Two Hours That Shook the World: September 11, 2001: Causes and Consequences

by Fred Halliday

Overview

Examines the causes of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and also provides a reasoned approach as to what the future may hold. As the dust settled around the devastation of the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on 11 September 2001, a host of questions emerged surrounding the attacks, the motives behind them and their future implications. In Two Hours that Shook the World Fred Halliday expands on the many socio-cultural, religious and political problems that have plagued the Middle East and Central Asia in the last half-century. Much has been written about 'global terrorism' and the need to eliminate it but also about the divide between East and West, the 'clash of civilisations'. Halliday dispels the idea that the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds are poised for conflict. He explains the causes and rise of Islamic fundamentalism, how terror became an instrument of political and military conflict, and why seemingly well-educated and sane individuals are taking drastic actions to voice their desperation. The burden of history is also invoked, as with the Palestinian-Israeli situation, the festering malaise at the heart of Middle Eastern consciousness and identity. While Halliday's book examines the causes of what has happened, it also provides a reasoned approach as to what the future may hold.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780863567292
Publisher:	Saqi Books
Publication date:	05/22/2014
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	164
File size:	545 KB

About the Author

Fred Halliday is Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and author of numerous books. A leading authority on superpower relations, development issues, the Middle East and IR theory, he is a prolific lecturer and broadcaster.

Table of Contents

	List of Appendices	8
	Keywords	9
	Introduction: Political Violence and the Claims of Reason	23
1.	September 11, 2001 and the Greater West Asian Crisis	31
2.	Fundamentalism and Political Power	51
3.	Violence and Communal Conflict: Terrorism 'from Above' and 'from Below'	69
4.	Anti-Muslimism: A Short History	87
5.	Confusing the Issue: 'Islamophobia' Reconsidered	121
6.	Oslo 1993: A Possible Peace	133
7.	A Decade after Invasion: The Unease of Kuwait	139
8.	Iran: The Islamic Republic at the Crossroads	151
9.	Saudi Arabia: A Family Business in Trouble	159
10.	The Other Stereotype: America and its Critics	167
11.	Global Inequality and Global Rancour	175
12.	'Islam' and the 'West': Cultural Conflict and International Relations	193
	Conclusion: Causes and Consequences	213
	Appendices	217
	Notes	237
	Index	248

Editorial Reviews

Middle East scholar Halliday (London Sch. of Economics; Islam and the Myth of Confrontation) would disagree with the popular press's depiction of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as a monolith called Islam confronting another monolith called the West. Only the first and last essays in this nuanced collection were written after the attack. For the rest of the book, Halliday has cobbled together previous writings on the "West Asian crisis" (covering the crescent from Palestine to Pakistan), the many natures of terrorism, and the West's long history of "anti-Muslimism." These essays are richly illustrated with both historical and contemporary analogies that will appeal to an erudite reader. At first glance, some essays may appear unrelated to the September 11 attack, but in fact they help give the terrible events a kind of context. Informed readers will find this collection helpful. Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New York Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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