Guardians of God: Inside the Religious Mind of the Pakistani Taliban. Sheikh, Mona Kanwal. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2016.

1601

Guardians of God: Inside the Religious Mind of the Pakistani Taliban is the first comprehensive study of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as a movement and an ideology, evidently written by someone who has a very clear understanding of the complexity of the conflict between the TTP and state of Pakistan. The book focuses on conflict resolution in terms of jihadi movements, with a particular focus on the Pakistani Taliban. It is an astute account of the TTP since its inception in 2007. With a complex hierarchy, the author follows how the group has morphed into a fragmented one with different factions operating under it with diverging ideologies, which more often than enough has led to fragmentation of the group and emergence of new splinter groups.

Read More