This book examines the political involvement of Islam in the Horn of Africa, with particular focus on the period since the 1880s. The author explains that Islam in the Horn is based on forms of conversion and movements that are different from those found in the Islamic heartlands in the Arab countries of the Middle East. Erlich shows that in the Horn the development of Islam has long been linked to the development of translocal regional networks. The author further suggests that, by and large, the great majority of Muslims in Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan are apolitical, tolerant and moderate, and that these qualities have helped to preclude the widespread development and popular acceptance of Islamic militancy. On the other hand, recent accounts of the rise of Islamic militancy in the Horn, especially in Somalia and to some extent Sudan, suggest not only that it is ‘on the move’, but also that its increased prominence can be explained by reference to the growing influence of regional networks with headquarters in various Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Kuwait.

It is sometimes argued that, rather than globalisation per se, it is translocality that typically characterises such situations of cross-border Islamic interaction. The term translocality captures the idea of individual local situations concerned with domestic community issues yet nevertheless distributed within – and hence affected by – larger geographical and cultural contexts. The concept of Islamic translocality implies that different local Islamic agents, individuals and initiatives all operate within a cross-border networked religious environment. Throughout Erlich's book there are constant references to such networks.

It is not clear, however, what this means in the Horn, with regard to the impact of Islam on politics and vice versa. Religious sentiments can accentuate ‘negative’ aspects of politics, although this is not always the case: religion can also be associated with goals of societal enhancement and development, a point Erlich makes on more than one occasion in the book. However, since the 1970s and 1980s, the social and political characteristics of many African countries – including widespread political repression, economic crises, rapid social change, uneven industrialisation and swift urbanisation – have led to extensive economic, social and political problems; those in the Horn are no exception. As a result, many Africans are said to experience deep feelings of economic and political disappointment. In some cases, a (re)turn to religion is thought to help deal with these existential dilemmas. In turn, the mobilisation of religion in tandem with ethnicity may inform political militancy, as in Ethiopia and Sudan.

Erlich's book is a welcome addition to the literature on the politics of Islam in the Horn of Africa. He has consulted a wide range of primary source documents and has produced an effective and detailed survey which covers the period from the intrusion of European imperial influence to the most recent developments relating to the advance of militant Islamic networks in the region. It is very useful to get such a historic picture in one short book, and the volume is likely to be of interest to both researchers and advanced higher education students.