A sensitive survey of religious nationalism around the world, with
some gentle advice for Americans bewildered by all the uproar. The
aim of religious nationalists of every stripe - Buddhists in
Mongolia, Muslims in Palestine, Sikhs in India - is invariably the
same, says Juergensmeyer (Religion and Political Science/University
of Hawaii): to dismantle the secular state, perceived as morally
and spiritually bankrupt, and replace it with a government founded
on religious principles. Juergensmeyer rejects calling this trend
"fundamentalist" - mostly because of the word's pejorative
connotations - and instead labels it "anti-modernist." Perhaps
postmodernist would be more accurate, for the movement is growing
by leaps and bounds. Instead of "the emergence of mini-Americas all
over the world," as anticipated just a generation go, the new world
order seems to consist of various religious groups warring for
theocratic states. The foremost example, of course, is Iran. But
Juergensmeyer covers a number of other tinder spots, such as Egypt,
where an Islamic revolution may be imminent; Israel, under pressure
from the ultraright; India, where Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims clash
with each other and the secular federal government; and Sri Lanka,
where Buddhist extremists slaughter villagers and in turn are
ruthlessly suppressed. Juergensmeyer outlines the threats
(violence, destruction of human rights) and blessings (a
restoration of morality to public office) of the phenomenon. He
concludes that religious nationalism will continue to expand, urges
cooperation rather than confrontation on the part of American
policy-makers, and holds out the possibility of a happy synthesis
in which "essential elements of democracy will be conveyed in the
vessels of new religious states." Valuable for its global
perspective and its ability to see things from the viewpoint of the
religious nationalists themselves; as such, must reading for the
Clinton Administration. (Kirkus Reviews)
Will the religious confrontations with secular authorities around
the world lead to a new Cold War? Mark Juergensmeyer paints a
provocative picture of the new religious revolutionaries altering
the political landscape in the Middle East, South Asia, Central
Asia, and Eastern Europe. Impassioned Muslim leaders in Egypt,
Palestine, and Algeria, political rabbis in Israel, militant Sikhs
in India, and triumphant Catholic clergy in Eastern Europe are all
players in Juergensmeyer's study of the explosive growth of
religious movements that decisively reject Western ideas of secular
nationalism. Juergensmeyer revises our notions of religious
revolutions. Instead of viewing religious nationalists as
wild-eyed, anti-American fanatics, he reveals them as modern
activists pursuing a legitimate form of politics. He explores the
positive role religion can play in the political life of modern
nations, even while acknowledging some religious nationalists'
proclivity to violence and disregard of Western notions of human
rights. Finally, he situates the growth of religious nationalism in
the context of the political malaise of the modern West. Noting
that the synthesis of traditional religion and secular nationalism
yields a religious version of the modern nation-state,
Juergensmeyer claims that such a political entity could conceivably
embrace democratic values and human rights.
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