Terrorism and Political Violence

ISSN: 0954-6553 (Print) 1556-1836 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ftpv20

A Review of: “Yahya Michot. Muslims Under Non-

Muslim Rule: Ibn Taymiyya.”

Reviewed by Aaron Y. Zelin

To cite this article: Reviewed by Aaron Y. Zelin (2011) A Review of: “Yahya Michot. Muslims
Under Non-Muslim Rule: Ibn Taymiyya.”, Terrorism and Political Violence, 23:3, 487-488, DOI:
10.1080/09546553.2011.581075

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2011.581075

Published online: 01 Jun 2011.

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 Book Reviews 487

2006, ‘‘although madaris [had] accepted in principle the idea of curriculum reform, they
[did] not have the resources to implement it’’ (p. 86). Furthermore, ‘‘the education min-
istry has made funds available to madaris to hire teachers of the worldly curriculum and
provide other resources for teaching worldly subjects’’ (p. 86). Yet, none of the madaris
that are associated with the Ittehad-e-Tanzimat Madaris-e-Diniya, an umbrella organi-
zation for the five major organizations of madaris’, accepted the money. Though the
madaris administrators and government authorities disagree on much, many agree
U.S. involvement in reform ‘‘has hurt more than it had helped’’ (p. 92). In the last chap-
ter, Fair discusses her conclusions and the implications of the study by touching on
recommendations for reform and the geographical differences that are an important
part of understanding madaris. She writes that madaris are ‘‘low-number, high-risk’’
institutions and ‘‘merit continuous monitoring and evaluation’’ (p. 97). Islamabad’s
and Washington’s hopes for secularization, she notes, are out of sync with many
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Pakistanis. Rather, the answer is ‘‘ensuring schools are available to families,’’ improving
the quality of instruction, and providing ‘‘incentives’’ like stipends and food (p. 100).
Fair’s book sheds light on an often-discussed, but rarely empirically studied
phenomenon. Her study tests particular assertions about madrassah students and
challenges what the Western media and politicians believe they know. The students
who enter a madrassah do so because their belief system already mirrors that of the
school. Fair points out that there are other sources of indoctrination linked to mili-
tancy and the observed madrassah-militancy link is weak. The shortcoming of Fair’s
work has to do with the narrowness of her study and the difficultly in obtaining infor-
mation from areas like the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan. Since
Fair’s empirical study on the madrassah-militancy connection was based on one year,
2004, it leaves the reader wondering if the year was exceptional or not. If it was, how
does the madrassah-militancy link change depending on the year and why? Also,
would the study change depending on access to unreported attacks or unregistered
madaris in areas with militant strongholds where it is difficult to obtain information?
After all, spikes of violence in Afghanistan have occurred since 2004, with Pakistani
militants and religious leaders taking the blame. These are important issues that,
albeit, are difficult to answer, but are important in understanding the wider relevancy
of madaris. Nonetheless, Fair’s book is highly recommended for scholars interested in
militancy’s relationship to education and international policies on terrorism.

Yahya Michot. Muslims Under Non-Muslim Rule: Ibn Taymiyya. Oxford, UK:
Interface Publications, 2006. 208 pp., £10.79 paper. ISBN: 978-0-9554545-6-1.

Reviewed by Aaron Y. Zelin

Brandeis University
Waltham, Massachusetts, USA

There has been a lacuna in the terrorism and security studies field because most ana-
lysts lack the expertise and background to critically assess the citations of classical
and medieval jurists used by jihadis to justify their cause. As a result, it is no wonder
there has been much confusion over the controversial medieval jurist Taqi ad-Din
Ibn Taymiyyah, whose work is purported to inspire the contemporary local and
global jihadi movements. This problem is exacerbated because the filter through
 488 Book Reviews

which many scholars (and jihadis) obtain their information about Ibn Taymiyyah
happens to be abridged copies of his work by way of the Saudi Arabian government.
The consequences are significant because in many cases it is through the lens of
Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab’s narrow interpretation of Ibn Taymiyyah’s work
(p. 130). This has led to a serious misreading of Ibn Taymiyyah’s work on the part of
jihadis and many Western scholars who have attempted to gain greater insights into
the jihadi phenomenon. Yahya Michot’s Muslims Under Non-Muslim Rule: Ibn Tay-
miyya, which was originally published in French, is a much needed corrective that
places Ibn Taymiyyah in the proper context, while showing how modern interpreters
have deviated from the original text. It also points to the vital need for those
involved in the counterterrorism field to heed new scholarship in Islamic studies,
which places the recent rise of jihadi groups in a more balanced and nuanced
perspective, enabling them to obtain a deeper understanding of the philosophy
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undergirding—and animating—these loose-knit organizations.

The frames Michot uses to examine the modern readings of Ibn Taymiyyah are
through four questions Ibn Taymiyyah was asked: a) when should one flee (migrate)
from sin?; b) what are the different types of emigration?; c) what is the status of
Mardin, a city in modern day Turkey, which had been occupied by the Mongols,
and whether it was in Balad al-Silm (land of peace) or Balad al-Harb (land of
war)?; and d) what are the conditions for challenging power? (pp. 63–100). One of
the strengths of Michot’s book is that he chose to critically assess a variety of Ibn
Taymiyyah’s writings that provides Michot with further credibility than would have
been the case if he had only focused on jihadi interpretations, which could have been
viewed simply as a polemical tract. The six modern readings of Ibn Taymiyyah that
Michot examines are from the following individuals: Muhammad ‘Abd as-Salam
Farrag, ‘Abdullah ‘Azzam, Muhammad al-Mas’ari, ‘Abd al-Aziz al-Jarbu, Zuhayr
Salim, and Sa’d ad-Din al-Kibbi (pp. 101–122). These individuals represent different
schools of thought including jihadi, salafi, Ikhwani, and traditional.
In light of the Mardin Conference that convened in March 2010, as well as the
negative response to it from al-Qaeda figures Adam Gadahn and Anwar al-Awlaki,
it would be worthwhile for a future study to examine these three recent interpreta-
tions of Ibn Taymiyyah in light of Michot’s study.
Michot’s Muslims Under Non-Muslim Rule: Ibn Taymiyya is an excellent
addition to the growing body of literature that is bridging the gap between classical
and medieval Islamic thought, with the contemporary trends, most specifically jihadi
thought. However, its only drawback is that it is for a highly specialized audience.
Indeed, while a valuable and worthwhile book for scholars in Islamic studies, it is
largely inaccessible to most policy makers involved in crafting counterterrorism pol-
icy or the lay reader interested in learning more about security and terrorism-related
issues on a sophisticated level.

Cass R. Sunstein. Worst-Case Scenarios. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,

2007. 340 pp., $24.95 cloth. ISBN: 978-0-674-02510-3.

Reviewed by Michelle Bentley

University of Southampton
Southampton, UK