Confronting Genocide: Judaism, Christianity, Islam

by Paul R. Bartrop (Contribution by), Donald J. Dietrich (Contribution by), Mohammad Omar Farooq (Contribution by), Zev Garber (Contribution by), Leonard B. Glick (Contribution by)

Overview

Confronting Genocide: Judaism, Christianity, Islam is the first collection of essays by recognized scholars primarily in the field of religious studies to address this timely topic. In addition to theoretical thinking about both religion and genocide and the relationship between the two, these authors look at the tragedies of the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, Rwanda, Bosnia, and the Sudan from their own unique vantage point. In so doing, they supply a much needed additional contribution to the ongoing conversations proffered by historians, political scientists, sociologists, psychologists, and legal scholars regarding prevention, intervention, and punishment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739135891
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/16/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Steven Leonard Jacobs is associate professor of religious studies and holds the Aaron Aronov Endowed Chair of Judaic Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction: Genocide in the Name of God: Thoughts on Religion and Genocide
Part 2 Part I. Textual Warrants for Genocide
Chapter 3 1. Theological Warrants for Genocide
Chapter 4 2. The Last Uncomfortable Religious Question? Monotheistic Exclusivism and Textual Superiority in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as Sources of Hate and Genocide
Chapter 5 3. A Sweet-Smelling Sacrifice: Genocide, the Bible, and the Indigenous Peoples of the United States, Selected Examples
Chapter 6 4. The Accountability of Religion in Genocide
Chapter 7 5. More than the Jews: His Blood Be Upon All the Children: Biblical Violence, Bosnian Genocide, and Responsible Reading
Part 8 Part II. Religion and Mass Violence: Empirical Data and Case Studies
Chapter 9 6. Religion and Genocide
Chapter 10 7. Jihad and Genocide: The Case of the Armenians
Chapter 11 8. Islam and Genocide: The Case of Bangladesh in 1971
Chapter 12 9. The Genocidal Twentieth Century in the Balkans
Chapter 13 10. "Death was everywhere, even in front of the church": Christian Faith and the Rwandan Genocide
Part 14 Part III. Alternative Readings of Troubling Texts: Religion as a Force against Violence
Chapter 15 11. Getting Rid of the G-d of Abraham: A Prerequisite for Genocide
Chapter 16 12. The Ten Commandments, the Holocaust, and Reflections on Genocide
Chapter 17 13. Coming to Terms with Amalek: Testing the Limits of Hospitality
Part 18 Part IV. Theologies and Practices of Reconciliation
Chapter 19 14. Post-Shoah Restitution of a Different Kind
Chapter 20 15. The Holocaust, Genocide, and the Catholic Church
Chapter 21 16. Catholic Perspectives on Holocaust and Genocide: Critical Appraisal
Chapter 22 17. Terror out of Zion: Making Sense of Scriptural Teaching
Chapter 23 18. Rape, Religion, and Genocide: An Unholy Silence

Editorial Reviews

My God! This book about what our Gods really instruct us—is it 'Do Not Kill,' or is it 'Yes, Kill in My Name' (or alternately both notwithstanding the contradiction)—deserves our deep thoughtfulness along with considerable appreciation to the editor for addressing soundly a largely neglected and censored topic. Steven Jacobs leads us to important encounters with 'exclusivity, superiority, privileged access to God'; 'chosen people'-ness and 'promised land-ness'; 'nationalist-racist ideology undergirded by religious thought'; and how religion often 'divides humanity into believers and infidels, into the saved and the damned.' Highly recommended.

Israel W. Charny

Religion has too often been a cause of genocide. The essays in this collection examine why, and then propose how religious texts and traditions could be re-interpreted so that religions could become forces against genocide.

Gregory Stanton

Recommended.

February 2010 CHOICE

Recommended.

Choice Reviews

Confronting Genocide is an essential exploration of this complex dimension of the conceptual foundations of genocide. Steven Jacobs has done superb work in bringing together a broad and rich range of scholarly perspectives. A necessary contribution to genocide studies.

Peter Balakian

Recommended.

Choice

Religion has too often been a cause of genocide. The essays in this collection examine why, and then propose how religious texts and traditions could be re-interpreted so that religions could become forces against genocide.--Gregory Stanton, President, The International Association of Genocide Scholars

Confronting Genocide is an essential exploration of this complex dimension of the conceptual foundations of genocide. Steven Jacobs has done superb work in bringing together a broad and rich range of scholarly perspectives. A necessary contribution to genocide studies.--Peter Balakian, author of The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response

My God! This book about what our Gods really instruct us--is it 'Do Not Kill, ' or is it 'Yes, Kill in My Name' (or alternately both notwithstanding the contradiction)--deserves our deep thoughtfulness along with considerable appreciation to the editor for addressing soundly a largely neglected and censored topic. Steven Jacobs leads us to important encounters with 'exclusivity, superiority, privileged access to God'; 'chosen people'-ness and 'promised land-ness'; 'nationalist-racist ideology undergirded by religious thought'; and how religion often 'divides humanity into believers and infidels, into the saved and the damned.' Highly recommended.--Israel W. Charny, Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide

From the Publisher

Recommended.

February 2010 Choice Reviews