Allah's Torch

Long before September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda forces were already zeroing in on Indonesia, the world’s most populous Islamic nation. This giant archipelago, with dense jungles and unpatrolled coastlines, can conceal endless hiding places. In a first-rate reporting adventure, journalist and filmmaker Tracy Dahlby takes us into this dangerous terrain and sheds new light on the epidemic of chaos now threatening our international community.

The adventure begins one night when Dahlby finds himself on board an Indonesian passenger ship along with 600 Islamic warriors on an anti-Christian jihad. Dahlby introduces us to Koran-thumping preachers, hardened holy warriors and fresh-faced recruits, police investigators, military commandos and spies, while trying to make sense of the terror that threatens to engulf the region.

Based on reporting from both before and after September 11, Allah’s Torch is an action-packed and thought-provoking narrative that will enable readers to see the face of Islamic terror more clearly and assess the threat for themselves.

Tracy Dahlby lived for thirteen years in Asia, where he served as Tokyo bureau chief for Newsweek and the Washington Post, and covered events throughout the region. He has written on Asia for National Geographic magazine, and is the winner of major awards for print journalism and documentary filmmaking.

“A portrait of a religion under change, which can be as thoughtful and as insightful as it is sometimes irreverent.”

- Jakarta Post