Children of Jihad: By Jared Cohen
An American Jew shares his experiences with Middle Eastern youth and militants from his self-guided tour of the most dangerous place on Earth.
Image by ϻicκγ via Flickr
Jared Cohen is a master at his art. Part history text, travel guide, and documentary, Children of Jihad takes you on a wild, real-life adventure through the modern-day Middle East.
He talks with Hezbollah members about their tensions and disdain for American and Israeli governments — and their unabashed acceptance of western clothes, music and fast food restaurants.
He listens as Iranian youth express their profound sadness for America after the bombing of the World Trade Center on September 11th. He sneaks away from the regime’s assigned “chaperone” to explore underground beach parties complete with bootleg liquor and American hip-hop blasting from every sound system.
He watches as Muslims, Christians, and Druze alike shed their daytime identities to hook up with other anonymous youth in Lebanon.
He defiantly enters Palestinian refugee camps to see first-hand what the Israeli occupation has left behind, and discovers the second generation of youth growing up among violence and fanatical ideology who just want the chance for an education and a way out.
He seeks out Bedouin nomads and discovers the Middle Eastern obsession with satellite T.V. extends even into the farthest reaches of the desert.
Even daring to cross the border into northern Iraq with an insurgency flaring up in the south, he discovers the Kurdish youth to be uniquely involved with politics – and staunch supporters of America’s War on Terrorism.
With a surprising, death-defying ending, Jared Cohen truly takes you where no American has gone before. Armed only with a camera and the courage to explore the countryside in an effort to hear the voice of the people, Cohen comes away with the profound discovery “that the language they speak is not exclusively the language of politics…. Like us, young people in the Middle East all desire better education; they all have a fascination with innovative uses of technology; they all get bored and crave adventure and entertainment; they all seek interaction and global connectivity; and more than anything, they all want to feel as though they belong, have a purpose in this world, and can have a better life.”
Children of Jihad is the definitive dialogue for everything you ever wanted to know about today’s conflict in the Middle East.
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