The Jihadis' Path to Self-destruction

Are violent jihadis an enduring feature of modern international affairs, or do they hold in their own doctrines the seeds of selfdestruction? Historical precedent suggests the latter. This book explores the religious philosophy underlying jihadism, as set against the background of the Kharijites, the first counter-establishment movement in Islam, whose idealistic and individualistic practice of Islam inevitably led them to deploy takfir against each other and thereby to self-destruct. By investigating the links between Kharijism and jihadism, Lahoud argues that the same doctrinal beliefs that appear to unite todays jihadis will also be the cause of their downfall.