Sacred sites offer believers the possibility of communing with the divine and achieving deeper insight into their faith. Yet their spiritual and cultural importance can lead to competition as religious groups seek to exclude rivals from practicing potentially sacrilegious rituals in the hallowed space and wish to assert their own claims. Holy places thus create the potential for military; theological; or political clashes; not only between competing religious groups but also between religious groups and secular actors.In War on Sacred Grounds; Ron E. Hassner investigates the causes and properties of conflicts over sites that are both venerated and contested; he also proposes potential means for managing these disputes. Hassner illustrates a complex and poorly understood political dilemma with accounts of the failures to reach settlement at Temple Mount/Haram el-Sharif; leading to the clashes of 2000; and the competing claims of Hindus and Muslims at Ayodhya; which resulted in the destruction of the mosque there in 1992. He also addresses more successful compromises in Jerusalem in 1967 and Mecca in 1979. Sacred sites; he contends; are particularly prone to conflict because they provide valuable resources for both religious and political actors yet cannot be divided.The management of conflicts over sacred sites requires cooperation; Hassner suggests; between political leaders interested in promoting conflict resolution and religious leaders who can shape the meaning and value that sacred places hold for believers. Because a reconfiguration of sacred space requires a confluence of political will; religious authority; and a window of opportunity; it is relatively rare. Drawing on the study of religion and the study of politics in equal measure; Hassner's account offers insight into the often-violent dynamics that come into play at the places where religion and politics collide.
#1055492 in Books Sunderland Willard 2014-05-20Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.75 x 6.50 x 1.25l; 1.49 #File Name: 0801452708368 pagesThe Baron s Cloak A History of the Russian Empire in War and Revolution
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An Examination of the Russian Empire's Collapse Through the Experiences of One ManBy B.C. BoothThis monograph is a microhistory that centers around the life of Baron Roman Nikolai Maximilian von Ungern-Sternberg; also known by the moniker of the “Mad Baron.†Sunderland remarks that most historians take note of Ungern because of “the extremism and exoticism of the Mongolian campaign;†and that both historians and contemporaries have portrayed Ungern as “mad;†dismissing him as a minor footnote in history (9). Sunderland differs by drawing original conclusions from anecdotes; historical research; and his own experience of the localities that were important to Ungern’s story. As a result; Sunderland attempts “to reposition the way we look at Ungern so that he can help us make sense of the complicated experience of the empire in a remarkable time†(9). In short; it is the task of The Baron’s Cloak to appropriate Ungern’s life story in order to reveal the relationship between the center and the peripheries of Russia during the fin de siècle; World War I; and the Russian Civil War.At the center of The Baron’s Cloak lies the argument that connections (or linkages) within the Russian Empire and between Russia and other states can serve to demonstrate how the Russian Empire functioned; fell apart; and was reconstructed by the Bolsheviks (10). Sunderland describes Imperial Russia as “a puzzle of accommodations made between the tsars and the different peoples of the realm; reflecting the alternating stages of the empire’s history and its varied physical and cultural environments†(6). He also argues that Imperial Russia was able to exist for so long due to the balance of “violence and exploitation†and “recurring accommodations†between the center of the Russian Empire and its’ peripheries (230). Sunderland reveals that one of the important connections of the empire came in the form of a multi-ethnic nobility; which; as a Russo-German; Ungern was able to embody. Yet; with the rise of nationalism and the ensuing programs of Russification; the “supranational ambiguity that had been a mainstay†of the Russian Empire’s success for centuries had weakened (128). This led to an exacerbation of “divisions within national and imperial communities;†resulting with the demise of Russia; along with other multi-ethnic empires; during or at the end of World War I (128-29). As the empire crumbled around him; Ungern attempted to restore the old autocratic government by joining the Whites in the Russian Civil War; and by raging a campaign of destruction in Mongolia and Siberia. Unfortunately for Unger; the Bolshevik leaders were able to effectively reestablish many connections of the old empire; including material connections such as the trans-Siberian railway; and were effectively able to combat the Whites and capture Ungern; executing him shortly thereafter.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An interesting but flawed reading.By David S. WellhauserWhere this book fails is in attempting to be both the history of a period; The Civil War; and the history of an individual.In attempting to be both it fails to be either. However; it remains an interesting book and if you're interested in the Russian Civil War you will undoubtedly be interested in this small sideshow.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An Unusual Look at Russia in the First World War and the RevolutionBy Michael E. Murray MDThe author; a professor of Russian History at the University of Cincinnati; has written several books on the eastern periphery of Russia. This one follows the Russian participation in the First World War and the subsequent revolutionary period through the career of Baron von Ungern-Sternberg; a scion of on old German family in the Russian Baltic area. The baron was a bold and dashing man. The book is a highly interesting and enjoyable approach to the complex history of this era.
