"Islam says: Kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you. Islamsays: Whatever good there is exists thanks to the sword and in the shadow of thesword. The sword is the key to Paradise, which can be opened only for HolyWarriors." These words appear in an article entitled "Islam is Not a Religion ofPacifists," written in 1942 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's, who, 37 yearslater, would lead the Islamic revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran. Ahalf-century later, Usama bin Ladin, in a "Declaration of War" published in anIraqi newspaper, would write, "Our youths believe in paradise after death. . . .Those youths know that their reward is in fighting you, the United States. . .They have no intention except to enter paradise by killing you. An infidel andan enemy of God like you." In the six decades that have elapsed sinceKhomeini's treatise was published, militant Islam has evolved and gainedconsiderable strength, yet also remained remarkably consistent. The Westernworld's response to the September 11, 2000 terrorist attacks on the World TradeCenter and the Pentagon has largely taken the form of questions: How could thishappen? Why is America so reviled in certain quarters of the Arab world? Whydidn't we know? This unique volume sets out to answer these questions notthrough the words or interpretations of Western analysts and commentators butrather in the unfiltered words of the militants themselves.L Tracing the originsof contemporary anti-Americanism in the Middle East to the Muslim Brotherhoodthat sprang up in Egypt in the 1940s, Barry Rubin and Judy Colp Rubin haveassembled nearly one hundred key documents, distilled to their essence, chartingthe evolution of radical Muslim ideology, the growing militancy that hasfostered terrorism in the name of Islam, and world reactions to the September 11attacks. Among the documents included are the charters of such organizations asHizballah, Hamas, and World Islamic Front; speeches by Syrian president Hafizal-Asad and Iraqi president Saddam Hussein; Al-Qa'ida recruitment materials;terrorist training manuals; and, importantly, numerous conflicting and deeplyconflicted responses to September 11 by journalists, clerics, and activists inthe Arab world (among them Ali Uqleh Ursan, Chairman of the Syrian Arab Writers'Association, who writes, "I cannot hide my sympathy toward the innocentAmericans, who fell victim, first and foremost, to the policy of their owngovernment").L Supplemented by an annotated chronology, a glossary of terms, andprefatory sections that contextualize each of the selections, this comprehensivereference serves not only as essential historical background to the ongoingaftermath of the September 11 attacks, but more generally as an invaluableframework for understanding the motivations and worldview of violent Islamicfundamentalism.