Be Specific About Books Supposing How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror
| Original Title: | How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror |
| ISBN: | 1400066727 (ISBN13: 9781400066728) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Reza Aslan
Hardcover | Pages: 228 pages Rating: 3.98 | 1581 Users | 181 Reviews
Narrative To Books How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror
A cosmic war is a religious war. It is a battle not between armies or nations, but between the forces of good and evil, a war in which God is believed to be directly engaged on behalf of one side against the other.The hijackers who attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, thought they were fighting a cosmic war. According to award-winning writer and scholar of religions Reza Aslan, by infusing the United States War on Terror with the same kind of religiously polarizing rhetoric and Manichean worldview, is also fighting a cosmic war-a war that can't be won.
How to Win a Cosmic War""is both an in-depth study of the ideology fueling al-Qa'ida, the Taliban, and like-minded militants throughout the Muslim world, and an exploration of religious violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Surveying the global scene from Israel to Iraq and from New York to the Netherlands, Aslan argues that religion is a stronger force today than it has been in a century. At a time when religion and politics are increasingly sharing the same vocabulary and functioning in the same sphere, Aslan writes that we must strip the conflicts of our world-in particular, the War on Terror-of their religious connotations and address the earthly grievances that always lie behind the cosmic impulse.
How do you win a cosmic war? By refusing to fight in one.
Details Of Books How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror
| Title | : | How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror |
| Author | : | Reza Aslan |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 228 pages |
| Published | : | April 21st 2009 by Random House (NY) (first published 2009) |
| Categories | : | Religion. Nonfiction. Politics. History. Islam. Audiobook |
Rating Of Books How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror
Ratings: 3.98 From 1581 Users | 181 ReviewsCriticism Of Books How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror
Although principally billed as an analysis and commentary on the so-called 'War on Terror' (ie - against Islamic Jihadists), the book is actually a wider discussion on religion, identity and violence. Perhaps the concept that bests summarizes his thoughts is that of al-wala' wal-bara', which would roughly translate to "faith and infidelity"; a "us vs. them" paradigm. A battle between those who share the same beliefs, and those who do not. This is not purely a Islam and Christianity treatise,He doesn't come out and say it so much, but he is definitely sympathetic to Muslims and their cause. When he talks about Christianity, he really does not seem to understand Biblical belief or doctrine. He says that Christians believe that "not only is the Bible without error, but its myths and fables must be read as historical fact." He doesn't say what the Bible's myths and fables are and I don't like how he left it open to speculation. He then makes it seem that he thinks there are many fables
I went to get a quick cup of coffee with the intention of reading the first chapter of this book while I was drinking. Two and a half hours later, the book was finished and my coffee wasn't. How to Win a Cosmic War is an eloquent, informative, and captivating read.
The "War on Terror" was, Aslan argues, an unwinnable war - a war that participants believed was being waged on a cosmic level as much as a planetary one; a war that was for eternity, not the here and now; a war that transformed the killing of innocents into an ethical act, since doing God's will was the only thing that mattered - concern for other people, even children, was irrelevant compared to serving God. Christian, Jew, or Muslim - certain members of each faith subscribed (subscribe!) to
Good overview of global terrorism, an excellent introduction for someone who had very little prior knowledge on the subject (like me). This book is almost ten years old now, but still very relevant, especially given the rise of nationalism in the US.
Natives restless; what are the drums saying Reza? Reza Aslan seems like a pleasant enough chap. He writes about a lot of things in this book, a revised version of the poorly titled How to Win a Cosmic War. Of the things I actually know aboutIsraeli history, Biblical Studies, Liberation Theologyhe makes amateur mistakes. This and the lack of Arabic sources in his bibliography and notes made me suspicious about the Islamic materials. He makes a distinction between Islamismnationalist Islamic
I went to get a quick cup of coffee with the intention of reading the first chapter of this book while I was drinking. Two and a half hours later, the book was finished and my coffee wasn't. How to Win a Cosmic War is an eloquent, informative, and captivating read.
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