Knowing the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror, by Mary Habeck.  New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2006.  $25, 240pp., ISBN 0-300-11306-4

"When the reality contradicts with Islam, it is not allowed to interpret Islam so as to agree with reality, because this would be a distortion of Islam; instead the duty requires changing the reality so as to conform to Islam."—Hizb al-Tahrir

This surreal quotation appears prominently in Habeck's analysis of jihadist ideology and is a stark reminder of what we're up against.   Habeck, an associate professor of international relations at Johns Hopkins, wisely reminds us that we must listen carefully to how "the jihadists explain their actions" to truly understand them.  To that end, she ranges from contemporary jihadists to their historical godfathers to try to sort out exactly what it is that they believe and want.  What would Mohammad do? 

What they don't want is instructive: They don't want individual freedom, democracy, capitalism, religious toleration, or anything else identified with secularism.  (Individual freedom—especially "'that satanic flood of female liberty and license which threatens to destroy human civilization"—is anathema because it allows people to do things that God condemns.)  And, they don't want to talk about it.  They have no interest in dialogue or compromise.  It's their way or the highway.

What they want—and they say it loud and clear if we'd just listen—is an Islamic utopia, a Caliphate rooted in shari'a that rules the entire world.  By selectively reading the Qur'an, jihadists argue that there is one God and one true religion and that God gave Muslims "the right to dominion over the world."  Despite this, the world's other religions—especially Judaism and Christianity—have sought to destroy Islam from its beginning.  This notion allows them to redefine jihad as broadly as possible: it can be defensive or offensive; no tactics or targets are forbidden; it must "continue until Islam has 'liberated' the entire world." 

Habeck shows us that none of this is exactly new.  Ideologues from centuries past like the 18th Century Saudi jurist Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, who were marginalized until the middle of the 20th Century, now are quoted by jihadists like Osama bin Laden.  Habeck also points out that the jihadist ideology is only one view of Islam, has been and remains a minority view, and doesn't have to succeed in its attempt to hijack the future of the religion. 

So, now that we've taken off our rose-colored glasses and listened to what the jihadists have planned for us, how should we respond?  It's at this point that Prof. Habeck loses her nerve—or wakes up and smells the coffee in the faculty lounge.  After pointing out that these people mean to destroy us and our way of life, don't care how much carnage it takes, have NO interest in dialogue or compromise, and are emboldened by weakness and appeasement, Prof. Habeck warns that we shouldn't get carried away.  "The military in particular," she writes, "should be used as sparingly as possible." 

What then should we do?  Well, how about "an equitable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict?"  Which solution, exactly?  Well, she doesn't say, but there's no evidence here that even the destruction of Israel would help.  Or, how about we "stigmatize the extremists and their war" by renaming the war on terror the "war on jihadism?"  Yeah, that should work.  And, longer term, she advises that we need to address the underlying issues like economic backwardness in Islamic countries. 

Shame on you, Professor.  This advice ignores the very words of the terrorists that you quote.  Weakness only encourages these guys.  Look at what bin Laden says on page 168: "'We have seen in the last decade the decline of the American government and the weakness of the American soldier who is ready to wage Cold Wars but unprepared to fight long wars." 

Habeck's analysis of the jihadist ideology is dead on and deserves careful consideration.  Her prescription for dealing with it isn't much better than a placebo.  For an honest and unflinching approach to dealing with this cancer, skip Habeck's final chapter and re-read Ralph Peters' New Glory.  After arriving at a similar understanding of the threat posed by the jihadists, Peters proposes the only solution that's likely to work in the real world: "We will have to keep on killing them until they are decisively discouraged or destroyed.  There is no immediate alternative."