Selected as one of 'Five books that help explain what is happening in Afghanistan' (Financial Times) So-called Islamic State began to appear in what it calls Khorasan (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia, Iran and India) in 2014. Reports of its presence were at first dismissed as propaganda, but during 2015 it became clear that IS had a serious presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan at least. This book, by one of the leading experts on Islamist insurgency in the region, explores the nature of IS in Khorasan, its aim and strategies, and its evolution in an environment already populated by many jihadist organisations. Based on first-hand research and numerous interviews with members of IS in Khorasan, as well as with other participants and observers, the book addresses highly contentious issues such as funding, IS's relationship with the region's authorities, and its interactions with other insurgent groups. Giustozzi argues that the central leadership of IS invested significant financial resources in establishing its own branch in Khorasan, and as such it is more than a local movement which adopted the IS brand for its own aims. Though the central leadership has been struggling in implementing its project, it is now turning towards a more realistic approach. This is the first book on a new frontier in Islamic State's international jihad.

John Foxe's ground-breaking chronicle of Christian saints and martyrs put to death over centuries remains a landmark text of religious history. The persecution of Christians was for centuries a fact of living in Europe. Adherence to the faith was a great personal risk, with the Roman Empire leading the first of such persecutions against early Christian believers. Many were crucified, put to the sword, or burned alive - gruesome forms of death designed to terrify and discourage others from following the same beliefs. Appearing in 1563, Foxe's chronicle of Christian suffering proved a great success among Protestants. It gave literate Christians the ability to discover and read about brave believers who died for expressing their religion, much as did Jesus Christ. Perhaps in foretelling, the final chapter of the book focuses upon the earliest Christian missions abroad: these, to the Americas, Asia and other locales, would indeed see many more martyrs put to death by the local populations.

In this all-embracing Christian church history, E. H. Broadbent details the growth, traditions and teachings of churches and denominations through the ages. Intended as an introduction to organized Christianity, the Pilgrim Church selects examples from the time of Christ onward of Christian denominations. From the beginning, Broadbent is keen to emphasize how gaps in history mean much of the church history is simply obscured. How exactly Christians almost two thousand years ago, or in the pre-Reformation Middle Ages, worshipped and practiced their faith is simply a mystery for theologians and historians. The central argument of Broadbent's book is that the Catholic church, in its effort to suppress divergence it deemed as heresy, destroyed much of the evidence of other churches. Much of the book is composed with this underpinning principle; a truth that resounds through the entire text, which is informed by the undoubted scholarship of the author.

In 1969 the once peaceful Catholic civil rights movement in Northern Ireland degenerated into widespread violence between the nationalist and unionist communities. The conflict, known as the Troubles, would last for thirty years. The early years of the Troubles helped to define the nature of the conflict for years to come. This was the period in which unionism divided into moderate and extreme wings; the Provisional IRA emerged amidst the resurgence of violent republicanism; and British military and governmental responsibility for Northern Ireland culminated in direct rule. Based on extensive research in British, Irish and American archives, Anglo-Irish Relations in the Early Troubles examines the diplomatic relationship between the key players in the formative years of the Northern Ireland conflict. It analyses how the Irish government attempted to influence British policy regarding Northern Ireland and how Britain sought to affect Dublin's response to the crisis. It was from this strained relationship of opposition and co-operation that the long-term shape of the Troubles emerged.

Africa continues to be a region with strong commitments to religious freedom and religious pluralism. These, however, are rarely mere facts on the ground – they are legal, political, social, and theological projects that require considerable effort to realise. This volume – compiling the proceedings of the third annual conference of the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies – focuses on various issues which vastly effect the understanding of religious pluralism in Africa. These include, amongst others, religious freedom as a human right, the importance of managing religious pluralism, and the permissibility of religious practice and observance in South African public schools.

This report was compiled by the U.S. Department of State for 2012. The study found that the government increased its targeting and surveillance of members of faith groups it deemed a "threat," including members of the country's Sunni majority. This occurred concurrently with the escalation of the civil conflict that resulted in the regime killing 35,000 civilians between the start of the uprising in 2011 and year's end. Such targeting included killing, detention, and harassment. There were credible reports that the regime targeted citizens based on religious affiliation in mixed neighborhoods in Homs and rural Aleppo. The government outlawed groups it claimed were "Muslim extremist groups," as well as Jehovah's Witnesses. It continued to monitor the activities of all religious groups and to discourage proselytizing, which it deemed a threat to relations among and within different faiths. Large Print Edition 18pt]

Using concepts that are not already a part of the militant discourse as a way to undermine extremism, Countering Heedless Jihad explores a stratagem aimed at defusing jihadist ideology. It explains how to counteract idealist theology using concepts from it, borrowing ideas from some revered Islamic theologians and positioning them in a way that sabotages jihadist ideology. By integrating the theology with viable methods for dissemination, it presents a viable means for confusing existing members of radical groups and for neutralizing their recruiting effort. The book includes contributions by Major General Michael Lehnert, USMC; U.S. Ambassador David J. Dunford; and Dr. Khuram Iqbal.