"There's never been a greater need to understand the evolving, complex role of the media in the war on terror, and there's no better book today for this vital task than Representing Al-Qaeda . Dynamic, sophisticated and balanced in its assessment of the BBC's terrorism-related coverage, this book provides much-needed insight and analytical nuance to the typical denunciations of the BBC's bias. Essential reading for anyone interested in al Qaeda, terrorism, the media and the war on terror." (Professor Richard Jackson, University of Otago, New Zealand, and Editor of Critical Studies on Terrorism and author of "Writing the War on Terror: Language, Politics and Counter-Terroris") "Thought-provoking and rigorous, Ahmad's book is an original and useful contribution to our understanding of how the phenomenon of Islamist extremist violence has been portrayed in the media, and how that portrayal has impacted on policy and public conversations. It will be useful for specialists of security studies looking to broaden their perspectives, and specialists of media studies searching for a serious investigation of one of the most pressing issues of our time." (Jason Burke, Guardian Africa Correspondent, and author of The New Threat From Islamic Militancy and Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Isla) "Ahmad documents the rise of security journalism in the UK during the war on terror. In a time marked by uncertainty and anxiety, Ahmad shows how BBC News struggled to offer informed reporting on Al-Qaeda, adding to a public sense of diffused threat. This important research should be read by journalists, citizens and scholars, for we face the same struggle to make sense of ISIS now and we will face other obscure and shifting threats in the future.

" (Professor Ben O'Loughlin, Royal Holloway University, and author of Television and Terror: Conflicting Times and the Crisis of News Discours).