Shade of Swords

THE SHADE OF SWORDS: M.J. Akbar writes the first cohensive history of jihad. From the Prophet Muhammed to the presence of British and American troops in Afghanistan, and more recently in Iraq, Akbar shows how jihad's origins lie in the earliest consciousness of Muslims, how it thrives on complex notions of persecution, victory and sacrifice. Jihad pervades the mind and soul of Islam. This book reveals its strength and significance, and this jihad has come to Iraq in a new, Shia dimension

M. J. Akbar is the editorial director of India Today and Headlines Today and editor of the Sunday Guardian. He is also an internationally published columnist and has authored several books, including India: The Siege Within: Challenges to a Nation’s Unity, Nehru: The Making of India, Riot after Riot, Kashmir: Behind the Vale, The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity, Byline, and Blood Brothers. Tinderbox is his first book to be published in the United States. He lives in Delhi.