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Synopsis In this brilliant look at the rise of political Islam, the distinguished political scientist and anthropologist Mahmood Mamdani dispels the notion of 'good' (secular and westernized) Muslims as against 'bad' (pre-modern, fanatic) Muslims. Mamdani shows how political Islam emerged from a modern encounter with western power, and how the terrorist movement within it arose out of the USA's post-Vietnam Proxy Wars. It culminates by looking in detail at the 'Global' War against terror being waged in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. Good Muslim, Bad Muslim possesses a huge civilizational sweep which profoundly alters official understandings of Islamist politics that the US state propagates. It is more broadly a radical and necessary corrective to the way in which Islam is being projected by conservative forces in contemporary times.