Thanks for Worth's short summary of Islamism = Islamic fundamentalism.

The "Neglected Duty" is a short work of Muhammad Abd-as-Salam Faraj, the book I have at hand was published about 1981, no place or date given. The interested reader may look into an English translation by Johannes Jansen: the Neglected Duty : the creed of Sadat's assassins and Islamic resurgence in the Middle East / Johannes J. G. Jansen. - New York : Macmillan, 1986. - ISBN 0-02-916340-4.

The concept of al-Jihad [fi sabil Allah]= the Effort [on the way of God] was introduced by Muhammad first in a defensive way when he and his followers were fought by the jahilis. Jahiliya shouldn't be translated as barbarous; it denotes the pre-Islamic aera of "not knowing" [scil. Allah and the Quran], including the Arabic ancestors, whom their descendant Muhammad wouldn't call barbarous.

An aspect easily overlooked is the modern support of Israel (seen as a "land robber") by the Western States, especially the U.S.A. as the most powerful. Here the digging out of the old principle of Jihad makes sense for some terrorists.

Democratic structures aswe know them can't be expected in Eastern lands because of their history; interested readers may consult Karl August Wittfogel: Oriental Despotism : a comparative study of total power / by Karl A. Wittfogel. - New Haven : Yale Univ. Pr., 1957.

I definitely affirm the post of CarolC; what religious fervour used for political reasons can do we have experienced in the Thirty Years War some 350 years ago. It isn't forgotten yet.

Wilfried