- Hardcover: 307 pages
- Publisher: William Morrow & Company (Jan 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0060560908
- ISBN-13: 978-0060560904
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.2 x 3.3 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,060,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Allah's Torch
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Thoughtful and engaging. Dahlby combines the sharp sensitivities of a political observer with an old-fashioned flair for storytelling.--Newsweek (International Edition)
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
In "Allah's Torch", National Geographic's Tracy Dahlby takes readers into the sprawling, porous, virtually lawless domain of Indonesia, where overlapping lines of radical Islamic rage are now converging in Asia, posing new threats to Westerners at home and abroad. From the moment the adventure begins, the night the author blunders on board an Indonesian passenger ship with 600 Islamic warriors on an anti-Christian jihad, readers glimpse the passions, politics and personalities fuelling radical Islam's relentless march. We listen as Koran-thumping preachers, hardened holy warriors and fresh-faced recruits, police investigators, military commandos, and spies try to make sense of the epidemic chaos that threatens to the region - and now the world beyond. Based on reporting both before and after September 11, "Allah's Torch" an action-packed and thought-provoking narrative that enables readers to see the face of Islamic terror more clearly and assess the threat for themselves.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
The moon was shining over the harbor at Makassar, the storied old spice port nine hundred miles east of Jakarta, when Norman and I stood in the steamy night, staring up at the huge steel flanks of the interisland passenger liner the M.V. Bukit Siguntang. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The moon was shining over the harbor at Makassar, the storied old spice port nine hundred miles east of Jakarta, when Norman and I stood in the steamy night, staring up at the huge steel flanks of the interisland passenger liner the M.V. Bukit Siguntang. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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8 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A very good background story on how the worldwide Islamic Insurrection is maturing in Indonesia
27 Aug 2005
Format:Hardcover
Allah's Torch is a very good book on how the worldwide Islamic Insurrection is maturing in Indonesia. While done in a somewhat story/journalistic format (it has specific dates and places and some names are changed but it does not appear that the primary people who someone wanting to conduct research on the subject have had their names changed such as Abu Bakar Bashir, Imam Samudra, Jaffar Umar Thalib, etc and the names of groups have not been changed however, his guides names probably have). It starts with him traveling with his guide in May 2000 on an inter-island passenger ferry on his way to the Banda Islands and the Mollucas. On the same ferry was a large group of Laskar Jihad enroute to conduct a Jihad. He describes the climate on the ship and the island themselves. Of course he meets additional friends (and some potential enemies) along the way. After conducting his research of the situation in the Banda/Molluca Islands between the Christians and Moslems in the area he goes back to the U.S. and starts to write his book. Then the Bali Bombing happened and he goes back to Indonesia to see what has changed in the country since. He meets up with his previous guide (and by then friend) who intoduces him to someone else who will assist them in getting inside the Islamic organizations (you find out later he was also a terrorist/freedom fighter depending on your point of view). From there they interview and have general discussions with a range of personnel from a student of a Pesantren that is known for producing Islamic fighters to the head of Islamic organizations. This book gives a very good overview of what was the Islamic/Christian situation situation from 2000 to the end of 2003 in Indonesia and makes some observations from the outside looking in during early 2004. This was a very good and readable book that I enjoyed very much.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
A different viewpoint of Indonesia
5 Mar 2005
Format:Hardcover
As an Indonesian this book really encourages me. The
author must be crazy for going into places like the
Banda Islands at a time of religious conflict in the
area, but he has tried to cover the country from all
angles. He shines a light on the fact that, in spite
of how Indonesia is often portrayed on CNN and FOX
News focusing on Al Qaeda, the biggest majority of
Indonesian "wong cilik"(ordinary people) are trying
hard to improve their lives after the 1997 Asian
financial crisis, want good governance, reject
terrorism, and try to change their country for the
better. I believe most ordinary Indonesian will easily
relate to Norman, Reza, Tanya, and all the characters
in the book.
In guiding readers through the maze of Indonesia,
exotic and unknown to most people in the West, the
author captures this daily struggle for survival
against corruption, elitism, and chaos. And it's in
that chaos that the minority of extremists find their
followers - people who are fed up with the country's
unimproved conditions.
A serious book yet I could not contain my laughter at
times because the author describes not only the
country's fears and sense of tragic irony but its
sense of humor, too.. So the non-Indonesian reader
will get a glimpse of all aspects of the Indonesian
people, their intelligence and wit, their
superstitions, and their resourcefulness. The book
might be confusing at times for the "novice on
Indonesia," but people interested in a journey through
the most democratic Muslim country in the world need
to pick it up.
author must be crazy for going into places like the
Banda Islands at a time of religious conflict in the
area, but he has tried to cover the country from all
angles. He shines a light on the fact that, in spite
of how Indonesia is often portrayed on CNN and FOX
News focusing on Al Qaeda, the biggest majority of
Indonesian "wong cilik"(ordinary people) are trying
hard to improve their lives after the 1997 Asian
financial crisis, want good governance, reject
terrorism, and try to change their country for the
better. I believe most ordinary Indonesian will easily
relate to Norman, Reza, Tanya, and all the characters
in the book.
In guiding readers through the maze of Indonesia,
exotic and unknown to most people in the West, the
author captures this daily struggle for survival
against corruption, elitism, and chaos. And it's in
that chaos that the minority of extremists find their
followers - people who are fed up with the country's
unimproved conditions.
A serious book yet I could not contain my laughter at
times because the author describes not only the
country's fears and sense of tragic irony but its
sense of humor, too.. So the non-Indonesian reader
will get a glimpse of all aspects of the Indonesian
people, their intelligence and wit, their
superstitions, and their resourcefulness. The book
might be confusing at times for the "novice on
Indonesia," but people interested in a journey through
the most democratic Muslim country in the world need
to pick it up.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Fantastic
27 Mar 2005
Format:Hardcover
Great read!! Couldn't put it down. Dahlby does a great job to weave historical information into a humorous, enlightening and oftentimes suspenseful book. I would recommend it to anyone!!
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