1st Edition

Protecting the Sacred, Creating Peace in Asia-Pacific

By Chaiwat Satha-Anand Copyright 2013
    170 Pages
    by Routledge

    169 Pages
    by Routledge

    Using case studies from the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Basin, this book examines the global trend of violence against religious places and figures. The contributors believe attacks on sacred places to be particularly damaging to peace and harmony because of the centrality of religion in many Asian and Pacific countries.

    A diverse range of topics are covered, including an empirical exploration of the global trends of violence against sacred spaces; attacks against and policies toward holy sites in Israel and the Palestinian Territories; the fate of Indian Islamic monuments after India gained independence in 1947; the Christian community's response to the increasing Islamization of Malaysia, and the future of communalism in Malaysia. Africa and Australia are also referenced in the work.

    Taken together, this volume explores the importance of protecting sacred spaces, holy symbols, and religious people as a crucial element in fostering peace in the world, and especially the Asia-Pacific region. The contributors argue that much of the violence in the world is rooted in politics of religious identity.

    Preface, by Olivier Urbain Introduction, by Chaiwat Satha-Anand Sacred Spaces and Accursed Conflicts: A Global Trend?, by Chaiwat Satha-Anand The Battle Over Sacred Sites in Palestine/Israel: Between Fuel for War and Gestures for Peace, by Mohammed Abu-Nimer Partitioning the Past: India's Islamic Monuments after Independence, by Nayanjot Lahiri Negotiating Religious Freedom: Christianity in Muslim-Majority Malaysia, by Choong Pui Yee and Joseph Chinyong Liow Protection of the Sacred: Contrasting Perspectives from Australia, by Joseph A. Camilleri Report on a Global Campaign to Protect Places of Worship, by Chandra Muzaffar Policy Brief on International Protection of Religious Places and Personnel, Bangkok, Thailand, May 29, 2011, presented by the Toda Institute and the Center for Global Nonkilling Contributors

    Biography

    Chaiwat Satha-Anand