Think Advisor: What were you able to learn about fundamentalist Islam by following the money?
Tavakoli: If you read the 9/11 report, it states the Saudis, among others, funded terrorism. There is a theory that Saudi Arabia, among others, funded the fellows who formed ISIS to advance the Wahhabi agenda on the Arabian Peninsula, but their monsters went rogue and formed their own Wahhabi-based caliphate. Saudi Arabia got its start by using the Wahhabi ideology as a recruitment tool, and the Saudis are not keen to see upstarts dethrone them. There can only be one caliphate, so Gulf governments have a keen interest in pushing back the new challengers, before the so-called caliphate gains more traction.
End of Excerpt
Gil Weinreich at Think Advisor interviewed Janet Tavakoli on her new nonfiction book Unveiled Threat: A Personal Experience of Fundamentalist Islam and the Roots of Terrorism. You can read the entire interview here: “Tavakoli Turns Her Fire From Crony Capitalists to Muslim Fundamentalists.”
From Washington’s Blog, an endnote from his book review of Unveiled Threat:
“Postscript: Even though Unveiled Threat focuses on the danger of fundamentalist Islam, Tavakoli’s expertise in financial matters still shines through in parts, such as this gem:
‘Bin Laden wanted to damage the U.S. economy, but he didn’t make a dent compared to Wall Street executives.’”