The Jihad Next Door:
The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in the Age of Terror

by Dina Temple-Raston

Copyright 2007 by Dina Temple-Raston. All Rights Reserved.

Categories:  Contemporary  Non-Fiction  Politics

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Description

They called themselves the Arabian Knights. They were six Yemeni-American friends, a gang of high-school soccer stars, a band of brothers on the grim side streets of Lackawanna's First Ward, just a stone's throw from Buffalo.

Later, people would argue about why they left western New York in the spring of 2001 to attend an al-Qaeda camp. Some said they traveled to Afghanistan to become America's first sleeper cell—terrorists slumbering while they awaited orders from on high. Others said that their ill-fated trip was a lark, an adventurous extension of their youthful wrestling with what it meant to be Muslim in America.

Dina Temple-Raston returns to Lackawanna to tell the story of a group of young men—born and brought up in small town America—who left otherwise unremarkable lives to attend an al-Qaeda camp. Though they sought to quietly slip back into their roles as middle class Americans, the 9/11 attacks made that impossible.

The Jihad Next Door is the story of pre-emptive justice in the age of terror. It follows a handful of ordinary men through an extraordinary time when Muslims in America are often instantly suspect, their actions often viewed through the most sinister lens.

Praise for The Jihad Next Door

"With this compellingly told story, Dina Temple-Raston gives us a thorough and nuanced account of the Ashcroft Justice Department's trophy case, that of the Lackawanna Six, as well as others. Any fair-minded reader will come to appreciate the damage done to our highest values when the government throws scrupulousness to the winds."
—Todd Gitlin, professor of journalism and sociology, Columbia University, and author of The Bulldozer and the Big Tent

"Dina Temple Raston's inside story of what was called the first homegrown jihadist cell in the U.S. is a must-read for anyone concerned with where the threat to America—and its values—truly resides."
—Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, author of Inside Al-Qaeda

"The Jihad Next Door provides new insight and understanding into the complexities and nuances of jihadist radicalization in the West. Impeccably researched and artfully written, this is a critical read for any citizen seeking to understand homegrown terrorism."
—Reid Sawyer, director of the Combating Terrorism Center, United States Military Academy

"The Jihad Next Door is a powerful chronicle of what it is like to be Muslim, and therefore suspect, in post-9/11 America. With her first-rate reporting and finely etched prose, Temple-Raston brings to life the Yemeni-American community in Lackawanna and a group of young Muslim men who flirt with jihad…and reveals a heart-wrenching case of pre-emptive justice in America today. This is an important story—and important book—about the erosion of civil liberties in the age of terror."
—Nadine Strossen, president, American Civil Liberties Union, and professor of law at New York Law School

Extended Copyright Information

Copyright 2007 by Dina Temple-Raston. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address PublicAffairs, 250 West 57th Street, Suite 1321, New York, NY 10107. PublicAffairs books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the U.S. by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, call (617) 252-5298, or e-mail special.markets@perseusbooks.com.

Previously published by PublicAffairs, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

Cover design: Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich.
Cover photos: Konrad Fiedler.

About the Author

Dina Temple-Raston is the FBI correspondent for National Public Radio and the award-winning author of several books, including A Death in Texas, Justice in the Grass and In Defense of Our America. She lives in New York City.

Opening Lines (Experimental)

It will inflame you, it will make you mad.
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