War on Sacred Grounds , livre ebook

Cornell University Press - E. Hassner Ron

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243 pages

English

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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.

Sujets

Political science of religion

Informations

Publié par	Cornell University Press
Date de parution	15 décembre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780801460418
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,7500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Wa r o n S a c r e d G r o u n d s

Cornell University Press Ithaca & London

Copyright © 2009 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2009 by Cornell University Press First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2013 Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Hassner, Ron E. (Ron Eduard) War on sacred grounds / Ron E. Hassner. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 9780801448065 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 9780801478802 (paper : alk. paper) 1. Sacred space—Management. 2. Conflict management—Religious aspects. 3. Religion and politics. I. Title.

BL580.H375 2009 203'.50956—dc22

2009016720

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and mate rials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorine free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.

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The photograph on the title page is the Shahid Mosque in Baghdad, following the first phases of Operation Iraqi Freedom, on March 22, 2003. Photo by Mirrorpix/ Getty Images.

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Contents

List of Illustrations ix Prologue: “A Terrifying and Fascinating Mystery” xi 1. On Sacred Grounds 1 Pa r t O n e : U n d e r s t a n d i n g C o n f l i c t s ov e r S a c r e d S p a c e s 2. What Is Sacred Space? 17 3. The Indivisibility Problem 37 4. Conflict over Sacred Places 53 5. Mismanaging Conflicts over Sacred Places 69 Pa r t Two : M a na g i n g C o n f l i c t s ov e r S a c r e d S p a c e s 6. The Foundations and Limits of Religious Authority 91 7. Successful Conflict Management: Jerusalem, 1967 113 8. Successful Conflict Management: Mecca, 1979 135 9. Lessons from Conflicts over Sacred Places 153

Acknowledgments NotesIndex

181 183 217

Illustrations

1 Dome of the Rock in the center of the Temple Mount 2 Palestinians hurl shoes at Israeli police at the entrance to the alAqsa Mosque 3 Interior of the Harimandir Sahib 4 Medicine wheel in Bighorn National Forest 5 Borobudur Temple complex in Java 6 Selimiye Mosque in Nicosia 7 VHP activist agitates for the construction of a Hindu temple in Ayodhya 8 Hindu extremists demolish the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya 9 Pope John Paul II, Chief Rabbi Israel Lau, and Palestinian Muslim cleric Sheikh Tatzir Tamimi 10 Sign at the entrance to the Temple Mount bars Jews from entry 11 Interior of the Grand Mosque in Mecca 12 Sign on the road from Jeddah to Mecca bars access to nonMuslims 13 Mosque in Pec, Kosovo, destroyed by Serbian militia

xx 16 21 36 52

68 79

90 112 134

138 152