Islam, Judaism, and the Political Role of Religions in the Middle East

From the foreword: ''The 'clash of civilizations' thesis is a gimmick, like 'The War of the Worlds,' better for reinforcing defensive self-pride than for critical understanding of the bewildering interdependence of our time. This book, in focusing on the ‘self’ and the ‘other’ in Jewish and Muslim thought, is an attempt in this direction.” Although the ''politicization'' of religion or ''sacrilization'' of politics is not restricted to the Middle East, this phenomenon found its most spectacular