Tolerating Intolerance: The Price of Protecting Extremism

by Amos N. Guiora

Overview

Over the years, numerous tragic events serve as a reminder of the extraordinary power of extremism, both on a religious and secular level. As extremism confronts society on a daily basis, it is essential to analyze, comprehend, and define it. It is also essential to define extremism narrowly in order to avoid the danger of recklessly castigating for mere thoughts alone. Tolerating Intolerance provides readers with a focused definition of extremism, and articulates the tensions faced in casting an arbitrary, capricious net in an effort to protect society, while offering mechanisms to resolve its seemingly intractable conundrum. Professor Guiora examines extremism in six different countries: Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States through interviews with a wide range of individuals including academics, policy makers, faith leaders, public commentators, national security and law enforcement officials. This enables both an in-depth discussion of extremism in each country, and facilitates a comparative analysis regarding both religious and secular extremism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199331840
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/13/2013
Series:	Terrorism and Global Justice Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Amos N. Guiora is Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Center for Global Justice at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, The University of Utah, where he teaches Criminal Procedure, International Law, Global Perspectives on Counterterrorism and Religion and Terrorism. Professor Guiora is a Member of the American Bar Association's Law and National Security Advisory Committee; a Research Associate at the University of Oxford, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict; a Research Fellow at the International Institute on Counter-Terrorism, The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzylia, Israel; and a Corresponding Member, The Netherlands School of Human Rights Research, University of Utrecht School of Law. He received grants from both the Stuart Family Foundation and the Earhart Foundation, was awarded a Senior Specialist Fulbright Fellowship for The Netherlands in 2008, and awarded the S.J. Quinney College of Law Faculty Scholarship Award in 2011. He served for 19 years in the Israel Defense Forces as Lieutenant Colonel (retired), and held a number of senior command positions, including Commander of the IDF School of Military Law and Legal Advisor to the Gaza Strip. He has testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee; the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security; and the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Dutch House of Representatives. Professor Guiora has published extensively on issues related to national security, limits of interrogation, religion and terrorism, and the limits of power, multiculturalism and human rights. He is the author of Legitimate Target: A Criteria Based Approach to Targeted Killing; Freedom from Religion: Rights and National Security; Global Perspectives on Counterterrorism; Fundamentals of Counterterrorism; Constitutional Limits on Coercive Interrogation; Homeland Security: What is it and Where is it Going; and Modern Geopolitics and Security: Strategies for Unwinnable Conflicts.

Table of Contents

Preface Introduction 1. Defining extremism 2. The dangers extremism poses to society 3. Multiculturalism 4. Secular extremism and religious extremism: the differences, causes, and role of religion in fomenting extremism 5. The power of the internet and social media in facilitating extremist movements and ideas 6. Contemporary social tensions 7. The power of 'hate speech' and what limits should be imposed on free speech in the context of extremism 8. Looking forward Index

Editorial Reviews

"Tolerating Intolerance is an important book that focuses on the subject of extremism, both religious and secular, while presenting interesting policy considerations. Professor Guiora further develops his ideas on free speech, national security, and tolerance in a convincing manner, placing classical questions in an entirely new light. This book is essential reading for scholars, as well as politicians and general readers interested in the central issues of our time. Well recommended."
-Paul Cliteur, Professor of Jurisprudence, Leiden University, The Netherlands

"In Tolerating Intolerance, Professor Guiora is unafraid to make us consider more deeply the consequences of our national semi-sacred language like 'freedom of religion' and 'freedom of speech.' As a pastor of a mainline church, Guiora's insights provoke unrest in me. However, the rise of religious extremism and the misuse of the scripture must be confronted. Moving beyond simplistic notions of individual rights, Guiora forges a compelling vision for the priority of the common good. This book engages believer and non-believer, academic, and any student of life who seeks to move beyond pat phrases and simple solutions."
-Rev. Dr. John C. Lentz, Jr., Pastor, Head of Staff, Forest Hill Church, Presbyterian, Cleveland Heights, Ohio

"Amos Guiora's latest book is the last in row of more fantastic books from his hand. Tolerating Intolerance should be read by everyone who wants to know how to defend our basic right freedom of speech and about where to draw the line."
-Mevr. mr. L.M.J.S. Helder, Member of the Dutch Parliament, Party for Freedom, Lid Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal, Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV)

"Guiora's proposal for dealing with [religious authority, community, speech, and conduct] is notably broad ... Instead of strict scrutiny to protect religious rights, Guiora recommends a relationship of religious deference to the state. The proper balance, in Guiora's view, is achieved with religious subservience to state supremacy. This is not a proposal that is likely to sit well with religions, but neither is it a panacea for societies that accept Guiora's invitation to police and preempt religious extremists in their midst. Guiora observes that societies pay a "price for enabling religious liberty" and for "tolerating religious and cultural extremism" (125- 26). Guiora proposes to pay that price forward in the direction of greater religious scrutiny and restriction by the state in the interests of security and order. In this stark calculus, the threat to religious and other civil rights is the cost of doing business."
-Journal of Law and Religion

"This book will be of interest to scholars and students of political extremism. Guiora's vivacious prose, rich with contemporary examples from different countries and informed by interviews with experts, makes this book accessible to lay people as well as academics. The book takes its readers on a fascinating journey of exploration to the boundaries of freedom of expression, which is one of the most difficult dilemmas to occupy the minds of liberals for several generations, from Voltaire and Mill to Dworkin and Waldron." -Raphael Cohen-Almagor, University of Hull, Political Theory

From the Publisher