Why read Compulsion in Religion?

Book cover of Compulsion in Religion: Saddam Hussein, Islam, and the Roots of Insurgencies in Iraq

Book description

Samuel Helfont draws on extensive research with Ba'thist archives to investigate the roots of the religious insurgencies that erupted in Iraq following the American-led invasion in 2003. In looking at Saddam Hussein's policies in the 1990s, many have interpreted his support for state-sponsored religion as evidence of a dramatic shift…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Compulsion in Religion as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Vassily Klimentov

Author

I liked Samuel Helfont’s book for the solidity of his research on the instrumentalization of Islam by the Saddam Hussein regime.

I personally feel that the 1980s is a key period in understanding how some of the problems that emerged during the late Cold War are still relevant today. This is certainly true for the Middle East, a region that is prone to conflicts and where the United States has been involved militarily over the past forty years.

Beyond that, I enjoyed Helfont’s writing which is strikingly dynamic.

From Vassily's list on the modern Middle East and Afghanistan.