Description
Book SynopsisFrom false idols and graven images to the tombs of kings and the shrines of capitalism, the targeted destruction of cities, sacred sites and artefacts for religious, political or nationalistic reasons is central to our cultural legacy. This book examines the different traditions of image-breaking in Christianity and Islam as well as their development into nominally secular movements and paints a vivid, scholarly picture of a culture of destruction encompassing Protestantism, Wahhabism, and Nationalism. Beginning with a comparative account of Calvinist Geneva and Wahhabi Mecca, The Politics of Iconoclasm explores the religious and political agendas behind acts of image-breaking and their relation to nationhood and state-building. From sixteenth-century Geneva to urban developments in Mecca today, The Politics of Iconoclasm explores the history of image-breaking, the culture of violence and its paradoxical roots in the desire for renewal. Examining these dynamics of nationhood, technology, destruction and memory, a historical journey is described in which the temple is razed and replaced by the machine.
Table of ContentsContents List of Illustrations ix Note on Transliteration xi Acknowledgements xiii Introduction 1 PART I: THE PROTOTYPES 1 Calvinism and Iconoclasm 23 2 Wahhabism and Iconoclasm 59 PART II: THE CASES 3 The French Revolution and Iconoclasm 95 4 The Bourgeois City and Iconoclasm: Venice 111 5 World War Two and Iconoclasm 125 6 The Balkan Wars and Iconoclasm 145 7 Islamic Iconoclasm Today 165 Conclusion 179 Notes 185 Bibliography 219 Index of Key Names 233
