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America's Secret Jihad: The Hidden History of Religious Terrorism in the United States
The conventional narrative concerning religious terrorism inside the United States says that the first salvo occurred in 1993, with the first attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. This narrative has motivated more than a decade of wars, and re-prioritized America’s domestic security and law enforcement agenda. But the conventional narrative is wrong.
A different group of jihadists exists within U.S. borders. This group has a long but hidden history, is outside the purview of public officials and has an agenda as apocalyptic as anything Al Qaeda has to offer. Radical sects of Christianity have inspired some of the most grotesque acts of violence in American the 1963 Birmingham Church bombing that killed four young girls; the “Mississippi Burning” murders of three civil rights workers in 1964; the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, the Atlanta Child Murders in the late 1970s; and the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. America's Secret Jihad uses these crimes to tell a story that has not been told before.
Expanding upon the author’s groundbreaking work on the Martin Luther King, Jr. murder, and through the use of extensive documentation, never-before-released interviews, and a re-interpretation of major events, America's Secret Jihad paints a picture of Christian extremism and domestic terrorism as it has never before been portrayed.
A different group of jihadists exists within U.S. borders. This group has a long but hidden history, is outside the purview of public officials and has an agenda as apocalyptic as anything Al Qaeda has to offer. Radical sects of Christianity have inspired some of the most grotesque acts of violence in American the 1963 Birmingham Church bombing that killed four young girls; the “Mississippi Burning” murders of three civil rights workers in 1964; the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, the Atlanta Child Murders in the late 1970s; and the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. America's Secret Jihad uses these crimes to tell a story that has not been told before.
Expanding upon the author’s groundbreaking work on the Martin Luther King, Jr. murder, and through the use of extensive documentation, never-before-released interviews, and a re-interpretation of major events, America's Secret Jihad paints a picture of Christian extremism and domestic terrorism as it has never before been portrayed.
417 pages, Hardcover
First published June 9, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 9, 2016
We are so lucky to have this author on our faculty. This is an important book that bears reading by anyone interested in religion, race, civil rights or American history. The author is an incredible researcher and builds a clear case that many of what we would call racial hate crimes in history were actually crimes of religious extremism. Each chapter delves into a particular crime (the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, MLK's assassination, the Atlanta Child Murders, just to name a few) and not only explains them but weaves a complex web of connections all leading back in part to religious hate groups, and specifically to Christian Identity. There is a lot to learn -- this book is dense -- but it is well worth the time.
December 9, 2017
This book was well-researched and crafted as the author tied many of American racial hate crimes to religious extremism. The author provided evidence to this linkage using several terrorist-related crimes, such as MLK's assignation, described in separate chapters. This book would be of interest to those seeking more information about American religion, race, and civil rights issues.
I won this book on Goodreads Giveaways.
I won this book on Goodreads Giveaways.
October 24, 2024
Let me just say up front that I am in no way an expert on domestic terrorism in the United States, so my five star rating was not based on that. It was based as a reading experience. For such a long book juggling many different names, dates, places and organizations, it did an excellent job keeping my attention throughout, and making itself clear.
There are two Appendices that list the main players and groups that feature in the book. This helps the reader keep track of the facts. I wish more pop history books would do this. He also makes crystal clear what is speculation or conspiracy theory.
Stuart Wexler does not write promoting any kind of political agenda. He criticises Democrats like President Obama and Bill Mahar, as well as Republicans. There also isn't any outright attack on religion itself. The book focuses on the religious reasons behind domestic terrorism, particularly the teachings of Christian Identity.
The main criticism is levelled at the FBI, but also other areas of law enforcement. That American law enforcement and government in general have mostly ignored domestic terrorist groups because the participants are whites crying "freedom of religion" and "freedom of speech", shows how spineless government is, no matter what political party is in charge.
Many widespread conspiracy theories assume that governments are competent. This book punctures that myth. The FBI, in particular, has been amazingly inept. Wexler argues that classified documents over 30 years old should be freely available. This could help to partly stop the conspiracy theories that fuel domestic terrorists in the first place.
This book expands on an earlier book Wexler co-wrote with Larry Hancock, 2012's The Awful Grace of God: Religious Terrorism, White Supremacy and the Unsolved Murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. I haven't read that book, and I really don't think I missed out on anything in this book by not reading it.
A long chunk of the book is devoted to the killing of MLK. Wexler agrees that the guy who actually pulled the trigger was James Earl Ray, but there are other questions about the assassination, and previous attempts, that were never looked into in 1968. There seemed to've been multiple killers after MLK for a huge bounty. One thing for sure -- MLK was never getting out of Memphis alive.
One really heartbreaking moment in the book -- hours before he was shot, MLK engaged in a pillow fight with two friends. What a contrast.
White Supremacy found a great ally in religion, from Christianity to Odinism. Their relationship, and how they feed off of each other, is documented here.
It's a shame that the suggestions in this book, published in 2015, were ignored.
There are two Appendices that list the main players and groups that feature in the book. This helps the reader keep track of the facts. I wish more pop history books would do this. He also makes crystal clear what is speculation or conspiracy theory.
Stuart Wexler does not write promoting any kind of political agenda. He criticises Democrats like President Obama and Bill Mahar, as well as Republicans. There also isn't any outright attack on religion itself. The book focuses on the religious reasons behind domestic terrorism, particularly the teachings of Christian Identity.
The main criticism is levelled at the FBI, but also other areas of law enforcement. That American law enforcement and government in general have mostly ignored domestic terrorist groups because the participants are whites crying "freedom of religion" and "freedom of speech", shows how spineless government is, no matter what political party is in charge.
Many widespread conspiracy theories assume that governments are competent. This book punctures that myth. The FBI, in particular, has been amazingly inept. Wexler argues that classified documents over 30 years old should be freely available. This could help to partly stop the conspiracy theories that fuel domestic terrorists in the first place.
This book expands on an earlier book Wexler co-wrote with Larry Hancock, 2012's The Awful Grace of God: Religious Terrorism, White Supremacy and the Unsolved Murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. I haven't read that book, and I really don't think I missed out on anything in this book by not reading it.
A long chunk of the book is devoted to the killing of MLK. Wexler agrees that the guy who actually pulled the trigger was James Earl Ray, but there are other questions about the assassination, and previous attempts, that were never looked into in 1968. There seemed to've been multiple killers after MLK for a huge bounty. One thing for sure -- MLK was never getting out of Memphis alive.
One really heartbreaking moment in the book -- hours before he was shot, MLK engaged in a pillow fight with two friends. What a contrast.
White Supremacy found a great ally in religion, from Christianity to Odinism. Their relationship, and how they feed off of each other, is documented here.
It's a shame that the suggestions in this book, published in 2015, were ignored.
April 10, 2021
There's a lot of really great information in this book, and it's especially important because so much right-wing and christian terrorism has been hidden from Americans and forgotten over time. However, it was incredibly dense, dry, and at times downright boring. In addition, although the author can't really be described as sympathetic to the FBI and law enforcement, he pulled his punches a bit too much for me.
March 8, 2018
Overall, this seems well-researched, but it occasionally approaches conspiracy theory territory. Some of the conclusions Wexler wants to draw just aren't supported by actual evidence. He also repeats himself a lot.
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July 8, 2016363.32509 W545 2015
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews