Book excerpt: This work is an analytical study of jihad (just war) which helps to focus the attention of human rights and minority groups to a cause that should have been a focal point of their concern for several decades now. The concept of jihad has sometimes been abused by irresponsible leaders within the Islamic world and used to inflame the passions of those for whom the richness of Islamic law is reduced to slogans and billboards. Similarly, jihad has been invoked by Western analysts who are completely ignorant of the Islamic tradition, to justify assertions of evil intent on the part of millions of the Muslim faithful. Zawati analyzes both Western and Islamic legal concepts and attempts to point a way out of this mess. He draws on primary sources, including books, articles and official documents, and his book should be interesting reading for Muslims who seek to better define their relations with the non-Muslim world, and for anyone wishing to escape the caricature of orientalism and the end-game of clashing civiizations.