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When it comes to the main historical antecedent for many modern jihadis,

one man stands head and shoulders above the rest.

One scholar writes,

advocates of violent jihad from the late 1970s to the present,

quote, him, more than any other medieval scholar.

Another one claims that Xi's and many Sunnis blame him for introducing excessive intolerance

and theological error into their religion.

This is a man whose thrilling life foreshadows many of the issues with radicalism

that Islam is facing today, a man who baked in an uncompromising even brutal zeal

to the religion still felt 700 years later.

I'm talking, of course, about the 13th, 14th century scholar, theologian warrior,

Ibn Taymiyah, the Sheikh of Islam, as he is called by his admirers.

Now, Ibn Taymiyah is a pretty controversial character.

What does he mean to you?

For me, he is the ultimate jurisprudent and pioneer, I would say,

of political and militant Sunnislam.

Pioneer, I like that word. Ibn Taymiyah was a pioneer,

and part of our ongoing series looking at the historical thinkers who have influenced modern

...