xxi, 260 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : 24 cm

This work is an exploration of a troubling phenomenon: the fast-growing belief in Muslim countries that the end of the world is at hand, and with it the "Great Battle," prophesied by both Sunni and Shii tradition, which many believers expect will begin in the Afghan-Pakistani borderlands. The author uncovers the role of apocalypse in Islam over the centuries, and highlights its extraordinary resurgence in recent decades. Identifying 1979 as a decisive year in the rise of contemporary millenarian speculation, he stresses the ease with which subsequent events in the Middle East have been incorporated into the intellectual universe of apocalyptic propagandists. He also shows how Christian and Jewish visions of the Final Judgment have stimulated alarmist reaction in Islamic lands, both in the past and today, and examines the widespread fear of Christian Zionist domination as an impetus to jihad. Though the overwhelming majority of Muslims remains unpersuaded, the mounting conviction in the imminence of apocalypse is a serious matter, especially for those who are preparing for it

Includes bibliographical references (pages 201-250) and index

Prologue: the end of the world draws near -- True and false messiahs of Islam -- Archeology of the end of the world -- Grand masters of the medieval apocalypse -- Avatars of the Mahdi -- Apocalypse now -- Dawn of the fifteenth century of Islam -- Pioneers of the contemporary apocalypse -- The horsemen of apocalyptic jihad -- The beginning of the end in Iraq -- The grand return of the Shiʻi Mahdi -- Diasporas of the apocalypse -- The armageddon of jihad -- Epilogue: through the looking glass-and beyond

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