Gods Assassins The Medieval Roots Of Terrorism

Product Description

Terrorism the deliberate use of fear as a political tool is mostly regarded as a modern horror, implemented by bombs, hijackings & assassinations. But the roots of terrorism stretch far back to the Middle Ages, when the forefathers of the modern world s most uncompromising Islamist terrorists, such as al-Qaeda, laid down their murderous creed. According to tales brought back to Europe by Marco Polo, the Grand Master of the Assassins fed his followers with hashish before they were indulged with the sexual favours of young houris. The Assassin was then told he had experienced the heavenly garden of Paradise & would spend all eternity there, provided he lived & died in the service of the sect. In God s Assassins, the authors reinterpret the history & mythology of the Assassins, to create a thought-provoking collision between past & present which
Includes:: The bloody narrative of the Crusades, when East met West in holy war. The history of assassination in furtherance of religious or political ends, & the myth & reality of drugs as a mnemonic to murder. The concept of brainwashing & the belief in creating sleeper assassins. The recreation of Hasan-i-Sabbah as a phantom subversive by cult writer William S. Burroughs. The Assassin s creed of modern-day Islamists, with their belief in martyrdom through murder contrasted with the progressive thinking of the Ismailis, the true descendants of Hasan & his Nizari sect. This vibrant living history is compelling reading for everyone intrigued by the crises of our age. Dispelling the idea of political & religious assassinations as a peculiarly modern phenomenon, God s Assassins also explores the chilling implications of Hasan-i-Sabbah s legendary dark maxim: Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.