This is an important work for understanding the expectations and belifes of the Jihadists. The author does an excellent job using Islamic eschatological hopes and historical events in explaining the mindset behind many of today's current events.

Timothy Furnish has written what will come to be one of the most important books to help us all better understand Islam's relationship to the rest of the world. Furnish discusses the very little understood - yet crucial topic of Mahdism. The Mahdi is Islam's primary Messiah figure - an Islamic global warlord of sorts - the very idea of which adds a much greater measure of danger to an already global threat - radical Islam. This subject matter must be undertood by scholars and those in government as well as Christians or anyone who desires to understand Islam better. It is the first comprehensive study of this subject. It is fascinating, frightening and profound. As an author of another book that deals with some of this material but on much more popular level, I highly recommend this book. Furnish knows his stuff.