On April 17, 2002, at Columbia University's Middle East Institute, Kepel spoke about his new book, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam, in which he traces significant political events that fueled extreme Islamic movements and their desire for hegemony from the 1970s to the recent Jihad in Afghanistan. Kepel contends that a generation of Islamic males who had never known colonialism and who made a rural exodus to urban centers in the 1970s, faced a dramatically altered world view. This led to great expectations, frustration and defiance. These men sought the alternative provided by Islamic militants and their idealization of Islam.

Kepel highlights the importance of the Iranian revolution of 1979, and the resulting period of expansion and competition between Islamic militants in Iran and Saudi Arabia. He explains the significance of the Soviet invasion and the war in Afghanistan, and by 1989, the first Palestinian Intifada. By the time Sadam Hussein invaded Kuwait and the United States deployed troops, Islamic movements were deeply shattered and fragmented. Increased violence in the 1990s, guerrilla movements, and authoritarian regimes led to terrorism and ultimately to the attacks on the World Trade Center.