allah. Radicale moslima’s en seminating the doctrines of the faith. The authors show that radical Islam in het Hofstadnetwerk (2006) Groen and Kranenberg carried out their the West is a product of our own time. They 382 pp (80,000 words) unique investigation in The Netherlands in write for example about young Muslims With references the seething, tense atmosphere that fol- secretly entering into so-called supermar- * lowed the murder of fi lmmaker Theo van ket marriages. Little by little they fi nd out why these women in particular are being translated titles radicalised. At fi rst they talked mainly Allah’s Woman Warriors. Philadelphia (pa): University of Pennsylvania Press, in about religion, later they began asking preparation. questions about everyday life, parents, friends, sex and leisure pursuits. * The authors themselves describe the rights book as a sketch of the customs and mores Meulenhoff of the Dutch fundamentalist Islamic scene, Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 36 but Allah’s Woman Warriors is far more than nl - 1017 dg Amsterdam that, as American terrorism expert Jessica t +31 20 553 35 00 Stern points out in her foreword. The f +31 20 625 11 35 e [email protected] tolerant Netherlands is often regarded as www.meulenhoff.nl Western Europe’s ‘laboratory of radical Islam’. This is therefore a crucial document for anyone interested in the process of radicalisation among young people, or ‘home-grown terrorism’. Groen and Kranenberg show that ‘Allah’s woman warriors’ are certainly approachable and in this sense their book is not only impor- tant but optimistic. 3 111G2581G258 NNON-FICTIE.inddON-FICTIE.indd 3 228-08-20078-08-2007 09:19:4009:19:40 Frank Westerman is the author of The Bridge over the Tara (1994), Srebenica Frank Westerman (1997), The Republic of Grain (1999) and Engineers of the Soul (2002). These last two titles were awarded prestigious prizes in The Netherlands and became Ararat bestsellers. In 2005 Westerman received the Golden Owl Literature Prize for El Negro and Me (2004). As so often among Western Europeans, and God made his covenant with mankind. * religion had slipped out of Frank Wester- Westerman had seen the mountain once on Westerman unites the best of two man’s life unnoticed – until he became a the horizon. Now he sets out to confront it, worlds: the brainpower, curiosity and father and wondered which aspects of a challenge both physical and religious. As precision of the scientist with the his own religious background and up- such, Ararat becomes a symbol of religion, freedom and artistry of the literary bringing he wanted to pass on to his and in attempting to conquer it, he aims to writer who uses language to feel out daughter. Ararat is a piece of highly person- discover ‘whether I was capable of freeing those things that escape our under- standing. vrij nederland al journalism, splendidly combining myself from that inheritance.’ Westerman’s own questions with the The book is not unambiguous in its Ararat is a clever book, because Wester- history of religion, political confl ict and answer. During the climb Westerman feels man has managed to create an exciting advances in scientifi c research. faith steadily recede from him. The ques- story out of this complex subject matter. tions he poses at the foot of the mountain het parool Westerman returns to the village where he remain unanswered and he is certainly not * grew up and speaks to his former maths converted. Nevertheless he quotes with teacher, a man no less well-versed in the approval the Russian cosmonaut who for publishing details Scriptures than he is steeped in the truths years had to propound the offi cial doctrine Ararat (2007) 284 pp (80,000 words) of mathematics.