The looming tower - Essay Example

The Looming Tower – Three Most Interesting Pieces of Information The Looming Tower is a book by LawrenceWright which looks at the history of Al-Qaeda. It looks at way how Al-Qaeda was formed and the background of the various terrorist attacks (mainly the events leading to the September 11 attack on USA. This paper identifies the three most interesting pieces of information in the book the looming tower by Lawrence Wright.The piece of information that is most interesting to me so far in the book is the fact that Islamic insurgence started or was initiated way back at the start of the twentieth century.

Until now I was of the impression that Islamic insurgences started post World War II. But this book throws light on the fact that the seeds of Islamic insurgences were sowed even before the World War II. Hardcore Islamists even then believed that Islam was a perfect religion in which the laws and rules of governance was incorporated unlike Christianity which, according to Islamist, was powerless. The following excerpts from the book highlight the above:He founded the Muslim Brothers in 1928, with the goal of turning Egypt into an Islamic state.

Within a few years, the Brothers had spread across the country, and then throughout the Arab world, planting the seeds of the coming Islamic insurgence. (Wright, 16)Christianity would be powerless to block this trend because it exists only in the realm of the spirit—"like a vision in a pure ideal world." Islam, on the other hand, is "a complete system" with laws, social codes, economic rules, and its own method of government. (Wright, 14)The second interesting piece of information in the book is the highlighting of the impact and effect that the war against Israel and the consequent defeat of the Arab countries had on the future of Middle East.

It was a major blow to the psych of the Muslim population in the Middle East. The defeat to Israel was a major humiliation to the Muslim brotherhood and this humiliation lead to unconventional and violent retaliation.The speed and decisiveness of the Israeli victory in the Six Day War humiliated many Muslims who had believed until then that God favored their cause. They had lost not only their armies and their territories but also faith in their leaders, in their countries, and in themselves.

The profound appeal of Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt and elsewhere was born in this shocking debacle. (Wright, 38)The third interesting piece of information according to me is the change in the attitude of Osama Bin Laden in his early years. From a liking to the western culture in his child hood, Osama had a complete u-turn in teenage, where is developed an affinity towards hardcore Islamic religious beliefs. This is very interesting given his background. Osama came from financially healthy background.

He could have gone on to look after his family business and could have become a successful businessman. The sudden and drastic change (in the given circumstances) in his attitude is very interesting.Osama enjoyed television, especially westerns. Bonanza was his favorite show, and he adored Fury, a series about a boy and his silky black stallion. On summer mornings, after the dawn prayer, the boys would play soccer. Osama was an average player who could have been better if he had concentrated on the sport.

But his mind was always somewhere else. (Wright, 75)Osama stopped watching cowboy shows. Outside of school, he refused to wear Western dress. Sometimes he would sit in front of the television and weep over the news from Palestine. (Wright, 75)This paper has successfully identified 3 most interesting pieces of information from the book and has supported it with excerpts from the book. The 3 interesting pieces of information in the book is the seeds of Islamic insurgences sowed before the World War II, the impact of the defeat of the Arab Countries to Israel and the change in attitude of young Osama Bin Laden.

Even though there are a lot of interesting information in the book, there 3 are really interesting to me.Works CitedWright, Lawerence. The Looming Tower. New York: Random House inc., 2006.