ePub Islamic Reform in Twentieth-Century Africa by Roman Loimeier in History

Description

Exploring the personification of evil; through the ages and across cultures; a French historian and critic shows that our image of Satan - the antithesis of God and good - was a concept unknown to the Greeks; Romans; Egyptians; Hindus and Chinese. The Devil as we know him was probably invented in Persia six centuries before Christ; by Zoroastrian high priests eager to demonize their adversaries and aid their own political machinations. The image of evil has been a useful tool of political power ever since; from the proponents of the Spanish Inquisition to the Cold Warriors; fundamentalists and proponents of "ethnic cleansing" of our own time. Gerald Messadie's historical references and broad cultural analysis aim to show that it is precisely a belief in the Devil that lies at the root of contemporary religious fanaticism.