Recommendation: This is some sassy shit, it just happens to be about ISIS
Where to read: Maybe not in an airport
Read with: Depends on how blasphemous you are feeling really
In brief: Wood is a journalist with The Atlantic, so naturally I bought the book (it is something of a theme on this blog). It also means that you can get a feel for his style without committing to the long form text, and that many of the key moments have been the subject of previous reporting. That is not to say, however, that the book is merely retreading old ground – previous episodes are resisted with the benefit of hindsight and additional context.
Reading about ISIS in the year 2023 might seem a little behind the times however there is still value in examining why it was able to become as powerful as it did, and was able to draw so many recruits, imitators and defenders from Western countries. In a sense, Wood’s approach is not the best way of answering those questions because he focuses more on the propagandists and ringleaders sitting in the West and sending young men to Syria than the recruits. There is a pragmatic reason for this – these are the kinds of people who are likely to be alive and responsive to interview requests – but it does take the focus off the men and women who actually took the plunge.
That said, Wood does spend a chapter on the story of John Georgelas (aka Yahya al-Bahrumi), an American convert who rose to prominence within the movement and who did make hijrah. By contrast to other American converts, who are rather derisively described as “knuckleheads” interested only in fighting and dying, Yahya spoke excellent Arabic, was theologically literate and became a leading propagandist for ISIS before his death. Other chapters delve into prominent propagandists and ISIS thinkers from a number of other countries, examining their approaches and ideological commitments.
In my view, however, the most interesting thing about this is the fact that Wood takes the theology seriously. This is contrary to some theories – I personally am quite compelled by a sort of “Lost Boys” story of radicalisation that applies across a range of ideologies – but taking the religion seriously is important. Accordingly, rather than writing the thing off as a political or social phenomenon, Wood examines the intellectual roots of some of the dominant themes in ISIS religious thought and how these niche visions of religious truth informed how ISIS acted on the ground. He also questions why these particularly extreme interpretations of Islam gained such traction with the largely Western converts he studied. In particular, Wood seems to suggest that profound literalism allowed arrogant young men (often coverts) to disregard the long history of scholarly authority and prefer their own interpretations.
The Way of the Strangers is a brief volume written with enough verve to keep you engaged – although it is fortunately less topical now than it used to be, it is still worth some time.
Bookshelves & Bourbon 