History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence (Comparative Studies in Religion and Society)

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Religion and violence are not linked always
Survey of Religious terrorism
Juergensmeyer has done his research!
Religion and Violence in a postmodern context
Comprehending the nearly incomprehensible

Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence (Comparative Studies in Religion and Society)
Mark Juergensmeyer
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0520223012

Book Description

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

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Since September 11, 2001, we all need tools to help us understand what motivates religious terrorism. 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. Updated with a new preface addressing the events of September 11, the book incorporates 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

Customer Reviews:

Religion and violence are not linked always.......2006-12-21

The thesis of this book is that religion and violence are always linked and that all religions are the same in having a violent strain and that all religions have violence in them naturally because religion is violent.

This is blatently and historically untrue. In attempting, like so many works, to not single out Islam as violent this book wants the reader to beleive that Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and all religions are equally violent and a study of each reveals a strain of hate. Timothy Mcveigh is the Christian, the Sikh Kalistan fighters are the Sikhs, The Tamils are the Hindus, Osama is the Muslims, The strange terror cell in Japan is the Buddhist. This is easy. Rather tahn doing a comprehensive study this book found one murderer from each religion that led a sect and said "see this religion has a strain of violence". However Timothy Mcveigh was one man as were the Buddhist extremists in Japan. The Tamils are not religious, there ware is based on ethnicity. Where are the Jewish terrorists, well there must be Baruch Goldstien and recall those Jewish Zealots 2000 years ago.

This is sheer lunacy. Different religions did indeed engage is certain levels of violence throughout history. THat is true. THere are also different forms of religions and religions change. Religions that were once violent or state controlled like Christianity and Buddhism, have become peaceful. Religions like Sikhism are naturally warrior based religions, but not neccesarily violent. Hinduism has never manifested itself violently, and Judaism hasnt been violent since the time of the revolt and that was a national revolt. This is just a gigantic scam. Islam has violent passages in the Koran. But this doesnt mean Bin Laden is timothy Mcveigh.

It is also not true that religion is 'more' violent than secular societies. Hitler and Stalin killed more people in 5 years than any religion has ever done. If anything religion may work as a hand holding violence back but helping unify it when it takes place.

Seth J. Frantzman

Survey of Religious terrorism.......2006-02-28

Excellent book covering all the major religions and their terrorists. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a scholarly survey or someone looking to make more sense of the world.

Many of the cases explored are chilling in their cold bloodedness, but the author makes all of them eminently understandable.

Juergensmeyer has done his research!.......2005-10-12

This book is being used in a Terrorism seminar class that I am taking and for good reason. Juergensmeyer does not rely wholly on second hand information but has actually visited and spoken with those accused and some even convicted of terror and gives a perspective that only a first hand knowledge would provide. This is an excellent insight into the minds of true idealists with a bent on death and destruction.

Religion and Violence in a postmodern context.......2005-06-10

As a comparative cultural study of religious terrorism, Mark Juergensmeyer attempts to explain how and why religion and violence are linked. Juergensmeyer analyzes recent incidents of global religious terrorism in order to illumine overarching patterns that heighten the risk of religious violence. Splitting his book into two parts, Juergensmeyer, first, highlights examples of religious terrorism within the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and Buddhist traditions. The author interviews religious leaders and activists within cultures of violence present in each of these traditions. In the second part of the book, Juergensmeyer identifies those characteristics that enhance the likelihood of religion becoming violent.

Juergensmeyer believes the first common denominator in religious extremism is the act of violence itself: terrorism is a theatrical display of violence. According to the author, these acts are performance events, inasmuch that they make symbolic, not strategic, statements. They are performative acts, insofar as they attempt to create change. The location and the time of the violent act, also, have symbolic purpose. Terrorism needs an audience, somebody to terrify, in order to be effective, and with the technological advancements of the twentieth century, the audience of this theatre is virtually global.

If religious terrorism is violent theatre, the image of a cosmic war provides the script. Violent activists view their terrorist acts as part of a larger spiritual confrontation, a battle between good and evil, between God and God's enemies. With the notion of warfare, compromise is not possible and violence, naturally, is morally justified. Religious symbols also undergird religious terrorism: all religions have symbols to overcome the images of death, disorder, and disarray. Religion asserts the primacy of meaning and order in the face of chaos, in this case, a world gone awry. Juergensmeyer identifies when these symbols can become deadly and when confrontation is likely to be characterized as a cosmic war.

The processes of satanization and empowerment are a result of viewing the world as engulfed in a cosmic war. Juergensmeyer believes that terrorists believe that they are victims, and this justifies their violent actions. If they die in their cause they are martyrs - again, religious symbolism overcoming disorder - sacrificed for their community and religion. With every war, enemies must be created, and as such the process of demonizing the enemy is important. Terrorists must deny the personhood of the enemy and create stereotypes so that the enemy can be seen as individuals. Juergensmeyer explains the process of satanization, the creation of a cosmic foe, and the process of empowerment, to create the hope that history can be changed, are integral parts of the mentalities caused by the image of cosmic warfare.

Religious violence provides a sense of empowerment to religious activists and their communities. According to the author, all terrorists fear social marginalization. In general terrorism is a male occupation, and women have minor ancillary roles, if at all. This gender specificity implies that sexuality is a factor in militant movements: sexual control needs to be established in a world gone awry, seen in active subjugation of women and homosexuality. Juergensmeyer finds commonality in terrorist groups: they are "anti-institutional, religio-nationalist, racist, sexist, male-bonding, bomb-throwing young guys," (210). Their marginality is experienced through sexual despair, which leads to violent acts of empowerment. Religious terrorists recognize they are in a struggle that cannot be won, but by dismantling the state's monopoly on power, the group demonstrates their power on behalf of the powerless.

In his concluding chapter, Juergensmeyer believes that terrorists would do anything if they believed it sanctioned by God. Because of the increasing secularism and liberalism prevalent in the world, religious terrorists seek to vault their religious views, perceived as both marginalized and traditional, into the mainstream. Secular governments are by nature enemies of these terrorist organizations, and violence is an attempt to reclaim this public sphere. Juergensmeyer, extrapolating from current trends, concludes with five ways in which religious terrorism can be resolved: terrorist organizations can be literally destroyed; terrorists can be frightened into submission by the threat of violent reprisals or imprisonment; the goals of the terrorists can be accommodated; the religious aspects are separated from politics; or religion and politics can be reconciled. Juergensmeyer believes the last solution to be the most successful.

Comprehending the nearly incomprehensible.......2004-09-15

Attempts a cohesive sociological analysis of the putative causal relationship of religious piety and extreme violence, on the premise that it is crucially important that we know if the two are related.

If they are not related, we have a largely incomprehensible phenomenon with the rise of terrorism among religous groups and the use of religious justification for violence. If they are related, it becomes more difficult to explain the use of non-religious rationales for violence and terror.

I think Juergensmeyer does a first class job of research here and a really excellent job of pulling together his findings and making sense of the way violence arises at the extremes of a wide variety of religions. Most importantly, he identifies the conditions under which piety "becomes" violence in some sense, based on the broad idea that we use religion to make sense of the world, and under extreme conditions, symbols of war and expressions of violence do indeed make sense of our experience.

I would like to see work building further on this general framework, I think it would be extremely productive in understanding patterns of violence and developing workable solutions.

The one weakness of this analysis for me was its implicit equation of religion with the search for meaning. We tend to think of religion in that role, but I believe it is important not to confuse the way we often use religion with its many varied expressions and uses. Juergensmeyer's analysis DOES apply to any cultural process that operates to make sense of our experience, including atheist quasi-religions and potentially even meaningful non-theist institutions and practices.

That is, I agree up to a point with the critics here who complained that this book's analysis of piety and violence seems to ignore the systematic use of violence by institutions we don't generally consider religious. However, I don't think it takes much to extend the author's analysis to these other institutions. Some of the conditions under which MJ theorizes that we view a war as having cosmic significance and thus relating piety and violence:

1. The struggle is perceived as a defense of basic identity and dignity.

2. Defeat is unthinkable.

3. The struggle is blocked in practical terms and no real world solution appears to be viable.

With these conditions in place, in theory, seeing a struggle as a cosmic war becomes a very real solution psychologically for making sense of the desperate conditions and finding hope in them. The process of making an enemy into some version of Satan begins often with:

1. very *real* problems that become interpreted in terms of the whole world going awry.

2. Ordinary options for resolving the real problems simply aren't available to us.

3. We then begin the process of symbollizing the enemy as forces of evil, so that being part of a divine solution becomes part of our hope.

4. Coming back from the brink of desperation becomes possible by symbolic acts of power showing that the unwinnable war can be winnable in its cosmic form.

I'm extracting the conclusions from a very detailed and thoughtful analysis.

I think this analysis makes a very important contribution to our understanding of violence and terrorism but this book is also of great value for its framework for understanding the relationship of culture and individual action, and what it implies about how our institutions, practices, and discourse shape our thinking and behavior. This is sociology doing what sociology is best used for, understanding how human social behavior relates to individual thoughts and actions.

Militant Islam in Southeast Asia: Crucible of Terror

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Mini-Review: "Militant Islam in Southeast Asia - Crucible of Terror" by Zachary Abuza
Frustrating work
sloppy and pandering
Superb Book, Shows what OPEN Sources Provided, Great Speaker
Essential Reading

Militant Islam in Southeast Asia: Crucible of Terror
Zachary Abuza
Manufacturer: Lynne Rienner Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1588262375

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Mini-Review: "Militant Islam in Southeast Asia - Crucible of Terror" by Zachary Abuza .......2006-07-19

I acquired this book, "Militant Islam in Southeast Asia," in order to do some background research for a novel I am writing. My book is a long-term project with no projected publication date as yet. It is a rather ambitious undertaking - a retelling of "The Odyssey" set as an Al Qaeda terrorist story that takes place partly in Indonesia! So, in preparation for an eventual fact finding trip to Indonesia, I have been doing some reading about terrorism and Southeast Asia.

Zachary Abuza is on the faculty in the Political Science and International Relations Department at Simmons College in Boston. He has traveled extensively in researching this book, which has received enthusiastic praise from many quarters.

W. Scott Thompson of Tuft's University's legendary Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy had this to say about Abuza's work:

"Showing an astonishing persistence in tying together the threads of the terrorist threat, Abuza has come up with a dazzling display of Al-Qaida at work. It is rare that a book comes out with so deep and thoughtful analysis of a contemporary subject - this may well become the standard reference on everything happening in the Southeast Asian theater of the world terror crisis."

Barnett, in "The Pentagon's New Map," and in his recent "Blueprint for Action," makes it clear that Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, will play a pivotal role over the next several decades in impacting the balance of power among the leaders of what Barnett calls "the Core" and the "New Core." Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation in the world, and will play a significant part in determining the relationship between the United States and the Muslim world. Therefore, Abuza's seminal work becomes a very helpful tool in understanding how terrorism in general - and Al-Qaeda in particular - may serve as a crucial factor in determining how the relationship between the West and the worldwide Muslim may evolve.

Using painstakingly well-documented and footnoted research, Abuza traces the growing influence of Al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia - from Afghanistan and the jihad against the Soviets to the bombing in Bali and beyond. His basic premise follows a logical chain of events. Following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, many zealous Southeast Asians who had fought as mujahadin returned to Asia to use their skills and battlefield experiences to bring the passion of jihad to several local struggles to establish autonomous Muslim states through Southeast Asia. These struggles included the secessionist movements in Mindanao, East Timor, Sulawesi and the Malukus and Aceh - among others. Once the U.S. attacked Afghanistan to topple the Taliban and neutralize the command and control of Bin-Laden's team, Al-Qaeda was forced to flee from its lair in Afghanistan and scatter among a handful of safe havens - many in Southeast Asia. At first, these safe havens - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand - were used as a convenient "back offices" for Al-Qaeda to conduct training, money-laundering, weapons acquisition and coalition building. Al-Qaeda also funded and co-opted many local insurgents and gave them a vision of taking part in a global jihad against the "savage intervention of the American Crusade Armed Forces and their allies [who are involved] in the Muslim cleansing scheme. . . as a `harsh reprimand' to Jews and Christians led by American heathens in oppressing and tainting the Islamic holy land, where the Revelation of the Prophets descended." (Pages 166-167).

Eventually, the terrorists took advantage of lax security and political dissent in these nations to launch terrorist attacks on soft targets within these host nations - the bombing in Bali being the most spectacular and deadly among these incidents.

For anyone who wants to develop a more comprehensive understanding of where Al-Qaeda is heading in its long-term strategy and short-term tactics, this book as a valuable resource.

Al

Frustrating work.......2004-11-05

This is a frustrating work. You read the glowing blurbs (none of them experts on Southeast Asia, to my knowledge) and you expect a great book. The book does not, alas deliver: it is good in some ways, not in others.

At one level, the book is quite good. Abuza manages to tie together a wide variety of facts into a coherent narrative. The book reads reasonably well, although there is clear evidence of haste (e.g. misspelled names). If you knew little about Islam or Southeast Asia, you'd probably come away with the impression that this is a crackerjack book.

But what if you *do* know something about Islam or Southeast Asia? Alas, here the book is irritating. Take this howler: "Because Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, it is easier for radicals and terrorists to fit in." (p. 123). That is an absurd statement. (On the same page, Abuza opines about former PM of Malaysia Mahathir's "insecurity about being a Muslim Malay" -- who knows what he is talking about?)

Abuza, to his credit, usually avoids such bizarre claims. But he resorts to a formulation all too common on "terrorism" experts: that there is something called "moderate" Islam in SEA and then radical or extremist (which he identifies with "Wahhabis" or Salafis).

If you know anything about Salafis, you know that Saudi Arabia is full of them, some of them probably seeing themselves as Salafis committed the 9/11 attacks . . . BUT that the vast majority of them do not embrace terrorism! No matter. Abuza paints with a broad brush and thus smears all Salafis without explaining what, exactly, in their beliefs makes them terrorists. This is intellectually lazy. It explains nothing.

The use of terror is a TACTIC. It is a tactic used by weak non-state groups of all sorts of backgrounds. What we really need to know is why, at this particular time in history, a tiny percentage of Salafis have decided that it is the tactic to use.

One last point: Abuza seems to like "moderate" Muslims. WEll, almost all Indonesians are Muslims. Some of these so-called moderates (e.g. NU, the military leadership) engaged in the killings of 1965-66 that left about 500,000 civilians dead. Some of these "moderates" killed East Timorese (over 100,000). But just as I would never use this as proof that "moderate" Muslims are bloodthirsty thugs BECAUSE OF THEIR ISLAM, so I don't think that individuals are terrorists because of their
Islam. Islam contributes a world view, and many Salafis are rigid and uncompromising in their beliefs. . . one might want to argue that Salafis are more *predisposed* to the use of terror . . . but Abuza does not even make that more nuanced argument.

My advice: read this book for the story of the different networks of terrorists in SEA. Take some of its claims with a grain of salt: after all, who really respects the Philippine intelligence services, who provide some data to Abuza. But discount Abuza's explanations on Islam.

sloppy and pandering.......2004-03-20

This book is rubbish. Abuza uses weak secondary sources with third rate results. He does not know the relevant languages to do substantive research (Indonesian, at least) and has cobbled together a text that panders to the most paranoid of policymakers. He's part of the fear-mongering industry and his work should be read with great skepticism, if read at all.

Superb Book, Shows what OPEN Sources Provided, Great Speaker.......2004-01-25

I have the advantage, in reviewing this book, of having heard the author present his views in a superb illustrated briefing that held 150 government intelligence professionals glued into their seats and fixated on the author's rapid-fire compelling presentation.

This man is a brilliant scholar who has returned to the almost lost art of combining persistent field work with foreign language open sources (both printed and oral), and thoughtful analysis.

Across the board, from his narrative to his footnotes to his bibliography to his index, this book is as good as it gets. This is a world-class contribution to our understanding in three areas: 1) what can be known about terrorism and militant Islam from open sources of information (but is being largely ignored by the so-called professional intelligence agencies that are obsessing on secret sources and methods; 2) what governments in Southeast Asia are and are not doing about it (in many cases, abusing American naiveté or being put off by American arrogance; and 3) where militant Islam is going in this area--be afraid, be very afraid.

If all academics were this good, we would not need spies. This book and this author represent the very best scholarship that one could ask for. The author is the Program Director for East Asian Studies and associate professor of international politics at Simmons College. Goggling him yields a fine selection of interviews and Congressional testimony.

Essential Reading.......2004-01-05

This is a fascinating book that examines the Southeast Asian terrorist network in chilling detail. It is highly readable, yet filled with data and information. It is essential reading for all those interested in Southeast Asian terrorism,and to understand how Al Qaeda has morphed.

Political Islam and Violence in Indonesia (Asian Security Studies)

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a tolerant Islamic nation

Political Islam and Violence in Indonesia (Asian Security Studies)
Zachary Abuza
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0415394015

Book Description

Since the fall of Suharto in 1998, Indonesia has made a successful transition to democracy. However, during the past few years the country has also been racked by Islamist terrorism, most notably the 2002 Bali bombings, and sectarian violence that have left thousands dead. While the two are not linked, they are the most notable trends in Indonesian political development. This volume first analyses the newfound role of Islamist parties in Indonesian politics and explains how they are now shaping public policy. It then provides an in-depth analysis of the state of terrorism in Indonesia and strives to understand how Jemaah Islamiyah has reacted to the "War on Terror" and shifted its tactics and strategies to cope with the arrests and crackdowns. Also focusing on the various laskars, or militias, that are engaged in both sectarian violence and attempts to impose sharia law through vigilante actions, the author examines the degree to which these groups, overt and covert, legal and illegal, are able or willing to cooperate with one another. Finally, the book concludes with policy implications for the Indonesian government, the neighboring ASEAN states and the Western world.

This book will be of great interest to students of Indonesian politics, Asian studies, political violence and security studies in general.

Customer Reviews:

a tolerant Islamic nation.......2007-06-11

With all the kerfuffle about Islamist terrorism, the book presents a timely read. Abuza looks at the world's largest Muslim country and the attraction of what he calls political Islam to the electorate. As a new and still somewhat shaky democracy, the danger of extremism is real. As evidenced by the various acts of terrorism that have already occurred in Indonesia.

The fall of Suharto's government and the instilling of elections meant that Islamist parties were now able to be openly established. But, as has happened in Turkey and other Muslim nations, the endemic corruption in government prior to those elections meant that the Islamists were able to campaign as the clean parties. Offering a religious-inspired opposition to corruption.

So the book describes several of these parties. Often riven by internal divisions. But the 3 main Islamist parties (PPP, PKS and PBB) do proclaim that they will do well in the 2009 elections. Of course, most any party would say this. The book gives a more dispassionate study of their prospects. Alongside a look at the prospects for terrorists to pursue more damaging attacks in Indonesia.

Cautious optimism would seem to be the book's message. The majority of the Indonesian electorate has repeatedly rejected extremist religious appeals. And the Islam of Indonesia tends to be more tolerant than that of Arabia.

The Republic according to John Marshall Harlan (Studies in Legal History)

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The Republic according to John Marshall Harlan (Studies in Legal History)
Linda Przybyszewski
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0807847895
Release Date: 1999-09-08

Book Description

Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan (1833-1911) is best known for condemning racial segregation in his dissent from Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, when he declared, "Our Constitution is color-blind." But in other judicial decisions—as well as in some areas of his life—Harlan's actions directly contradicted the essence of his famous statement. Similarly, Harlan was called the people's judge for favoring income tax and antitrust laws, yet he also upheld doctrines that benefited large corporations.

Examining these and other puzzles in Harlan's judicial career, Linda Przybyszewski draws on a rich array of previously neglected sources—including the verbatim transcripts of his 1897-98 lectures on constitutional law, his wife's 1915 memoirs, and a compilation of opinions, drawn up by Harlan himself, that he wanted republished. Her thoughtful examination demonstrates how Harlan inherited the traditions of paternalism, nationalism, and religious faith; how he reshaped these traditions in light of his experiences as a lawyer, political candidate, and judge; and how he justified the vision of the law he wrote.

Book Description

This book examines the relationship between the theologies of atonement and penal strategies. Christian theology was potent in Western society until the nineteenth century, and the so-called "satisfaction theory" of the atonement interacted and reacted with penal practice. Gorringe argues that atonement theology created a structure of affect that favored retributive policies. He reviews theory and practice in the twentieth century, and makes concrete proposals for both theology and criminal and societal violence.

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Truly Bizarre
A Landmark Work
Fails in its Analysis
Sound Scholarship Based on Extensive Research
Response to previous "Reader"

The Saffron Wave
Thomas Blom Hansen
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0691006717

Book Description

The rise of strong nationalist and religious movements in postcolonial and newly democratic countries alarms many Western observers. In The Saffron Wave, Thomas Hansen turns our attention to recent events in the world's largest democracy, India. Here he analyzes Indian receptivity to the right-wing Hindu nationalist party and its political wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which claims to create a polity based on "ancient" Hindu culture. Rather than interpreting Hindu nationalism as a mainly religious phenomenon, or a strictly political movement, Hansen places the BJP within the context of the larger transformations of democratic governance in India.

Hansen demonstrates that democratic transformation has enabled such developments as political mobilization among the lower castes and civil protections for religious minorities. Against this backdrop, the Hindu nationalist movement has successfully articulated the anxieties and desires of the large and amorphous Indian middle class. A form of conservative populism, the movement has attracted not only privileged groups fearing encroachment on their dominant positions but also "plebeian" and impoverished groups seeking recognition around a majoritarian rhetoric of cultural pride, order, and national strength. Combining political theory, ethnographic material, and sensitivity to colonial and postcolonial history, The Saffron Wave offers fresh insights into Indian politics and, by focusing on the links between democracy and ethnic majoritarianism, advances our understanding of democracy in the postcolonial world.

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Customer Reviews:

Truly Bizarre.......2004-04-23

A discussion of hindu nationalism in India which does not include the Shah Bano judgement or the Khalistan movement, is like discussing civil rights in the USA but never mentioning the dred scott decision or Abolitionist movements.

I have previously been contemptuous of claims that foreign scholars use India as a kind of laundry bag into which they stuff their more eccentric theories. However, after reading texts of this type, I realize this is only far too kind a characterization.

Instead of this drivel, I would recommend the writings of M. J. Akbar (leading indian political journalist) as much more insightful. His "India: The Siege Within" is a nuanced and careful work. Other excellent commentators are Mark Tully and Khushwant Singh. oooops, I forgot, they are mere indians and not resident at some BIG US/European university....

A Landmark Work.......2003-08-26

This is a landmark work on a subject that the rest of the world should become aware of, but unfourtunately not enough is written about it. The Author has clear insights into the hindu nationalist movement and his writing keeps you interested throughout the book. A previous poster said that the percentage of minorities in Pakistan was 40% in 1947 when in fact it was only 15 percent. 40% is actually the percentage of muslims that were in British India before partition. I am not sure where he is getting his numbers but they are not correct. I am quoting my numbers from the South Asian Analysis group.

Fails in its Analysis.......2002-10-15

Hansen doesn't quite get it. He looks at the Indian political scence using Eurocentric categories, without caring to analyze the control the bureaucracy holds on the strings of power and the alienation of wide classes of people. His arguments explaining the rise of the Hindu parties are not convincing. He has not examined the effect that Pakistani policies and the contiuing Islamic terrorism have had on Hindu morale.

Sound Scholarship Based on Extensive Research.......2002-06-05

Hansen's "Saffron Wave" is among the best of the recent spate of publications on the rise of the BJP and transformation of the Indian political landscape that has accompanied it. Based on a comprehensive incorporation of previous scholarship as well as a great deal of field-work primarily in Maharashtra state, Hansen is in absolute control of his material. Indeed, though the introduction is a bit clogged with "theoretical" ruminations, even the Lacanianism is put to good use. Thus, what seems at first gratuitous and extraneous to the argument, is well integrated over the course of the text and enables some Hansen's richest insights into the sort of mentality that is responsible for, among many things besides, the sort of indecent ranting seen in the review above.

Response to previous "Reader".......2000-11-05

Not only does "A reader" go on and on at inordinate length for an online review, but he/she also cannot punctuate. Seriously, a review such as this is typical of the present situation whereby any attempt to analyze and criticize present-day Hindu nationalists is countered not by argument but by the assertion of the radically community specific truth. It should be stated from the first that the "we" of his review has no definite reference but is itself a coercive move to define who is and who is not a member of the nation and of Hinduism. Does the review tell one anything about the book? Does it question its facts and sources? Does it begin to engage its argument? No. Rather, the shrillness of the invocation of Darwin with its overtones of brute survivalism sets the tone for another tirade in what has of late become all too familiar a vein. This is why these online reviews are so often useless. Among other things, it precludes others, such as myself, from doing anything more than parrying the grossest puerility. The problem of the book is precisely its inability to grapple fully with the eviseration of considered public discourse in South Asia, as most everywhere else, in the present. Nevertheless, it is a very solid beginning in a literature still finding its bearings.

Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India

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Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India
Peter van der Veer
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520082567

Book Description

Religious nationalism is a subject of critical importance in much of the world today. Peter van der Veer's timely study on the relationship between religion and politics in India goes well beyond other books on this subject. He brings together several disciplines--anthropology, history, social theory, literary studies--to show how Indian religious identities have been shaped by pilgrimage, migration, language development, and more recently, print and visual media.
Van der Veer's central focus is the lengthy dispute over the Babari mosque in Ayodhya, site of a bloody confrontation between Hindus and Muslims in December 1992. A thought-provoking range of other examples describes the historical construction of religious identities: cow protection societies and Sufi tombs, purdah and the political appropriation of images of the female body, Salman Rushdie and the role of the novel in nationalism, Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda, the Khalsa movement among Sikhs, and nationalist archaeology and the televised Ramayana.
Van der Veer offers a new perspective on the importance of religious organization and the role of ritual in the formation of nationalism. His work advances our understanding of contemporary India while also offering significant theoretical insights into one of the most troubling issues of this century.

Bringing Animals Home: Religious Ideology and Mode of Production of the Mistassini Cree Hunters (Social and Economic Studies, 23)

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Bringing Animals Home: Religious Ideology and Mode of Production of the Mistassini Cree Hunters (Social and Economic Studies, 23)

Manufacturer: Memorial University of Newfoundland
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000CKEQUI

Product Description

"Required reading for all sub-arctic ethnologists as well as anyone interested in the cognitive and material aspects of culture"--American Anthropologist.

Power, Gender and Christian Mysticism (Cambridge Studies in Ideology and Religion)

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Power, Gender and Christian Mysticism (Cambridge Studies in Ideology and Religion)
Grace M. Jantzen
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521479266

Book Description

In Western Christianity, the mystic was seen as having direct access to God, and therefore great authority. Dr. Jantzen discusses how men of power defined and controlled who should count as a mystic, and thus who would have power: women were pointedly excluded. The modern philosophical assumption that mysticism is essentially about intense subjective experiences is misguided. This book is the first on the subject to take issues of gender seriously, and to use them as a point of entry for a deconstructive approach to Christian mysticism.

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