September 11: Religioius Perspectives on the Causes and Consequences

Abu-Rabi' (Secularization and its Discontents), co-director of the Duncan Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, and Markham (Plurality and Christian Ethics), dean of Hartford Seminary, present this collection via a British publisher, providing 12 different religious perspectives on the events of September 11. Aside from the two editors, who each supply an essay, contributors include a Baptist minister, a Presbyterian pastor, sociologists and Islamic scholars. Accounts cover the origins of Islamic extremists' hatred of the West and America in particular, how U.S. involvement in the Middle East affects these feelings-though no one can fully ""account"" for the acts of that day-and how the impact of the destruction has played out in religious communities around the world. One standout essay is Nancy T. Ammerman's ""Grieving Together: September 11 as a Measure of Social Capital in the U.S.,"" which examines the recent history of U.S. religious institutions as forces in society, and how they performed during the months of aftermath. Determinedly pluralistic and thoughtfully informed by history and politics, this collection provides leavened religious perspectives.