Holy Terrors – Thinking about Religion after September 11 2nd ed. Edition
Author(s): Bruce Lincoln (Author)
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication Date: 7 May 2004
Edition: 2nd ed.
Language: English
Print length: 168 pages
ISBN-10: 0226481921
ISBN-13: 9780226481920
Book Description
In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, it is tempting to regard their perpetrators as evil incarnate. But their motives, as Bruce Lincoln shows in this timely offering, were profoundly and intensely religious. What we need, then, after September 11 is greater clarity about what we take religion to be. With rigour and incisiveness, “Holy Terrors” examines the implications of September 11 for our understanding of religion and how it interrelates with politics and culture. Lincoln begins with a gripping dissection of the instruction manual given to each of the hijackers. In their evocation of passages from the Quran, we learn how the terrorists justifed acts of destruction and mass murder “in the name of God, the most merciful, the most compassionate”. Lincoln then offers a provocative comparison of President Bush’s October 7 speech announcing US military action in Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden’s videotape released hours later. Each speech, he argues, betrays telling contradictions. Bin Laden, for instance, conceded implicitly that Islam is not unitary, as his religious rhetoric would have it, but is torn by deep political divisions. And Bush, steering clear of religious rhetoric for the sake of political unity, still reassured his constitutents through coded allusions that American policy is firmly rooted in faith. Lindoln ultimately broadens his discussion further to consider the role of religion since September 11 and how it came to be involved with such fervent acts of political revolt. In the postcolonial world, he argues, religion is widely considered the most viable and effective instrument of rebellion against economic and social injustices. It is the institution through which unified communities ensure the integrity and continuity of their culture in the wake of globalization. Brimming with insights such as these, “Holy Terrors” should become one of the essential books on September 11 and a classic study on the character of religion.
Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, it is tempting to regard their perpetrators as evil incarnate. But their motives, as Bruce Lincoln shows in this timely offering, were profoundly and intensely religious. What we need, then, after September 11 is greater clarity about what we take religion to be. With rigor and incisiveness, Holy Terrors examines the implications of September 11 for our understanding of religion and how it interrelates with politics and culture.
Lincoln begins with a gripping dissection of the instruction manual given to each of the hijackers. In their evocation of passages from the Quran, we learn how the terrorists justified acts of destruction and mass murder “in the name of God, the most merciful, the most compassionate.” Lincoln then offers a provocative comparison of President Bush’s October 7 speech announcing U.S. military action in Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden’s videotape released hours later. Each speech, he argues, betrays telling contradictions. Bin Laden, for instance, conceded implicitly that Islam is not unitary, as his religious rhetoric would have it, but is torn by deep political divisions. And Bush, steering clear of religious rhetoric for the sake of political unity, still reassured his constituents through coded allusions that American policy is firmly rooted in faith.
Lincoln ultimately broadens his discussion further to consider the role of religion since September 11 and how it came to be involved with such fervent acts of political revolt. In the postcolonial world, he argues, religion is widely considered the most viable and effective instrument of rebellion against economic and social injustices. It is the institution through which unified communities ensure the integrity and continuity of their culture in the wake of globalization. Brimming with insights such as these,
Holy Terrors will become one of the essential books on September 11 and a classic study on the character of religion.
About the Author
Bruce Lincoln is the Caroline E. Haskell Professor of History of Religions at the University of Chicago, where he is an associate at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. He is the author of eight books, most recently Theorizing Myth: Narrative, Ideology, and Scholarship, which received the American Academy of Religion Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in 2000.
Wow! eBook
