The Orthodox Religious

Militant Islamism, which is a threat to world peace, did not emerge during the past two decades. Its hour of birth in the modern era was 1979 in Iran and Saudi Arabia. Wilfried Buchta traces its development and nature in a compact essay that entertains no illusions. He illustrates why the consequences are so devastating – above all for the Islamic world.

Wilfred Buchta, who is intimately acquainted with the Islamic world in the Middle and Far East, focuses his attention not only on the largely failed political and military strategies of the West in this region, but most of all on continuing tensions and developments within the Arab world. In doing so, he points out the fatal role of conflicts between the Sunni and Shi’ite confessions that continue to this day. He describes the rise of radical Islamist religious leaders and explains why there is no theological mainstream that can counter the extreme position of those with orthodox religious beliefs. And precisely because he makes no secret of his closeness to Islamic culture, his critical, pessimistic viewpoint has a particular impact.