Women and Radicalism in Saudi Arabia

“The author masterly complements literary sources and documentary evidence with a much-needed inside view on a process that, since the 1960s until the most recent years, has been leading some Saudi female religious activists from a general support to Islamism to an involvement in jihadi groups’ activity and terrorism. Alsudairy’s analysis of human environments and social-religious dimensions related with women’s jihadism is particularly accurate in all its specificities and often inherent contradictions. Interviews and first-hand information are collected with meticulous investigation, as they integrate the data provided by literature and other unpublished sources. […] This study can certainly help the international scholars and any interested outsider to grasp the complexity of the main themes related with Saudi women and Islam. It also represents the courageous effort of a Saudi female scholar to practice critical thinking within one of the most sensitive topics of research. It is such critical thinking that, adequately promoted within the most recent education reforms in Saudi Arabia, will help the country to overcome further risks of religious radicalisation, and to contribute to social growth and human development. […] Both the included persons of note list and the glossary at the end of the volume are very useful and particularly helpful to the non-specialised reader.”