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 This book focuses on the crises facing al-Qaeda and how the mass killing of Muslims is challenging its credibility as a leader among Islamist jihadist organizations. The book argues that these crises are directly related to al-Qaeda's involvement in the extremist violence perpetrated against Muslims in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in the decade since 9/11. Al-Qaeda's public and private responses to this violence have varied widely. While al-Qaeda has publicly justified these attacks by declaring them a necessary evil in order to establish a state of 'true believers,' al-Qaeda privately advises its local affiliates to refrain from killing Muslims.

 To better understand the crises facing al-Qaeda, the book examines the development of al-Qaeda’s complex relationship with (mis)appropriations and radical manifestations of takfir, which allow one Muslim to declare another a heretic, and its unique relationship with each of its affiliates in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The author then goes on to consider how the prominence of takfir contributes to the deterioration of security in those countries and how this affects al-Qaeda’s credibility as an Islamist terrorist organization.

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 The book concludes by examining the long-term viability of al-Qaeda and how its demise could enable the rise of the even more radical and violent Islamic State, and the implications this has for the future security of the Middle East, North Africa, and Central/South Asia. To purchase the book, click here