Resistance: The Essence of the Islamist Revolution

Former MI6 officer and Middle East negotiator Alastair Crooke traces the intellectual and political roots of the "Islamist Revolution" from Egypt through Najaf, Lebanon and Iran, examining how movements such as Hezbollah and Hamas understand and justify resistance. He argues that the West faces a mass mobilisation grounded in systems of thought that diverge from Western norms over centuries, and that "resistance" is the instrument Islamist movements use to force a change in Western behaviour. Drawing on his experience in back-channel negotiations, Crooke sets out the worldview behind political Shi'ism and the Iranian Revolution rather than treating these movements as mere militancy.