(I give it 4 stars not for any problems, but because I try to reserve 5 stars for my very favorites.) There was a really powerful chapter called "Manly Warriors" which dissected the type of people that become terrorists. While the writing can be a bit too dry and academic for more casual readers, the sheer depth of reporting on display deserves a shout-out, as does the author's balanced, even-handed take on a naturally polarizing subject. I'll have to seek that out. Juergensmeyer's book, assigned to me for my class on Religion and Globalization, covers a rich topic in a thorough and satisfying way. The case studies are quite good and so is most of the discussion on roots and commonalities of religious terrorism. The second section is where he provides his analysis that terrorism is a performance that is akin to theater.
Published in 2003, so book could probably use an update, given the role social media now plays.Good overview of the many forms of terrorist acts committed by fanatics/radicals of various religions.
He was the founding director of the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, and is a pioneer in the field of global studies, focusing on global religion, religious violence, conflict resolution and South Asian religion and politics. The 80s and 90s saw the rise of this awareness. This was published before September 11th, 2001 but is just as relevant today as when it was written. Even though it was over a decade old, the analysis of religious based terrorism was detailed, lucid, and fascinating. I appreciated the exploration of very distinct examples of modern religious violence, but wanted this expert to help me make a little more sense out of all of these disparate examples.
I came to this book with negative expectations but ended up quite impressed with it. As someone who has read the Quran and had yet to find evidence of such a tale, I have to take into question Juergensmeyer's understanding on the Middle Eastern culture and the Islamic religion.
The best analyze of connections between terrorist attacks cases. In doing this he comparatively examines what the majority of people would deem as “terrorist groups, zealots, or fundamentalists” in an effort to get behind the label that we give them and obtain an understanding of an otherwise senseless acts of violence (4). Or the Hindu/Sikh situation in India, which I knew virtually nothing about.
I do agree with some other reviewers that some This book is divided into two sections. by University of California Press He has published more than three hundred articles and twenty books, including the revised and expanded fourth edition of The important book about religious terrorism. It is so eerie to read this and know that the tragedies of that day were yet to come.
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. The second section is where he provides his analysis that terrorism is a performance that is akin to theater. This book simply gives the reader a clearer understanding of the logic (?) There is no way around the fact that religious beliefs spawn violent acts. I recently found it again when I was at my parents' house and decided it would be a good re-read.Mark Juergensmeyer is a professor of sociology and global studies, affiliate professor of religious studies, and the Kundan Kaur Kapany professor of global and Sikh Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Good, broad survey of various terrorist groups and motivations. Juergensmeyer does a great job at organizing a somewhat complex idea and presents it clearly, however dryly it is.
I know I will read this again one day. 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. The case studies are quite good and so is most of the discussion on roots and commonalities of religious terrorism.
I read this a few months after 9/11/2001 with the hope of learning something ethnological about those who (1) feel they have a direct connection to God, and (2) can justify their own triggering violence by means of that connection. I came to this book looking for insight on the troubling and complicated matter of religious violence. The author is the cousin of a woman I went to church with, a very inspirational woman who is an enemy of the state in China for teaching Christianity. And he also insists on presenting the un-founded theory that Muslims kill instigate suicide bombs for the 72 virgins. Even though it was over a decade old, the analysis of religious based terrorism was detailed, lucid, and fascinating.