William McCants
Biographic Data
| ID | 5824633 |
|---|---|
| NAME | William McCants |
| GIVEN NAMES | William |
| FAMILY NAME | McCants |
| SIGNATURE | MCCANTS W |
| AFFILIATIONS | Johns Hopkins University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 7 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 7 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
The Isis apocalypse
"The so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, has inspired young men and women around the world to commit heinous acts in its name. By the thousands, they have flooded into the Islamic State's vase stronghold in Syria and Iraq, and in nearly every continent they have carried out attacks under its black banner. The Islamic State has become one of the most popular and successful jihadist groups on the planet, surpassing even al-Qaeda. How did the Islamic …
A Quietist Jihadi
In 2006, I published a citation analysis of the most-read books found on the primary jihadi online library, www.tawhed.ws. The study reached the surprising conclusion that the most influential intellectual figure inside the jihadi movement was not Usama b. Ladin or Ayman al-Zawahiri but a little-known Jordanian scholar named Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi. At the time, there was very little in print about Maqdisi in western languages. What was available…
Inventing Nations
This chapter examines postconquest native histories of civilization. These histories are nationalistic in the sense that they place the origins of civilization locally and in the distant past and assert or imply that the cultures of other nations are inferior and derivative. Moreover, they make shared ancient culture, rather than kinship, the primary marker of ethnic belonging. In the postconquest periods considered, claims to have originated civ…
Founding Gods, Inventing Nations
From the dawn of writing in Sumer to the sunset of the Islamic empire, this book traces four thousand years of speculation on the origins of civilization. Investigating a vast range of primary sources, some of which are translated here for the first time, and focusing on the dynamic influence of the Greek, Roman, and Arab conquests of the Near East, the book looks at the ways the conquerors and those they conquered reshaped their myths of civiliz…
Founding Gods, Inventing Nations
From the dawn of writing in Sumer to the sunset of the Islamic empire, Founding Gods, Inventing Nations traces four thousand years of speculation on the origins of civilization. Investigating a vast range of primary sources, some of which are translated here for the first time, and focusing on the dynamic influence of the Greek, Roman, and Arab conquests of the Near East, William McCants looks at the ways the conquerors and those they conquered r…
Stealing Al Qaeda's Playbook
The key to defeating the jihadi movement is identifying its strengths and weaknesses so that the former may be countered or co-opted and the latter exploited. This article argues that the people who know these strengths and weaknesses best are the jihadis themselves; one just needs to know where (and how) to look for their insights. To this end, this article demonstrates a method for mining the works of jihadi ideologues for tactical and strategi…
The History and Provenance of an Early Manuscript of the Nuqtat al-kaf Dated 1268 (1851–52)
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Stealing Al Qaeda's Playbook
The key to defeating the jihadi movement is identifying its strengths and weaknesses so that the former may be countered or co-opted and the latter exploited. This article argues that the people who know these strengths and weaknesses best are the jihadis themselves; one just needs to know where (and how) to look for their insights. To this end, this article demonstrates a method for mining the works of jihadi ideologues for tactical and strategi…
The History and Provenance of an Early Manuscript of the Nuqtat al-kaf Dated 1268 (1851–52)
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Stealing Al Qaeda's Playbook
The key to defeating the jihadi movement is identifying its strengths and weaknesses so that the former may be countered or co-opted and the latter exploited. This article argues that the people who know these strengths and weaknesses best are the jihadis themselves; one just needs to know where (and how) to look for their insights. To this end, this article demonstrates a method for mining the works of jihadi ideologues for tactical and strategi…
Inventing Nations
This chapter examines postconquest native histories of civilization. These histories are nationalistic in the sense that they place the origins of civilization locally and in the distant past and assert or imply that the cultures of other nations are inferior and derivative. Moreover, they make shared ancient culture, rather than kinship, the primary marker of ethnic belonging. In the postconquest periods considered, claims to have originated civ…
Founding Gods, Inventing Nations
From the dawn of writing in Sumer to the sunset of the Islamic empire, this book traces four thousand years of speculation on the origins of civilization. Investigating a vast range of primary sources, some of which are translated here for the first time, and focusing on the dynamic influence of the Greek, Roman, and Arab conquests of the Near East, the book looks at the ways the conquerors and those they conquered reshaped their myths of civiliz…
Founding Gods, Inventing Nations
From the dawn of writing in Sumer to the sunset of the Islamic empire, Founding Gods, Inventing Nations traces four thousand years of speculation on the origins of civilization. Investigating a vast range of primary sources, some of which are translated here for the first time, and focusing on the dynamic influence of the Greek, Roman, and Arab conquests of the Near East, William McCants looks at the ways the conquerors and those they conquered r…
A Quietist Jihadi
In 2006, I published a citation analysis of the most-read books found on the primary jihadi online library, www.tawhed.ws. The study reached the surprising conclusion that the most influential intellectual figure inside the jihadi movement was not Usama b. Ladin or Ayman al-Zawahiri but a little-known Jordanian scholar named Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi. At the time, there was very little in print about Maqdisi in western languages. What was available…
The Isis apocalypse
"The so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, has inspired young men and women around the world to commit heinous acts in its name. By the thousands, they have flooded into the Islamic State's vase stronghold in Syria and Iraq, and in nearly every continent they have carried out attacks under its black banner. The Islamic State has become one of the most popular and successful jihadist groups on the planet, surpassing even al-Qaeda. How did the Islamic …
History (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Law (4 works) · Ancient history (3 works) · Archaeology (3 works) · Historical and Linguistic Studies (3 works) · Islam (3 works) · Islamic Studies and History (3 works) · Politics (3 works) · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence (3 works)