Farhana Qazi draws on her background as a pioneering counterterrorism professional and a devout Muslim to offer an insider's view of what drives girls and women to join radical Islamic movements and how we can keep them from making this terrible choice. The first Muslim woman to work for the US government's Counterterrorism Center, Qazi found herself fascinated, even obsessed, by the phenomenon of female extremists. Why, she wondered, would a girl from Denver join ISIS, a radical movement known for its mistreatment of women? Why would a teenage Iraqi girl strap on a suicide bomb and detonate it? From Kashmir to Iraq to Afghanistan to Colorado to London, she discovered women of different backgrounds who all had their own reason for joining these movements. Some were confused, others had been taken advantage of, and some were just as radical and dedicated as their male counterparts. But in each case, Qazi found their choices were driven by a complex interaction of culture, context, and capability that was unique to each woman. This book reframes their stories so readers can see these girls and women as they truly are: females exploited by men. Through hearing their voices and sharing their journeys Qazi gained powerful insights not only into what motivated these women but also into the most effective ways to combat terrorism—and about herself as well. “Through them,” Qazi writes, “I discovered intervention strategies that are slowly helping women hold on to faith as they struggle with versions of orthodox Islam polluted by extremist interpretations. And in the process, I discovered a gentle Islam and more about myself as a woman of faith.”

In this startlingly counterintuitive book, a leading authority on Islamic movements demonstrates that terrorist groups are thoroughly marginal in the Muslim world. Charles Kurzman draws on government sources, public opinion surveys, election results, and in-depth interviews with Muslims in the Middle East and around the world, finding that while young Muslims are indeed angry at the West, they are simply not attracted to terrorist methods. This revised edition, updated to include the self-proclaimed "Islamic State," concludes that fear of terrorism should be brought into alignment with the actual level of threat, and that government policies and public opinion should be based on evidence rather than alarmist hyperbole.

This book demonstrates that living martyrdom was an important spiritual aspiration in the late antique Latin west and argues that, consequently, attempts to define, study, or locate martyrdom must move away from conceptualizations that require or center on death. After an introduction that traces the persistence of "living martyrs" as real objects of spiritual devotion and emulation across the span of Christian history and discusses why such martyrs have been overlooked, the book focuses on three significant authors from the late ancient Latin west for whom martyrdom did not require death: the Spanish poet Prudentius (c. 348–413), the senator-turned-ascetic Paulinus of Nola (353–431), and the influential North African bishop Augustine of Hippo (354–430). Through historically and literarily contextualized close readings of their work, this book shows that each of these three authors attempted to create a new paradigm of martyrdom focused on living, rather than dying, for God. By focusing on these living martyrs, we are able to see more clearly the aspirations and agendas of those who promoted them as martyrs and how their martyrological discourse illuminates the variety of ways that martyrdom is and can be mobilized (in any era) to construct new, community-creating worldviews. Living Martyrs in Late Antiquity and Beyond is an important resource for historians of Christianity, scholars of religious studies, and anyone interested in exploring or understanding martyrological discourse. The Introduction of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Alban Butler's 'The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints. January, February, March' is a comprehensive and insightful collection of biographies of various saints, focusing on the months of January, February, and March. The book is written in a lively and engaging style, providing readers with detailed accounts of the lives and martyrdoms of these important figures in Christian history. Butler's work serves as an important resource for those interested in hagiography and the lives of saints, offering a valuable glimpse into the religious and cultural context of the time. Alban Butler, a Catholic priest and hagiographer, dedicated his life to the study and documentation of the lives of the saints. His extensive research and dedication to preserving the stories of these individuals undoubtedly influenced the creation of this monumental work. Through his writing, Butler pays homage to the saints and martyrs who have played a significant role in shaping the history of Christianity. I highly recommend 'The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints. January, February, March' to readers interested in delving into the lives of saints and martyrs. Butler's meticulous research and engaging narrative style make this book a must-read for anyone interested in Christian history and hagiography.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1866.