Dear comrades, I had a family BBQ yesterday and my beloved uncle is under the Impression that all Muslim extremists (Al Qaeda, Isis and such) are Iran’s fault and that they are the making of Shia Islam. That the Sunni are western Muslims oppressed by Iran.
Are there any documentaries or articles I could use to inform him?
I tried explaining operation Cyclone and timber sycamore but Wikipedia usually isn’t that convincing in his circle (he has a PhD in engineering and used to work for a western oil company in the middle east)
It’s not the best source, but I’m currently reading ‘I am Malala’ Malala’s autobiography and she, as a Pakistani whose family lived through the rise of Islamic extremism, explains how the US and Gulf monarchies funded Islamic radicalization programs and the mujahadeen to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan, and that really laid the groundwork for future far right groups like the Taliban. She’s a Marxist, and though I don’t know if she says that explicitly in the book it also shows her radicalization experience well.
I read that book about 5 years ago and while she does explain some of the context for the embracement of it specifically in Pakistan, I don’t feel like she went into a ton of detail with explanations of the rise as a whole. It’s certainly a worthwhile read but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s the best for this.
True, you get the idea, but not very thoroughly or in a well sourced manner.