Identity and Civilization: Essays on Judaism, Christianity and Islam, by Prof. Mordechai Nisan (University Press of America, 1999 --to order, call 1-800-462-6420)
"There is a certain Western prejudice that considers material interests and political power to be the most important aspects of the Middle East," Professor Mordechai Nisan of Hebrew University writes in his introduction to Identity and Civilization. In fact, he contends, it is not the political leaders and regimes that ultimately determine countries destinies; "It is the peoples who represent the substance of life: it is their religious sensibilities, philosophy of life, cultural ambiance, inclination to struggle, that are the human materials from within which make the politicians and governments act."
In this informative and intriguing book, Nisan analyzes how the drastically different evolutions of contemporary Jewish, Christian, and Muslim civilization impact on the political and strategic struggles not only in the Middle East but elsewhere across the globe.
A willingness to wage those struggles marks one of the most crucial differences that Nisan emphasizes. The superficial achievements of the Christian West cannot mask its inner turmoil. "The awesome talents and accomplishments of America could not stop the slide to spiritual oblivion," Nisan writes. "The United States is strong without, but a spoiled and partly rotten society within. Religion, once the moral foundation of American society, was in part discarded and dethroned from its honorable status in the public consciousness of American citizens."
Israel suffers from similar problems, Nisan contends. "Zionism and Judaism have been removed from the national and spiritual agenda...In Israel of the 1980s and after, Zionist pioneers were demonized and denigrated for obstructing peace, while traditional Judaism was maligned as archaic and unfit for modern life..."
Not so in the Muslim world. "Islam in its civilizational domain has come to dominate the moral and spiritual high-ground in Muslim and Arab countries," Nisan points out. Furthermore, "islamic civilization provides a permanent outlet for aggressiveness by legitimating and obligating war against the infidels." Muslims feel no guilt or shame about fighting for their perceived rights or territory, while most Jews and Christians are mired in self-doubt.
These are among the many fascinating issues raised in this important book, as Mordechai Nisan continues to distinguish himself as one of Israel's foremost political thinkers.
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Outpost - 12 - December 1999