Description
Book SynopsisThis comprehensive book provides a comparative analysis of religious nationalism in contemporary, globalized Asia. Exploring the nexus of religion, identity, and nationalism, Jeff Kingston assesses similarities and differences across the region, focusing on how religious sentiments influence how people embrace nationalism and with what consequences. Kingston shows that in the age of the Internet this has become an especially volatile mix that breeds violence and poses a significant risk to secularism, diversity, civil liberties, democracy, and political stability. This extremist tide has swept across Asia with tragic results, as witnessed by 730,000 Rohingya Muslims driven out of Myanmar, 70,000 Kashmiris slaughtered in India, and Islamic State affiliates terrorizing Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Who could have imagined Buddhist monks inciting violence and intolerance or setting themselves on fire? Or pious vigilantes beheading atheist bloggers? Or clerics defeating and
Trade ReviewSuspicious of cliché and alert to nuance, Jeff Kingston is one of our most reliable guides through the thickets of Asian political economy. Those bewildered by the upsurge of militant chauvinism from India to the Philippines can do no better than read this excellent book. -- Pankaj Mishra, author of Age of Anger: A History of the Present
Table of ContentsMap of Asia 1 Introduction 2 Hinduism and Hindutva 3 Christianity in Asia 4 Arabization and Islam in Asia 5 Militant Monks, Abiding Anxieties 6 Rohingya: Race, Religion, and Ethnonationalism 7 Islamic Minorities in Asia 8 Politicizing Blasphemy 9 Contesting Sexuality 10 Conclusion Glossary Suggested Further Reading Bibliography Index About the Author
