Dennis McCuistion is joined once again by Fawaz Gerges, Ph.D. to talk about the situation in the Middle East and the past and future of Jihadists. Fawaz Gerges is the author of Journey of the Jihadist: Inside Muslim Militancy and the Christian A. Johnson Chairholder in International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Sarah Lawrence College.
Dr. Gerges joins us once again to discuss the impact of Jihadists. He states, “A Jihadist is an Islamic activist who wants to replace the secular state with Islamic Sharia Law with all means at their disposal including violence and terrorism to bring about their Utopia.” But he says, “we’re talking about a tiny group, thousands, not millions.”
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Dr. Gerges goes on to talk about the limited group of extremists such as Al Qaeda,“who manipulate and distort Islam in order to garner political support at home.” He acquaints viewers further with why he conducted his studies, spending over 16 months in the Middle East region, interviewing Jihadists as well as mainstream Muslims. Dr. Gerges helps us to better understand what caused this problem.
Join us to get a clearer perspective on how the Jihadist movement has changed since its inception in the 1970’s beginning in Egyptian Universities as a socialist movement. Through this episode you’ll also gain a more thorough understanding of how we got to 9/11 and where the dangers still remain.
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
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The Roots of War… the Road to Peace, provides an intriguing look at the complexity of terrorism and the events that led to 9/11. The 90-minute documentary examines radical Islamist terrorism and its impact on the world stage. Shot on location from Baghdad to Saudi Arabia- through the eyes and voices of key experts, scholars and everyday people, Roots examines history, facts and analysis and gives perspective on the social and political reasons behind most acts of terrorism. It looks at the conflicts in the Middle East that have created a breeding ground for these acts of violence and the role the United States plays.
At a time in history when we are still fighting the “war against terror” the McCuistion team (Niki and Dennis, producers of the McCuistion Program, now in its 20th year with KERA, Channel 13), takes an in depth, non-partisan, balanced look at terrorism.
“Our purpose was to give historical context and as balanced a perspective as possible on the social, human, geo-political and economic costs of terrorism, whose seeds were sown throughout history in the varied conflicts between the great civilizations and religions of the world,” says Niki McCuistion, Executive Producer -Director of the documentary. “We believe we succeeded in presenting an objective look at a complex issue that continues to dramatically impact our everyday lives.”
Click here to view The Roots of War trailer.
For more information contact:
www.therootsofwar.com
nikin@nikimccuistion.com
214-750-5157






