Understanding Fundamentalism: Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Movements [Hardcover]

Praise for the first edition: A reflective, critical approach to the charged, often abused, but seldom understood concept of fundamentalism, Understanding Fundamentalism lives up to its title. Its broad scope encompasses Jewish, Christian and Muslim fundamentalist movements, while its fine-grained analysis clarifies scripture and myth, colonial and postcolonial history, the roles of women as well as men, illuminating the much-neglected adaptive capacity of fundamentalists. Indeed, the twin concepts of controlled acculturation and selective modernization etch the major theoretical advance of this compact studyat once original and eloquentof those zealous Abrahamic ideologues popularly known as religious fundamentalists...Praise for the first edition: Antoun's book is an important contribution to the knowledge of a major aspect of the modern world. It explains the religious aspects of terrorism and the mechanisms that create and nurture religious extremism. It is a useful resource for all who are involved or interested in religion, contributing a serious and balanced approach to our understanding of fundamentalism....Praise for the first edition: This book issues from Antoun's firsthand observation of cultural change and religious reaction. A superb addition to the growing interdisciplinary canon of fundamentalism studies, the work argues for the cross-cultural application of the category and the transnational scope of the phenomenon.... Anyone seeking to understand the global phenomenon of fundamentalism will profit from this well-written book....Praise for the first edition: The author's theoretical and conceptual approach to the topic is sound, the analysis crisp and concise, the illustrations insightfully chosen.....Praise for the first edition: This book's strength lies in its analytical and written clarity. Antoun makes a complex subject readable and accessible and, by the end of the book, readers have a better understanding of the motives and wl“.