I was given a copy of this book. It intimidated me with a heavy subject but was a lot lighter to read than expected. Think Jon Ronson's Psychopath Test written from someone with a track record of serious journalism. It didn't exactly make me laugh but as the author gets deeper and deeper into the bizarre beliefs of ISIS recruiters and their teachers, the experience becomes intensely surreal.

He also is stubborn enough to ask awkward questions to Islamic scholars and listens carefully to the answers.

This is a book that many people would benefit from reading. He shows the ways our misperceptions are playing into exactly what these apocalyptic cultists want and how they are on a spectrum of religious beliefs that have already shaped our history. ( )

I’ve been struggling to understand the militant Islamist mindset since 9/11, when supporters of Osama Bin Laden destroyed the World Trade Center and attacked the Pentagon. In time, I learned something about Bin Laden's hatred of America because what he saw as (1) U.S. one-sided support for Israel at the expense of Palestinian concerns; (2) our support of authoritarian regimes in Mid-Eastern countries at the expense of their oppressed Muslim citizens; and (3) our military presence in Saudi Arabia which is contrary to Islamic doctrines.

More recently, with the rise of ISIS, I had to work even harder to begin trying to understand the appeal of the Islamic State. Graeme Wood's book "The Way of the Strangers: Encounters with the Islamic State", helped a lot. It may be that "The Way of the Strangers" would have been the only book I needed to gain an understanding of ISIS, but it's also probable that previous readings helped provide additional background which helped make Wood's book so insightful. These previous books, such as Jihad Academy, by Nicolas Henin; Black Flags, by Joby Warrick; and ISIS: The State of Terror, by Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger. certainly helped by providing key information and background.

In this book, Graeme Wood shares his understanding of ISIS as obtained by his detailed studies of their statements, as well as insights he gained by his travels through Muslim Countries, and finally through his interviews with a variety of Muslim scholars and leaders. He really did his homework, and instead of simply observing or reading about the reports from the Islamic State, he met with and discussed the workings of ISIS with knowledgeable Muslim leaders. Thus, he was able to provide new insights into ISIS ideology, and the intentions of the new Caliphate. He manages to tell us how ISIS justifies their horrific violence against non-believers, whether Westerners, Christians, or even some Muslim sects as well. Their beliefs are justifiable (to them), and are based on original teachings of Muhammad, as they understand them, reflecting a medieval era of jihad when Islam was being spread by the sword.

ISIS leaders and fighters are throwbacks to early Islam, following past practices such as slavery and beheadings, as found in the original teachings of Islam from periods of war over a thousand years earlier. Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, preaches the importance of establishing the Caliphate, and how it's the duty of all Muslims to swear allegiance to the Caliphate, become members, and follow the examples of Muhammad. Those who do join the Caliphate, and strictly follow the teachings of ISIS, may find a social welfare system in place which works for them. Those who fail to follow the rules may find themselves subject to medieval style punishments such as amputations, beatings, stoning, crucifixion, or beheadings.

Wood also points out that if ISIS is to be defeated, those fighting against it must gain a better understanding of their beliefs and intentions. Since they follow strict interpretations of the Quran and Hadith, knowing that should be helpful in understanding what may work in fighting them, and what is likely to fail. Since end-of-time prophecies predict a great war between Islam and the non-believers, making a great war happen by putting troops on the ground against them only fulfills their dogma and may bring in more supporters. And should they lose that great war, it's not likely to diminish their appeal, since prophecies also discuss losing battles before the ultimate victory. Thus, slowly bleeding ISIS over time may be the better choice, discrediting the leaders, bringing dissatisfaction to the followers, and gradually causing the Caliphate to lose ground, and therefore lose legitimacy. ( )

I learned more about ISIS and radical Islam from this one book than I could have learned from decades of wall-to-wall "news" coverage on the topic. ( )

Solid overview of IS from the perspectives of multiple strains of Islamic Jihadist thought by a former logistics contractor in Iraq who later became a journalist. Makes a compelling case that Islamic State is Islamic, if maybe not a State.

Since it was largely interviews with fairly idiosyncratic guys, someone without a reasonable degree of familiarity with the sects and movements within Islam might find it a bit hard to follow; a more structured overview of the topic would be a better introduction. ( )

"The Way of the Strangers" isn't a complete history of ISIS, nor does it present a comprehensive theory of why it came to be. But it is a remarkable feat of reportage that provides real insight as to why people living comfortable lives in the West might be drawn to join what was perhaps the most bloodthirsty organization since the Khmer Rouge. Graeme Wood wisely chooses to stay out of Syria and limits his scope to Westerners who either left their homes to join ISIS or supported it from afar. Most of them are enormously unpleasant characters, but, to Wood's credit, he really got to know them, spending a considerable amount of time with them, researching their personal histories, and, perhaps most importantly, making a real effort to understand their motivations. ISIS might meet every definition of "evil" in common use, but he doesn't want to reduce these people to monsters are cartoons. His description of their lives, their behaviors, and their reasoning remarkably acute and observant: Wood's obviously got a reporter's eye of the first order. His research on the theological roots of ISIS is also extremely commendable: Wood digs through centuries of Islamic scholarship to focus on the thinkers and beliefs that provided the theological foundation for the Islamic State. I found a lot of this to be extremely enlightening and, given that it's a difficult subject that will probably be unfamiliar to most of Wood's audience, it's expressed clearly and cogently. "The Way of the Strangers" presents, among many other things, a good picture of the intellectual preoccupations that have driven Islam since its founding. As sort of a bonus, its last chapter includes a description on Islamic eschatology, which is as wild, or wilder, than what you can find in the Revelation of John. Hoo boy, you won't believe the role that Jesus is supposed to do play right before the world ends.

What might put some readers off about "The Way of the Strangers" is the fact that it doesn't really pretend to be an impartial account. Wood has two important points to make: the first is that the Islamic State envisioned ISIS supporters he interviewed seemed to reflect the failures of the societies to which they already belonged. The second is that more mainline Islamic authorities have done an unsatisfactory job of answering ISIS -- and Islamic fundamentalism in general -- at a theological level. Wood argues that ISIS reflects Islam's earliest roots as a desert religion bent on conquest and moral purity. In his view, it's atavistic, perhaps, but hardly un-Islamic. He charges that many of Islam's spokespeople have whitewashed their religion's most unsavory precepts and its rather violent beginnings both for the benefit of their followers, most of whom would rather not live under ISIS's governance, and for Westerners who are pointedly nervous about the Muslims who live among them. It's an important and interesting argument, and Wood makes it well, but he makes it so often that "The Way of the Strangers" might be called a polemic rather than a merely informative account. That's not necessarily a problem, of course, but readers will have to draw their own conclusions there. Otherwise, this is a highly recommendable, highly readable account of people whose spiritual or emotional yearnings have taken them seriously astray. ( )