The Culture & Conflict Review

Review: Roger Hardy's The Muslim Revolt: A Journey Through Political Islam

1/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

Roger Hardy is a BBC Middle East analyst who has published a nicely compact book entitled, The Muslim Revolt: A Journey Through Political Islam (New York: Columbia University Press, 2010). What grabbed me were these sentences in the introduction, “…we should not reduce Muslim societies to one-dimensional caricatures. Nor should we reduce the long and complex relationship between Islam and the West to a mere saga of battles and bigotry.” He intellectually prods readers with the question; "Does the notion of Islam and the West even have meaning in the age of rapid globalization?" This question is so large and strikes at the heart of how we as human beings cope with issues of identity, culture, and individuality.

China’s Rise: The Effect of Beijing’s Increasing Role in International Institutions on Singapore

1/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

As a small country that participates actively in international institutions, Singapore could be keenly affected by the rise of China’s influence and participation in international institutions. This paper sheds light on whether China’s increased participation and influence in international institutions present more challenges or opportunities for Singapore in advancing its economic and diplomatic objectives.

Nile Basin Conflict: Perspectives on Water Sharing, Food Shortages, Civil Wars and Terrorism

1/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

Predicting future conflicts between states are contingent upon an appreciation of a host of complex factors such as tribal, social, economic, environmental, cultural and even basic survival. While conflicts may appear to be resolved, pressures such as climate change, disease, even the economic development of neighboring states at the expense of others could lead to an escalation of hostilities. Regional instability can have an impact on an ever-increasing globalized environment, which can then affect the United States in many ways. America’s interests are tied to many nations around the globe. Nowhere is this more pertinent than America’s long-term quest for stability in the Middle East and on the African continent. However, the future stability in the Middle East may not rest on finally achieving a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but may be the result of more pressing problems that affect hundreds of millions of people with the potential of causing instability to one-tenth of the African continent from Egypt to Rwanda. It is the age-old problem of how to find a just solution to the issue of sharing the water resources of the Nile River Basin. With the downfall of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt may now begin to address the Nile question more seriously and in collaboration with other Nile states, instead of being sidestepped by a majority of the states that share this river.

Review: Adnan A. Musallam's From Secularism to Jihad: Sayyid Qutb and the Foundations of Radical Islamism

1/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

With the challenges facing the United States from militant Islamist groups, we should never miss an opportunity to study the ideological sources that groups like al-Qaida and those inspired by al-Qaida cling to. If there are warning signs to be cautious of, it is to identify al-Qaida’s fringe and cult ideology and distinguish this from Islam. To get to this level of knowledge requires copious readings of Islamic texts and militant Islamist diatribe, comparing what militants choose from Islam to justify their violence. Adnan Musallam, a professor at Bethlehem University, has written an excellent volume on the psychology and ideology of the founder modern militant Islamist ideology Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966). He would be executed by Nasser, after spending over a decade in prison. It is impossible to understand the inner thoughts of Usama Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri without understanding Qutb. For those wanting an introduction to militant Islamist ideology this is not the book to read, however this is the book to read after reading Lawrence Wright’s award winning book “Looming Tower.” This book is for those who want an even deeper comprehension of Qutb specifically and the origins of modern militant Islamist theory in general.

Viewpoint: The Middle East and South Asia: Past, Present and Future

1/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

Whenever there is a mention of the Middle East in South Asia, it is inevitably linked to defense and strategic issues. In India there is talk of how the former should emulate Israel in the domain of national security, and adopting a hard line on security issues. In Pakistan, especially in the media, there is talk of how Palestinians have got a raw deal and how the Jewish lobby is working overtime to ensure that the former are oppressed.

Announcing Publication of Barry Scott Zellen's State of Doom: Bernard Brodie, the Bomb and the Birth of the Bipolar World

1/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

Barry Scott Zellen, editor of The Culture and Conflict Review and Director of the Project on Climate and Conflict, has just published his eighth monograph, State of Doom: Bernard Brodie, the Bomb and the Birth of the Bipolar World (Continuum, December 15, 2011.)

Review: Rethinking the Unthinkable: Introducing State of Doom: Bernard Brodie, the Bomb, and the Birth of the Bipolar World

1/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you a fascinating portrait of one of America’s greatest strategic thinkers, State of Doom: Bernard Brodie, the Bomb, and the Birth of the Bipolar World by Barry Scott Zellen. Brodie stands in rare and distinguished company, on par with such great strategic minds as Clausewitz, and even the ancient philosopher of war, Sun Tzu. Like both of these great strategic thinkers, Brodie has a great deal of wisdom to share with future generations, especially, as Zellen chronicles, about the supreme importance of never losing sight of our ultimate objectives in war – nor letting the means that we employ become disproportionate to those ends, which ultimately define war’s very purpose and thus gives it meaning.

People's Movements in Uttarakahnd: Culture, Conflict and Development

1/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

In the present era of integration, globalization, economic, social, cultural and political fluidity one finds a close connection between development and people’s movement. In the present era of integration; globalization; and economic, social, cultural and political fluidity; one finds a close connection between development and people’s movements. Actually the variance in the perspectives of development of governmental agencies and the people concerned often leads to dissatisfaction among the people because they feel that development has been imposed on them without considering their priorities and needs. The lopsided attitude of planners and the inefficient handling and implementation of developmental policies further complicates the situation and generally such developmental policies are seen as part of the political agenda of the political parties. Such a scenario of development has been prevailing in India since independence.

Review: Chris Heffelfinger's Radical Islam in America: Salafism’s Journey from Arabia to the West

10/1/2011 12:00:00 AM

Chris Heffelfinger is an FBI Fellow who provides instruction on radical Islamist movements for the FBI and the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His book, Radical Islam in America: Salafism’s Journey from Arabia to the West (Washington D.C.: Potomac Books, 2011) opens with the radicalization of John Walker Lindh, the so-called "American Taliban." It is the story of a troubled teenager whose parents are divorcing and who is in search of an identity, structure, and a purpose. The author delves into how he discovers Islam, and the trajectory that leads him to the Salafi form of Islam, and from there, the Violent Islamist manifestations of Salafism. What is highlighted in the book is that Lindh would encounter a kaleidoscope of Islamic expression in Yemen that did not fit the fantasy form of Islam he encountered in the United States. This brings to focus the reality that Violent Islamist recruiters fear diverse interpretations of Islam that could dissuade a recruit from partaking in violent acts on behalf of their agenda and interpretation of what Islam is.

Review: Seyyed Hossein Nasr's Islam in the Modern World: Challenged by the West, Threatened by Fundamentalism, Keeping Faith with Tradition

10/1/2011 12:00:00 AM

Seyyed Hossein Nasr has done much to introduce western readers to the complexities within Islam. He has published dozens of books, and has been active in interfaith dialogues. Nasr’s writings demonstrate to western audiences the shallowness and pseudo-intellectualism of violent Islamist and Islamist ideologies that attempt to impose a version of Islam upon other Muslims. His latest book is an attempt to examine contentious issues debated among 1.5 billion Muslims, such as the position of secularism within the Islamic world, education, complexities of male and female relationships, and much more.