Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious ViolenceUniversity of California Press, 2001 - 316 من الصفحات Beneath the histories of religious traditions--from biblical wars to crusading ventures and great acts of martyrdom--violence has lurked as a shadowy presence. Images of death have never been far from the heart of religion's power to stir the imagination. In this wide-ranging and erudite book, Mark Juergensmeyer asks one of the most important and perplexing questions of our age: Why do religious people commit violent acts in the name of their god, taking the lives of innocent victims and terrorizing entire populations? This, the first comparative study of religious terrorism, explores incidents such as the World Trade Center explosion, Hamas suicide bombings, the Tokyo subway nerve gas attack, and the killing of abortion clinic doctors in the United States. Incorporating personal interviews with World Trade Center bomber Mahmud Abouhalima, Christian Right activist Mike Bray, Hamas leaders Sheik Yassin and Abdul Azis Rantisi, and Sikh political leader Simranjit Singh Mann, among others, Juergensmeyer takes us into the mindset of those who perpetrate and support violent acts. In the process, he helps us understand why these acts are often associated with religious causes and why they occur with such frequency at this moment in history. Terror in the Mind of God places these acts of violence in the context of global political and social changes, and posits them as attempts to empower the cultures of violence that support them. Juergensmeyer analyzes the economic, ideological, and gender-related dimensions of cultures that embrace a central sacred concept--cosmic war--and that employ religion to demonize their enemies. Juergensmeyer's narrative is engaging, incisive, and sweeping in scope. He convincingly shows that while, in many cases, religion supplies not only the ideology but also the motivation and organizational structure for the perpetrators of violent acts, it also carries with it the possibilities for peace. Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction Book of 2000 |
المحتوى
Terror and God | 3 |
Soldiers for Christ | 19 |
Zion Betrayed | 44 |
حقوق النشر | |
13 من الأقسام الأخرى غير ظاهرة
طبعات أخرى - عرض جميع المقتطفات
عبارات ومصطلحات مألوفة
abortion clinic acts of terrorism acts of violence American Arabs assassination attack August 19 Aum Shinrikyo Baruch Goldstein Belfast Bhindranwale bombing Buddhist building Catholic Christian Identity Church conflict cosmic cultures of violence Delhi enemy federal Gandhi Gaza global groups Hamas Hindu Ian Paisley ideas ideology images India Islamic Israel Israeli January Japanese Jarnail Singh Jerusalem Jewish Jews Kahane's killed leaders Mahmud Abouhalima Mann Mark Juergensmeyer martyrs Michael Bray militant military minister modern moral murder Muslim Nakamura nerve gas Northern Ireland Oklahoma City Omar Abdul Rahman Palestinian Paul Hill perpetrators police political Protestant Punjab Rabbi Rabin radical regarded religion religious activists religious terrorism religious violence ritual role secular Sheik Omar Abdul Shoko Asahara Sikh Sinn Féin social society spiritual Sprinzak struggle subway suicide symbolic targeted terrorist acts Timothy McVeigh tion Tokyo told tradition Turner Diaries University Press warfare World Trade Center Yoel Lerner York