Modernity, Religion, and the War on Terror

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 143 pages
• Published by: Ashgate Publishing December 31, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0754660567
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0754660569
• Book Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 13.4 ounces

Product Description
The war on terror cannot be truly understood without investigating the legitimacy of modernity, the challenge that religion presents to modernization, the inescapable conflicts attending the emergence and expansion of modernity, and the post-colonial predicament from which Islamist reaction arises. Richard Dien Winfield illuminates the war on terror in light of these issues, presenting an anti-foundationalist justification of the rationality and freedom of modernity, while assessing how religion can stand in opposition to modernity and why Islam has been a privileged vehicle of anti-modern religious revolt.Winfield shows that the privatization that religion must undergo to be compatible with modern freedom involves no capitulation to relativism, but rather is a theological imperative on which the truth of religion depends. Exposing the limits of any purely secular modernization of Islam, Winfield shows how Islam can draw upon its core tradition to repudiate the oppression of Islamist reaction and become at home in the modern world.

Back Cover Copy
The war on terror cannot be truly understood without investigating the legitimacy of modernity, the challenge that religion presents to modernization, the inescapable conflicts attending the emergence and expansion of modernity, and the post-colonial predicament from which Islamist reaction arises. Richard Dien Winfield illuminates the war on terror in light of these issues, presenting an anti-foundationalist justification of the rationality and freedom of modernity, while assessing how religion can stand in opposition to modernity and why Islam has been a privileged vehicle of anti-modern religious revolt.
Winfield shows that the privatization that religion must undergo to be compatible with modern freedom involves no capitulation to relativism, but rather is a theological imperative on which the truth of religion depends. Exposing the limits of any purely secular modernization of Islam, Winfield shows how Islam can draw upon its core tradition to repudiate the oppression of Islamist reaction and become at home in the modern world.

Reader Reviews
Winfield's analysis on modernity and religion is extremely thorough and cogent. This analysis provides an outstanding foundation to a very interesting perspective on the "war on terror." Winfield's analysis provides a thread that connects the spheres of philosopy, religion, and international relations. I strongly recommend this book for people who are looking for a solid framework, to understand contemporary society as well as people in the academy.