2002 03 01 book reviews

peace (Jews-Jews and Jews-Muslims in Israel, Hindus-Muslims in India, Muslims-Muslims in Saudi Arabia, Sikhs-Hindus in India), as well as those geographic settings where fundamentalists have, also, attempted to control secular space (Jews in Israel, Muslims in Iran and Afghanistan, Protestants in the United States). Stump further address those geographic settings where territory is inextricably bound up with the concept of identity (Hindus in India, Buddhists in Sri Lanka, Sikhs in Punjab).

Chapter 5, "The Impacts of Fundamentalism", summarizes and draws together the various threads woven through the book. As Stump correctly notes: "The usefulness of the concept of fundamentalism lies in its ability to characterize the common features of these diverse religious movements. All expressions of fundamentalism exhibit a strong commitment to religious tradition, both in belief and practice, and based on that commitment, they develop an exclusive sense of group identity that sets their adherents apart from the rest of society. A fundamentalist group's adoption of such an identity serves as the foundation for a larger strategy to combat forces that it believes threatens its traditions. The most important feature of that strategy is the group's involvement in various forms of activism aimed at protecting its beliefs or advancing its objectives... By definition, fundamentalists are discontent with the current state of the surrounding society and adamantly oppose trends or groups that threaten their religious traditions (p.213).

Stump further argues that the ever-present potential for societal conflict inherent in the fundamentalist outlook is based upon two factors: the group's affirmation of the correctness of its position ("The Truth as opposed to a truth") and its rootedness in an equally-affirming sense of territoriality, both its own historical and present center and the larger canvas of the world itself.

Thus, the tensions which exist throughout our world between aggressive fundamentalisms and the larger societies and nation-states where they reside are not about to disappear any time soon. Boundaries of Faith is an important contribution to the growing literature on this increasingly volatile and frightening topic, as the tragic and horrific events of 11 September 2001 in the United States and the fall of the Taliban and Al-Queda in Afghanistan continue to remind us on a daily basis.

Ronald Tiersky (ed.), Euro-Skepticism: A Reader, Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2001, 328 pp., USD 24.95, ISBN 0-7425-1054-9 / USD 75.00, ISBN 0-7425-1053-0 (hbk).