On Suicide Bombing

Description

Like many people in America and around the world, Talal Asad experienced the events of September 11, 2001, largely through the media and the emotional response of others. For many non-Muslims, "the suicide bomber" quickly became the icon of "an Islamic culture of death" a conceptual leap that struck Asad as problematic. Is there a "religiously-motivated terrorism?" If so, how does it differ from other cruelties? What makes its motivation "religious"? Where does it stand in relation to other forms of collective violence? Drawing on his extensive scholarship in the study of secular and religious traditions as well as his understanding of social, political, and anthropological theory and research, Asad questions Western assumptions regarding death and killing. He scrutinizes the idea of a "clash of civilizations," the claim that "Islamic jihadism" is the essence of modern terror, and the arguments put forward by liberals to justify war in our time. He critically engages with a range of explanations of suicide terrorism, exploring many writers' preoccupation with the motives of perpetrators. In conclusion, Asad examines our emotional response to suicide (including suicide terrorism) and the horror it invokes. On Suicide Bombing is an original and provocative analysis critiquing the work of intellectuals from both the left and the right. Though fighting evil is an old concept, it has found new and disturbing expressions in our contemporary "war on terror." For Asad, it is critical that we remain aware of the forces shaping the discourse surrounding this mode of violence, and by questioning our assumptions about morally good and morally evil ways of killing, he illuminates the fragile contradictions that are a part of our modern subjectivity.

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Other editions

• 

  On Suicide Bombing

  • 2007
  • 128 pages
  • Paperback
  • Columbia University Press

Similar books

• 

  EBOOK: The Stata Survival Manual

  By David Pevalin, Karen Robson

  Timberlake website Another useful website is www.timberlake.co.uk. Timberlake Consultants is a statistical consultancy company that also distributes and ...

• 

  Brooks/Cole Empowerment Series: Understanding Generalist Practice

  By Karen K. Kirst-Ashman, Grafton H. Hull

  Timberlake, E. M., Farber, M. Z., & Sabatino, C. A. (2002). The general method of social work practice (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Timberlake, E. M. ...

• 

  The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-Inch Heels and Faux Pas

  By Karen Robinovitz, Melissa de la Cruz

  All Out of Love • Madonna: The Immaculate Collection • Erasure: Circus Justin Timberlake. Justified - - - - - - - - - - * 75% + T H E FAS H ...

• 

  Asian Americans Information Directory: A Guide to Organizations, Agencies, Institutions, Programs, Publications, and Services Concerned with Asian American Nationalities and...

  By Karen Backus

  + 3590 + Hmong from Laos c / o Assoc . of Hmong in Illinois 4554 N ... Veteran ' s Alliance 1544 Timberlake Rd . St . Paul , MN 55117 Vue Yang , Vice Pres .

• 

  Marriage and Cohabitation

  By Arland Thornton, William G. Axinn, Yu Xie

  ... is much higher than in the United States, with the prevalence in France being perhaps the highest (Heuveline and Timberlake 2004; Toulemon 1997).

• 

  Native American Verbal Art: Texts and Contexts

  By William M. Clements

  HENRY TIMBERLAKE'S CHEROKEE WAR SONG 1. That Timberlake's memoir contains the first English translation of the words of a Native American song seems to have ...

• 

  Oratory in Native North America

  By William M. Clements

  But Timberlake seems to have had a bit more literary sensitivity - suggested by his translation of the Cherokee war song in his memoirs - than these earlier ...

• 

  Contemporary Urban Sociology

  By William G. Flanagan

  Timberlake , Michael . 1985. " The World System Perspective and Urbanization . ” In Michael Timberlake ( ed . ) , Urbanization in the World Economy , 3-4 .

• 

  The Bhopal Tragedy: Language, Logic, And Politics In The Production Of A Hazard

  By William Bogard

  The poor tend to live in dwellings that are structurally unsuited to withstand the impact of environmental extremes (Wijkman and Timberlake 1984, pp.

• 

  The Archaeological Guide to Iowa

  By William E. Whittaker, Lynn M. Alex, Mary De La Garza

  To display and share his discoveries, in 1940 Johnson built the Timberlake Museum on his farm. It remained open to the public during the summer and for ...