Written to help understand the difference between Islam, a faith that gives comfort to over one billion people; Islamists, the millions who desire to see an Islamic character to their local governments and wish to attain this through a political process; and finally Militant Islamists, the adversaries who wish to impose a narrow form of Islam through violence upon a diverse Muslim community. -- From the Foreword.

Foreword by Admrial James Stavridis, USN. Includes index, notes and glossary.

Precise definitions of the threat -- A hidden center of gravity : militant Islamists cloaking themselves in Islam -- What is not being taught in politicized madrassas : beginning to understand militant Islamist ideology -- The Qur'an : how do militant Islamists abuse verses? -- The term jihad : various interpretations -- Muhammad and the succession crisis -- Islamic government : a highly debatable concept among Muslims -- The 1925 caliphate debates -- Countering militant Islamist rhetoric using Islam -- Marginalizing al-Qaida : utilizing al-Qaida rhetoric and actions -- Ibn Taymiyyah : unlocking the origins of current militant Islamist ideology (1263-1327) -- Ibn Abdul-Wahhab (1703-1792) : the founder of Wahhabism -- Hassan al-Banna and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood : the first Islamist political party -- Sayyid Qutb : twentieth-century theoretician of militant Islamist ideology (1906-1966) -- Inside the Soviet-Afghan war (1979-1989) : a militant Islamist perspective -- Usama bin Laden : a quick exposé -- A basic analytic primer on Shiism -- Other major figures in the militant Islamist movement -- Al-Qaida's wedge issues for the United States to consider -- Mindsets that hamper America's capabilities -- Conclusion and further reading.