Paradigmatic jihadi movements

"In January 2005, veteran jihadi thinker, propagandist, and historian Abu Musa`b al-Suri released his 1,600 page study of the jihadi movement, Da`wat al-muqawama al-Islamiyya al-`alamiyya (The Call for Global Islamic Resistance). Suri hoped this book would stimulate the creation of a comprehensive jihadi curriculum for future generations of jihadi fighters, thinkers, and activists who could learn from the mistakes and successes of jihads past. In The Call, Suri identifies twenty-five "paradigmatic jihadi movements," or particularly edifying historical cases, where jihadis have both succeeded and failed to rally supporters, defeat their opposition, or establish territorial control. However, many of these jihadi movements are very obscure, and, consequently rarely studied within the Western counterterrorism community. In order to better appreciate the jihadi movement's strategic objectives and mindset, the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point invited David Cook, an expert on Islamic history and jihad, to provide deeper background on four of Suri's identified paradigmatic jihads."--P. 3.