Synopses & Reviews
“History must be
made to march in the direction of genuine human progress; world affairs have no intrinsic momentum that necessarily results in the victory of decency. Maintaining the morale necessary to achieving progress in history requires us to live our lives, today, against a moral horizon of responsibility that is wider and deeper than the quest for personal satisfactions. The future of our civilization does not rest merely on the advance of material wealth and technological prowess; the future of the West turns on the question of whether our spiritual aspirations are noble or base.”
from Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism
More than half a decade after 9/11, safe passage through a moment of history fraught with both peril and possibility requires Americans across the political spectrum to see things as they are.
In this incisive, engaging study of the present danger and what we must do to prevail against it, George Weigel, one of Americas foremost public intellectuals, does precisely that: he sees, and describes, things as they areand as they might be. Drawing on a quarter century of experience at the intersection of moral argument and public policy, he describes rigorously and clearly the threat posed by global jihadism: the religiously inspired ideology which teaches that it is the moral obligation of all Muslims to employ whatever means are necessary to compel the worlds submission to Islam. Exploring that ideologys theological, social, cultural, and political roots, Weigel points a new direction for both public policy and interreligious dialogue, one that meets the challenge of jihadism forthrightly while creating the conditions for a less threatening, more mutually enriching encounter between Islam and the West.
Essential reading in a time of momentous political decisions, Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism is a clarion call for a new seriousness of debate and a new clarity of purpose in American public life.
From the Hardcover edition.
Synopsis
With an unsettled Middle East, al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups actively plotting against America and its allies, and spillover from religious conflict in Muslim countries spreading instability and violence worldwide, George Weigels
Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism is an acute analysis of one of the most dynamic forces in world politics today - Islamist jihadism. After tracing the complex historical and theological roots of the jihadist movement, Weigel offers a comprehensive strategy for defeating jihadism and supporting those forces within Islam that seek a Muslim accommodation with religious freedom, the separation of religious and political authority in the state, and other key accomplishments of political modernity. Above all, Weigel insists, the West must take seriously the religious origins and rationale of jihadism if it is to meet the challenge posed by men of violence who claim to act in the name of God.
Essential reading in a time of momentous political decisions, Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism is a clarion call for a new seriousness of debate and a new clarity of purpose in American public life.
About the Author
GEORGE WEIGEL, Distinguished Senior Fellow of Washingtons Ethics and Public Policy Center, is a Catholic theologian and one of Americas foremost commentators on issues of religion and public life. A
Newsweek contributor and Vatican analyst for NBC News, Weigel is the author of fifteen books, including the
New York Times bestseller
Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II. His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages.
From the Hardcover edition.