Steven Kepnes
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195313819
- eISBN:
- 9780199785650
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195313819.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Jewish liturgy helps develop new forms of discourse and theology to respond to the two central events of the contemporary Jewish era: the Shoah and the establishment of the State of Israel. Peter ...
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Jewish liturgy helps develop new forms of discourse and theology to respond to the two central events of the contemporary Jewish era: the Shoah and the establishment of the State of Israel. Peter Ochs argues that modern philosophical logic is limited and must be augmented with a “logic of scripture.” This chapter argues for the power of the “logic of liturgy.” To address the Shoah, the chapter focuses on the liturgical theodicy of the Passover Seder and the synagogue sermon. The State of Israel revives issues of sacred space for Judaism. Part two of the chapter explores the notion of liturgical space as a response to idolatrous and messianic claims by some Zionists for the present State of Israel. Liturgy preserves the messianic character of Israel as a future and not a present reality.Less
Jewish liturgy helps develop new forms of discourse and theology to respond to the two central events of the contemporary Jewish era: the Shoah and the establishment of the State of Israel. Peter Ochs argues that modern philosophical logic is limited and must be augmented with a “logic of scripture.” This chapter argues for the power of the “logic of liturgy.” To address the Shoah, the chapter focuses on the liturgical theodicy of the Passover Seder and the synagogue sermon. The State of Israel revives issues of sacred space for Judaism. Part two of the chapter explores the notion of liturgical space as a response to idolatrous and messianic claims by some Zionists for the present State of Israel. Liturgy preserves the messianic character of Israel as a future and not a present reality.
Joanne Punzo Waghorne
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195156638
- eISBN:
- 9780199785292
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195156638.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
Three general reconfigurations of sacred space — sometimes interlocking, sometimes in tension — emerge from the new style and sensibilities of contemporary global Hindu temples with implications for ...
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Three general reconfigurations of sacred space — sometimes interlocking, sometimes in tension — emerge from the new style and sensibilities of contemporary global Hindu temples with implications for the general history of religions. The first is the emergence of a new sense of the sacred sphere, of temple space within an urban environment dominated by the ownership of houses and not land or even natural phenomenon. Second, even the architecture of both space and the polity of new temples reflects democratic models of civic organizations, which leads to new space for lectures and education. Third, complex middle-class religious sensibilities emerge within the temples, which affect the style and polity of the temple and even the faces of the deities, often creating a new visual theology. How will these living sacred spaces of the temple matter for historians of religions? Will this kind of public, and in many ways empirical, sacrality once again challenge the field to reconsider material sacrality?Less
Three general reconfigurations of sacred space — sometimes interlocking, sometimes in tension — emerge from the new style and sensibilities of contemporary global Hindu temples with implications for the general history of religions. The first is the emergence of a new sense of the sacred sphere, of temple space within an urban environment dominated by the ownership of houses and not land or even natural phenomenon. Second, even the architecture of both space and the polity of new temples reflects democratic models of civic organizations, which leads to new space for lectures and education. Third, complex middle-class religious sensibilities emerge within the temples, which affect the style and polity of the temple and even the faces of the deities, often creating a new visual theology. How will these living sacred spaces of the temple matter for historians of religions? Will this kind of public, and in many ways empirical, sacrality once again challenge the field to reconsider material sacrality?
Richard Lyman Bushman
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195369786
- eISBN:
- 9780199871292
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369786.003.007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter proposes a simple fundamental in its account for Joseph Smith's religious appeal: he met a human need for the sacred. So, of course, do all religions, but Smith was different, the ...
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This chapter proposes a simple fundamental in its account for Joseph Smith's religious appeal: he met a human need for the sacred. So, of course, do all religions, but Smith was different, the chapter argues, in constructing the LDS faith around two potent loci: new sacred words and new sacred places. His additions to scripture blend audacity and self-effacing, summarily annihilating the principle of sola scriptura, even as the personality delivering its coup de grace for Mormons is subsumed in the voice of God. As for place, Smith literalized the concept of Zion and introduced into Christian worship the concept and physical reality of the temple. In the process, he became the first American religious figure to exploit the power of sacred space.Less
This chapter proposes a simple fundamental in its account for Joseph Smith's religious appeal: he met a human need for the sacred. So, of course, do all religions, but Smith was different, the chapter argues, in constructing the LDS faith around two potent loci: new sacred words and new sacred places. His additions to scripture blend audacity and self-effacing, summarily annihilating the principle of sola scriptura, even as the personality delivering its coup de grace for Mormons is subsumed in the voice of God. As for place, Smith literalized the concept of Zion and introduced into Christian worship the concept and physical reality of the temple. In the process, he became the first American religious figure to exploit the power of sacred space.
Gordon Graham
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199265961
- eISBN:
- 9780191708756
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199265961.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
This chapter draws a distinction between holy places and sacred spaces, and examines the ability of architecture as an art to create a secular equivalent of the latter — ‘enchanted space’ as an ...
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This chapter draws a distinction between holy places and sacred spaces, and examines the ability of architecture as an art to create a secular equivalent of the latter — ‘enchanted space’ as an alternative to sacred space. It gives special attention to the idea that the fittingness of a building is related to its appropriation for a specific use.Less
This chapter draws a distinction between holy places and sacred spaces, and examines the ability of architecture as an art to create a secular equivalent of the latter — ‘enchanted space’ as an alternative to sacred space. It gives special attention to the idea that the fittingness of a building is related to its appropriation for a specific use.
Ron E. Hassner
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195342048
- eISBN:
- 9780199852017
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195342048.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter examines the key problems that counterinsurgency operations pose in sacred places. It first delineates the concept of a “sacred space” and explains the key features that grant such ...
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This chapter examines the key problems that counterinsurgency operations pose in sacred places. It first delineates the concept of a “sacred space” and explains the key features that grant such spaces a sacral quality. It then examines how insurgent groups can usefully occupy and exploit sacred places. It argues that insurgents can mingle with pilgrims and worshippers and can also use the sacredness of shrines, mosques, and temples as sanctuaries from counterinsurgent forces who may be understandably loath to offend local religious sensibilities by using force against such locales. The chapter outlines possible strategies and potential pitfalls for security forces when they are seeking to flush out insurgents who have taken refuge in sacred arenas. Finally, it looks at some of the lessons derived from the Israeli siege of the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, where several Palestinian militants retreated in 2002.Less
This chapter examines the key problems that counterinsurgency operations pose in sacred places. It first delineates the concept of a “sacred space” and explains the key features that grant such spaces a sacral quality. It then examines how insurgent groups can usefully occupy and exploit sacred places. It argues that insurgents can mingle with pilgrims and worshippers and can also use the sacredness of shrines, mosques, and temples as sanctuaries from counterinsurgent forces who may be understandably loath to offend local religious sensibilities by using force against such locales. The chapter outlines possible strategies and potential pitfalls for security forces when they are seeking to flush out insurgents who have taken refuge in sacred arenas. Finally, it looks at some of the lessons derived from the Israeli siege of the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, where several Palestinian militants retreated in 2002.
Zain Abdullah
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195314250
- eISBN:
- 9780199871797
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195314250.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
For more than twenty years, West African Muslims from the Muridiyya order, a Sufi brotherhood based in Senegal, have organized the annual Cheikh Amadou Bamba Day parade in New York City. It is a ...
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For more than twenty years, West African Muslims from the Muridiyya order, a Sufi brotherhood based in Senegal, have organized the annual Cheikh Amadou Bamba Day parade in New York City. It is a religious procession that allows them to redefine their African identities, cope with the stigma of Blackness, and counteract accusations of Islamic terrorism. But the march is not merely an event for members, because its banners often challenge common notions of Black history, and African American paraders follow a slightly different course. This chapter explores the way Murids, followers of Muridiyya, and other West African Muslims such as the Malinke and the Fulani create religious activities, networks, stores, and institutions that transform Harlem into a sacred city. It is a sacred space, however, that includes the long-standing Nation of Islam and other African American Muslim orientations.Less
For more than twenty years, West African Muslims from the Muridiyya order, a Sufi brotherhood based in Senegal, have organized the annual Cheikh Amadou Bamba Day parade in New York City. It is a religious procession that allows them to redefine their African identities, cope with the stigma of Blackness, and counteract accusations of Islamic terrorism. But the march is not merely an event for members, because its banners often challenge common notions of Black history, and African American paraders follow a slightly different course. This chapter explores the way Murids, followers of Muridiyya, and other West African Muslims such as the Malinke and the Fulani create religious activities, networks, stores, and institutions that transform Harlem into a sacred city. It is a sacred space, however, that includes the long-standing Nation of Islam and other African American Muslim orientations.
Josef W. Meri
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199250783
- eISBN:
- 9780191697968
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199250783.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam, Judaism
This chapter discusses sacred topography, providing a background to pilgrimage sites and the manner in which Jews and Muslims employed Scripture to refer to sacred places. It examines how Jews and ...
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This chapter discusses sacred topography, providing a background to pilgrimage sites and the manner in which Jews and Muslims employed Scripture to refer to sacred places. It examines how Jews and Muslims understood sacred space through similar means. It explains how sacred topography, as depicted in Scripture and shaped by the physical environment and sensory and ritual means, informs and transforms the process of rediscovering sacred space. Baraka lies at the foundation of Jewish and Muslim conceptions and perceptions of the sacred. The consecration of sacred space as well as popular stories and traditions described the way in which devotees venerated saints at shrines and interacted with each other.Less
This chapter discusses sacred topography, providing a background to pilgrimage sites and the manner in which Jews and Muslims employed Scripture to refer to sacred places. It examines how Jews and Muslims understood sacred space through similar means. It explains how sacred topography, as depicted in Scripture and shaped by the physical environment and sensory and ritual means, informs and transforms the process of rediscovering sacred space. Baraka lies at the foundation of Jewish and Muslim conceptions and perceptions of the sacred. The consecration of sacred space as well as popular stories and traditions described the way in which devotees venerated saints at shrines and interacted with each other.
Nile Green
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198077961
- eISBN:
- 9780199080991
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198077961.003.0019
- Subject:
- History, Indian History
This chapter surveys the widespread phenomenon of the migrant Sufi saint in South Asian history. It examines how non-Indian origins were important to the success of Sufis and how these holy migrants ...
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This chapter surveys the widespread phenomenon of the migrant Sufi saint in South Asian history. It examines how non-Indian origins were important to the success of Sufis and how these holy migrants were often connected to larger communities of migrants. After the general survey section, the chapter turns to two case studies that show how migration could be both real and imagined, with the prestige of non-Indian origins leading to exaggerations or changes in the biographies of particular Muslim saints.Less
This chapter surveys the widespread phenomenon of the migrant Sufi saint in South Asian history. It examines how non-Indian origins were important to the success of Sufis and how these holy migrants were often connected to larger communities of migrants. After the general survey section, the chapter turns to two case studies that show how migration could be both real and imagined, with the prestige of non-Indian origins leading to exaggerations or changes in the biographies of particular Muslim saints.
Mark R. Wynn
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199560387
- eISBN:
- 9780191721175
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199560387.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter continues the discussion of Chapter 6, by examining the human significance of a number of built and natural environments, unrelated to pilgrimage practice. Again, the three models of the ...
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This chapter continues the discussion of Chapter 6, by examining the human significance of a number of built and natural environments, unrelated to pilgrimage practice. Again, the three models of the differentiated religious significance of place and the various accounts of the formal qualities of knowledge of place developed in earlier chapters are put to use. The chapter draws on the literature on the phenomenology of sacred space, and the work of Wendell Berry, Erazim Kohák, and Christopher Day, among others. It maintains that religiously significant knowledge of place is not to be understood in purely ‘subjective’ or in purely ‘objective’ terms, and that we should avoid an over-sharp distinction between the meaning of ‘sacred’ and of ‘profane’ space.Less
This chapter continues the discussion of Chapter 6, by examining the human significance of a number of built and natural environments, unrelated to pilgrimage practice. Again, the three models of the differentiated religious significance of place and the various accounts of the formal qualities of knowledge of place developed in earlier chapters are put to use. The chapter draws on the literature on the phenomenology of sacred space, and the work of Wendell Berry, Erazim Kohák, and Christopher Day, among others. It maintains that religiously significant knowledge of place is not to be understood in purely ‘subjective’ or in purely ‘objective’ terms, and that we should avoid an over-sharp distinction between the meaning of ‘sacred’ and of ‘profane’ space.
Nora Bensahel
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195342048
- eISBN:
- 9780199852017
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195342048.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter concludes the book with an instructive analysis across the various case studies. It draws out a number of operational lessons to be learned from the cases, including an assessment of the ...
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This chapter concludes the book with an instructive analysis across the various case studies. It draws out a number of operational lessons to be learned from the cases, including an assessment of the degree of sacredness of a site, the level of support that insurgents enjoy within the local population, and the relative strengths of direct and indirect strategies. It argues that counterinsurgency operations rarely succeed or fail solely because of the sacredness of the site on which they take place. Rather, counterinsurgency is inherently difficult, and the presented cases demonstrate the numerous other factors that affect success, including differences in terrain and geography, tactical choices, the legitimacy of the national government, and the training and capabilities of both the insurgents and the counterinsurgency forces. However, the cases in this volume demonstrate that counterinsurgency in sacred spaces presents a number of special concerns that operational planners must address to ensure success.Less
This chapter concludes the book with an instructive analysis across the various case studies. It draws out a number of operational lessons to be learned from the cases, including an assessment of the degree of sacredness of a site, the level of support that insurgents enjoy within the local population, and the relative strengths of direct and indirect strategies. It argues that counterinsurgency operations rarely succeed or fail solely because of the sacredness of the site on which they take place. Rather, counterinsurgency is inherently difficult, and the presented cases demonstrate the numerous other factors that affect success, including differences in terrain and geography, tactical choices, the legitimacy of the national government, and the training and capabilities of both the insurgents and the counterinsurgency forces. However, the cases in this volume demonstrate that counterinsurgency in sacred spaces presents a number of special concerns that operational planners must address to ensure success.
John D. Brewer, Gareth I. Higgins, and Francis Teeney
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199694020
- eISBN:
- 9780191730825
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199694020.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Church History
This chapter completes the outline of the typology of kinds of active peacemaking by focusing on the contribution of the churches to the political peace process. It focuses on the backchannel ...
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This chapter completes the outline of the typology of kinds of active peacemaking by focusing on the contribution of the churches to the political peace process. It focuses on the backchannel dialogue the churches developed with paramilitary bodies and their involvement in formal political negotiations. The political role of the churches lay primarily in backchannel dialogue, and the special qualities of sacred space to this kind of religious peacebuilding is emphasized in detail. The differing styles of religious leadership within the churches are explained.Less
This chapter completes the outline of the typology of kinds of active peacemaking by focusing on the contribution of the churches to the political peace process. It focuses on the backchannel dialogue the churches developed with paramilitary bodies and their involvement in formal political negotiations. The political role of the churches lay primarily in backchannel dialogue, and the special qualities of sacred space to this kind of religious peacebuilding is emphasized in detail. The differing styles of religious leadership within the churches are explained.
Elazar Barkan and Karen Barkey (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231169943
- eISBN:
- 9780231538060
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231169943.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
This anthology explores the dynamics of shared religious sites in Turkey, the Balkans, Palestine/Israel, Cyprus and Algeria, indicating where local and national stakeholders manoeuvre between ...
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This anthology explores the dynamics of shared religious sites in Turkey, the Balkans, Palestine/Israel, Cyprus and Algeria, indicating where local and national stakeholders manoeuvre between competition and cooperation, coexistence, and conflict. Contributors probe the notion of coexistence and the logic that underlies centuries of “sharing,” exploring when and why sharing gets interrupted—or not—by conflict, and the policy consequences. These chapters map the choreographies of shared sacred spaces within the framework of state-society relations, juxtaposing a site's political and religious features and exploring whether sharing or contestation is primarily religious or politically motivated. Although religion and politics are intertwined phenomena, the contributors to this volume understand the category of “religion” and the “political” as devices meant to distinguish between the theological and confessional aspects of religion and the political goals of groups. The chapters clearly delineate the religious and political factors that contribute to the context and causality of conflict at these sites. They draw on history and anthropology to shed light on the often rapid switch from relative tolerance to distress and back to peace and calm.Less
This anthology explores the dynamics of shared religious sites in Turkey, the Balkans, Palestine/Israel, Cyprus and Algeria, indicating where local and national stakeholders manoeuvre between competition and cooperation, coexistence, and conflict. Contributors probe the notion of coexistence and the logic that underlies centuries of “sharing,” exploring when and why sharing gets interrupted—or not—by conflict, and the policy consequences. These chapters map the choreographies of shared sacred spaces within the framework of state-society relations, juxtaposing a site's political and religious features and exploring whether sharing or contestation is primarily religious or politically motivated. Although religion and politics are intertwined phenomena, the contributors to this volume understand the category of “religion” and the “political” as devices meant to distinguish between the theological and confessional aspects of religion and the political goals of groups. The chapters clearly delineate the religious and political factors that contribute to the context and causality of conflict at these sites. They draw on history and anthropology to shed light on the often rapid switch from relative tolerance to distress and back to peace and calm.
SUSAN GUETTEL COLE
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520235441
- eISBN:
- 9780520929326
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520235441.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
This chapter addresses the evidence for recognizing sacred space. It starts by introducing the boundaries between human and divine. Every polis inhabited the same landscape as its divinities. Respect ...
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This chapter addresses the evidence for recognizing sacred space. It starts by introducing the boundaries between human and divine. Every polis inhabited the same landscape as its divinities. Respect for the landscape reflected respect for the gods. Two of Hesiod's aphorisms were concerned with maintaining a proper relationship to flowing water. The Greek ideology of pollution recognized three categories of existence: the dead, the living, and the immortal. The discovery of sacred space and the creation of ritual space are described. In addition, the chapter explains the hierarchies of sacred space. The level of sanctity attached to a particular space was a measure of the caution expected of those who would cross its boundaries.Less
This chapter addresses the evidence for recognizing sacred space. It starts by introducing the boundaries between human and divine. Every polis inhabited the same landscape as its divinities. Respect for the landscape reflected respect for the gods. Two of Hesiod's aphorisms were concerned with maintaining a proper relationship to flowing water. The Greek ideology of pollution recognized three categories of existence: the dead, the living, and the immortal. The discovery of sacred space and the creation of ritual space are described. In addition, the chapter explains the hierarchies of sacred space. The level of sanctity attached to a particular space was a measure of the caution expected of those who would cross its boundaries.
Sumit Ganguly and C. Christine Fair
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195342048
- eISBN:
- 9780199852017
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195342048.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This introductory chapter begins by identifying the two specific problems of counterinsurgency that have received inadequate attention in the scholarly literature. It then sets out the purpose of the ...
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This introductory chapter begins by identifying the two specific problems of counterinsurgency that have received inadequate attention in the scholarly literature. It then sets out the purpose of the book, which is to address these gaps in several important ways. First, it explains why sacred space is important both to insurgents and to counterinsurgency forces. Second, it discusses a series of case studies evaluating the most important counterinsurgency operations on sacred space in the Middle East and South and Southeast Asia. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less
This introductory chapter begins by identifying the two specific problems of counterinsurgency that have received inadequate attention in the scholarly literature. It then sets out the purpose of the book, which is to address these gaps in several important ways. First, it explains why sacred space is important both to insurgents and to counterinsurgency forces. Second, it discusses a series of case studies evaluating the most important counterinsurgency operations on sacred space in the Middle East and South and Southeast Asia. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.
C. Christine Fair and Sumit Ganguly (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195342048
- eISBN:
- 9780199852017
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195342048.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
After America's Iraq adventure devolved into a debacle, a chorus of commentators and analysts noted that the U.S. military had no plan to fight a counterinsurgency campaign. Given the failure of ...
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After America's Iraq adventure devolved into a debacle, a chorus of commentators and analysts noted that the U.S. military had no plan to fight a counterinsurgency campaign. Given the failure of conventional tactics, America in the last two years has redoubled its efforts to develop a new strategy to fight the Iraqi insurgency, and has gone so far as to place its leading counterinsurgency expert, General David Petraeus, in charge of the Iraq theater. In sum, there seems to be a growing consensus that for better or worse, counterinsurgency will be a core tactic in future American military campaigns. Iraq, of course, presents special problems to the U.S. because of the intensity of religious belief and sectarianism. How does the U.S. fight against an insurgency that so often strategically positions itself on “hallowed ground”—mosques and shrines? Yet Iraq is not unique. As this book shows, counterinsurgency efforts on religiously contentious terrain is a widespread phenomenon in recent times, ranging from North Africa to Central and Southeast Asia. This book explores the most important counterinsurgency efforts in sacred spaces in our era: churches in Israel, mosques and shrines in Iraq, the Sikh Golden Temple in India, mosques and temples in Kashmir, the Krue Se Mosque in Thailand, and the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia.Less
After America's Iraq adventure devolved into a debacle, a chorus of commentators and analysts noted that the U.S. military had no plan to fight a counterinsurgency campaign. Given the failure of conventional tactics, America in the last two years has redoubled its efforts to develop a new strategy to fight the Iraqi insurgency, and has gone so far as to place its leading counterinsurgency expert, General David Petraeus, in charge of the Iraq theater. In sum, there seems to be a growing consensus that for better or worse, counterinsurgency will be a core tactic in future American military campaigns. Iraq, of course, presents special problems to the U.S. because of the intensity of religious belief and sectarianism. How does the U.S. fight against an insurgency that so often strategically positions itself on “hallowed ground”—mosques and shrines? Yet Iraq is not unique. As this book shows, counterinsurgency efforts on religiously contentious terrain is a widespread phenomenon in recent times, ranging from North Africa to Central and Southeast Asia. This book explores the most important counterinsurgency efforts in sacred spaces in our era: churches in Israel, mosques and shrines in Iraq, the Sikh Golden Temple in India, mosques and temples in Kashmir, the Krue Se Mosque in Thailand, and the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia.
Alexandra Walsham
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199243556
- eISBN:
- 9780191725081
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199243556.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This chapter analyses a series of processes which served to reinvest the early modern landscape with religious associations. It considers how lollards and Protestant dissenters used the natural ...
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This chapter analyses a series of processes which served to reinvest the early modern landscape with religious associations. It considers how lollards and Protestant dissenters used the natural landscape as a forum for meeting and gathering before turning to the examine the ways in which the liturgy and theology of the established Church sustained the notion that certain spaces and places were sanctified. It explores how ecclesiastical trends associated with the Laudian drive to reinstate the ‘beauty of holiness’ fostered a reassessment of the monastic past, inspired efforts to refurbish medieval well chapels and crosses, and stimulated growing anxiety about the sacrilege committed by Protestant iconoclasts. It also examines evolving attitudes towards prehistoric monuments and landscape features and shows how trends in gardening and the urban architectural renaissance reflected and were implicated in the religious upheavals of the period.Less
This chapter analyses a series of processes which served to reinvest the early modern landscape with religious associations. It considers how lollards and Protestant dissenters used the natural landscape as a forum for meeting and gathering before turning to the examine the ways in which the liturgy and theology of the established Church sustained the notion that certain spaces and places were sanctified. It explores how ecclesiastical trends associated with the Laudian drive to reinstate the ‘beauty of holiness’ fostered a reassessment of the monastic past, inspired efforts to refurbish medieval well chapels and crosses, and stimulated growing anxiety about the sacrilege committed by Protestant iconoclasts. It also examines evolving attitudes towards prehistoric monuments and landscape features and shows how trends in gardening and the urban architectural renaissance reflected and were implicated in the religious upheavals of the period.
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804751582
- eISBN:
- 9780804767644
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804751582.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, World Literature
This chapter examines how changes in the conceptualization of defilement over the course of the late Heian and early medieval periods transformed the character of ritual space which ultimately ...
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This chapter examines how changes in the conceptualization of defilement over the course of the late Heian and early medieval periods transformed the character of ritual space which ultimately undermined an earlier practice of royal authority. It analyzes this shift in relation to dengaku and the weirdness associated with the heteromorphic and shows how several contradictory images of the tennō coexisted in the medieval imaginary about royal authority. This chapter also explores some of the paradoxes and contradictions underlying the medieval imaginary of sacred space, particularly the ambiguous character of heterotopic space as typified by borders and liminal sites.Less
This chapter examines how changes in the conceptualization of defilement over the course of the late Heian and early medieval periods transformed the character of ritual space which ultimately undermined an earlier practice of royal authority. It analyzes this shift in relation to dengaku and the weirdness associated with the heteromorphic and shows how several contradictory images of the tennō coexisted in the medieval imaginary about royal authority. This chapter also explores some of the paradoxes and contradictions underlying the medieval imaginary of sacred space, particularly the ambiguous character of heterotopic space as typified by borders and liminal sites.
Bret E. Carroll
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199931903
- eISBN:
- 9780199345779
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199931903.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
American religious pluralism—its symbolic expressions, its characteristic tensions and contests—play out nowhere more noticeably than on the landscape. Because exchanges among the nation's faiths are ...
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American religious pluralism—its symbolic expressions, its characteristic tensions and contests—play out nowhere more noticeably than on the landscape. Because exchanges among the nation's faiths are often about sacred space, which is inevitably contested, anyone seeking to comprehend American religious pluralism must turn for insight to geography. Religion generates claims on space and space is limited, religious pluralism necessarily involves multiple, overlapping, competing, and often conflicting claims—a geopolitics of sacred space in which individual and group claimants are required to engage, or at least remain mindful of, other claimants in the society. To understand these geopolitics fully involves constructing spatial analyses at different levels: local, regional, national, even transnational and global. Seeing American religious pluralism through the lens of geography offers important insights as we continue pursuing the spatial equity that is the geographic promise of the First Amendment.Less
American religious pluralism—its symbolic expressions, its characteristic tensions and contests—play out nowhere more noticeably than on the landscape. Because exchanges among the nation's faiths are often about sacred space, which is inevitably contested, anyone seeking to comprehend American religious pluralism must turn for insight to geography. Religion generates claims on space and space is limited, religious pluralism necessarily involves multiple, overlapping, competing, and often conflicting claims—a geopolitics of sacred space in which individual and group claimants are required to engage, or at least remain mindful of, other claimants in the society. To understand these geopolitics fully involves constructing spatial analyses at different levels: local, regional, national, even transnational and global. Seeing American religious pluralism through the lens of geography offers important insights as we continue pursuing the spatial equity that is the geographic promise of the First Amendment.
Katie Day and Edd Conboy
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199860029
- eISBN:
- 9780199358427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199860029.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter examines how sacred space is socially constructed in an urban context in different types of buildings from historic churches to former commercial buildings adapted for religious ...
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This chapter examines how sacred space is socially constructed in an urban context in different types of buildings from historic churches to former commercial buildings adapted for religious purposes. “Sacralization” is a social process in which a physical space becomes sacred (inviolable) and a vehicle for spiritual transcendence. This process occurs both within a faith community and in correspondence with context. Two congregations from very different traditions on one intersection are described as they have created sacred space in a former ironworks store and funeral home.Less
This chapter examines how sacred space is socially constructed in an urban context in different types of buildings from historic churches to former commercial buildings adapted for religious purposes. “Sacralization” is a social process in which a physical space becomes sacred (inviolable) and a vehicle for spiritual transcendence. This process occurs both within a faith community and in correspondence with context. Two congregations from very different traditions on one intersection are described as they have created sacred space in a former ironworks store and funeral home.
Elazar Barkan and Karen Barkey
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231169943
- eISBN:
- 9780231538060
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231169943.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
This introductory chapter sets out the book's purpose, namely to explore the politics of the “choreography of sacred spaces” within the framework of state-society relations and to examine the ...
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This introductory chapter sets out the book's purpose, namely to explore the politics of the “choreography of sacred spaces” within the framework of state-society relations and to examine the positions, roles, and agency of various actors and institutions in an attempt to differentiate between the political and the religious features of the shared or contested space. It seeks to understand whether sharing and contestation are politically or religiously motivated. The chapter then discusses the three main areas of research that this book explores. It starts with issues of coexistence that are fundamental to understanding the kinds of arrangements that can be found within shared sacred sites and the consequences of those arrangements. It then examines characteristics of shared sacred sites, including narratives, centrality, and indivisibility, to underscore how such features are theorized in the literature. Finally, it discusses the various ways in which state-society relations, state structures, and the impact of state policies contribute to sharing sacred sites.Less
This introductory chapter sets out the book's purpose, namely to explore the politics of the “choreography of sacred spaces” within the framework of state-society relations and to examine the positions, roles, and agency of various actors and institutions in an attempt to differentiate between the political and the religious features of the shared or contested space. It seeks to understand whether sharing and contestation are politically or religiously motivated. The chapter then discusses the three main areas of research that this book explores. It starts with issues of coexistence that are fundamental to understanding the kinds of arrangements that can be found within shared sacred sites and the consequences of those arrangements. It then examines characteristics of shared sacred sites, including narratives, centrality, and indivisibility, to underscore how such features are theorized in the literature. Finally, it discusses the various ways in which state-society relations, state structures, and the impact of state policies contribute to sharing sacred sites.
