Ima's War

In Islam, there is the greater and the lesser Jihad. The greater is understood to be the fight against heresy. The lesser is the struggle within the self. U.S. Attorney Nathan Minnow and a government assassin move fatefully towards each other, engaged in jihad on both levels. Domestic terror, religious zeal, cosmic irony and a cast of unforgettables, all are deciphered and balanced skillfully in Alfredo Chandler's thought-provoking new thriller, Ima's War.

The Church of the Philippians is gearing up to protect the homeland from local Muslim citizens in the wake of 9/11. Its charismatic leader, the Reverend Myron Liberty, makes the case for holy war based on biblical prophecies and has the resources to carry out a horrific attack that he believes will shock the world and expand the influence of fundamentalist Christianity. U.S. Attorney Nathan Minnow has aspirations of his own, tied to a paranoid and aggressive administration bent on firing him because he is not patriotic enough. Minnow seeks to infiltrate the church, but when he is contacted by a government assassin operating covertly within U.S. borders to eliminate the remaining terrorists, Minnow finds himself with a dilemma: uphold the rule of law and commit career suicide or assist the agents in carrying out their dubious mission.

Alfredo Chandler was born in the heart of the Imperial Valley in southeast California. He is the son of an Anglo physician and a migrant farmer's daughter from Victoria, state of Tamaulipas. Raised bi-culturally, he is very active in church and school activities in the Valley.