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Henry Munson

University of Maine, Anthropology, Emeritus

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Henry Munson is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Maine. Although he retired from full-time teaching in December 2016, he still teaches online courses every semester. He received his B.A. from Columbia University in 1970, his M.A. from the University of Chicago in 1973, and his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Chicago in 1980. His three books on the Islamic world were published by Yale University Press.

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Papers by Henry Munson

The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion, 2021

Knowledge and Power in Morocco: The Education of a Twentieth-Century Notable, by Dale F. Eickelman. 202 pages, index. Princeton University Press, Princeton1985. $32.50

Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, Dec 1, 1985

Messianic Religious Zionism Confronts Israeli Territorial Compromises

Politics, Religion & Ideology, Dec 1, 2013

practical engagement’ (p. 4). This aim is certainly an achievable one, since the collected articl... more practical engagement’ (p. 4). This aim is certainly an achievable one, since the collected articles are of fine quality. However, as it is always the case with collected reprints (which all of the chapters are) or ‘essential readings’, there is always the question of whether the selection taken is indeed of really essential pieces. However, it is certainly not the place of a review to begin a discussion of who should be in and who should be out. In this particular case there are, however, two additional problems. The first is that many of the chapters are reprints from the Review of Faith and International Affairs. Due to that, the chapters greatly vary in terms of their length and theoretical approach. The other problem is one common to most of the recent studies in this field: the attachment to mainstream Western political opinion – that is, for example, the focus on religious freedom – and mainstream scholarship. The former is not surprising, since most of those studies are focused on US foreign policy. The latter is a general problem leading, eventually, to theoretical grievances and shortcomings. Religion, for example is, by and large, taken as a monolithic concept. In other words, religion is treated as an actor. Religion, however, is never religion. Not so in theological or sociological terms and also not in terms of political science. At least implicitly, the editors – and the single chapters alike – do agree on the consequences of such a one-size-fits-all approach: ‘the only thing worse than ignoring religion is to approach it in an ill-informed way’ (p. 8) – that is true for believers and analysts alike.

A Cultural History of Genocide, 6 volumes

Religion, Feb 7, 2023

When Politics are Sacralized: Comparative Perspectives on Religious Claims and Nationalism. Edited by Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian

Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Feb 22, 2022

Review of When Politics are Sacralized: Comparative Perspectives on Religious Claims and National... more

Islamism and Nationalism

ISIM Newsletter, 2000

Islamism and nationalism are conventionally thought of as antithetical ideologies, yet there is i... more Islamism and nationalism are conventionally thought of as antithetical ideologies, yet there is in fact often a nationalistic dimension to Islamism. One is reminded of the relationship between Marxism and nationalism. In principle, Marxists condemn nationalism, as do Islamists. Yet the revolutions waged in the name of Marxist ideology since World War II were all fuelled by nationalistic resentment of foreign domination. Such resentment, among other things, also fuelled the principal Islamist movements of the late 20 t h century. In both cases, an ostensibly universalistic ideology has actually often had a more parochial nationalistic character in practice.

Lifting the Veil: Understanding the Roots of Islamic Militancy

Harvard international review, 2004

In the wake of the attacks of September 11,2001, many intellectuals have argued that Muslim extre... more In the wake of the attacks of September 11,2001, many intellectuals have argued that Muslim extremists like Osama bin Laden despise the United States primarily because of its foreign policy. Conversely, US President George Bush's administration and its supporters have insisted that extremists loathe the United States simply because they are religious fanatics who "hate our freedoms." These conflicting views of the roots of militant Islamic hostility toward the United States lead to very different policy prescriptions. If US policies have caused much of this hostility, it would make sense to change those policies, if possible, to dilute the rage that fuels Islamic militancy. If, on the other hand, the hostility is the result of religious fanaticism, then the use of brute force to suppress fanaticism would appear to be a sensible course of action. Groundings for Animosity Public opinion polls taken in the Islamic world in recent years provide considerable insight into the roots of Muslim hostility toward the United States, indicating that for the most part, this hostility has less to do with cultural or religious differences than with US policies in the Arab world. In February and March 2003, Zogby International conducted a survey on behalf of Professor Shibley Telhami of the University of Maryland involving 2,620 men and women in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia. Most of those surveyed had "unfavorable attitudes" toward the United States and said that their hostility to the United States was based primarily on US policy rather than on their values. This was true of 67 percent of the Saudis surveyed. In Egypt, however, only 46 percent said their hostility resulted from US policy, while 43 percent attributed their attitudes to their values as Arabs. This is surprising given that the prevailing religious values in Saudi Arabia are more conservative than in Egypt. Be that as it may, a plurality of people in all the countries surveyed said that their hostility. toward the United States was primarily based on their opposition to US policy. The issue that arouses the most hostility, in the Middle East toward the United States is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and what Muslims perceive as US responsibility for the suffering of the Palestinians. A similar Zogby International survey from the summer of 2001 found that more than 80 percent of the respondents in Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia ranked the Palestinian issue as one of the three issues of greatest importance to them. A survey of Muslim "opinion leaders" released by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press in December 2001 also found that the US position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the main source of hostility toward the United States. It is true that Muslim hostility toward Israel is often expressed in terms of anti-Semitic stereotypes and conspiracy theories--think, for example, of the belief widely-held in the Islamic world that Jews were responsible for the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001. Muslim governments and educators need to further eliminate anti-Semitic bias in the Islamic world. However, it would be a serious mistake to dismiss Muslim and Arab hostility toward Israel as simply a matter of anti-Semitism. In the context of Jewish history, Israel represents liberation. In the context of Palestinian history, it represents subjugation. There will always be a gap between how the West and how the Muslim societies perceive Israel. There will also always be some Muslims (like Osama bin Laden) who will refuse to accept any solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict other than the destruction of the state of Israel. That said, if the United States is serious about winning the so-called "war on terror," then resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be among its top priorities in the Middle East. Eradicating, or at least curbing, Palestinian terrorism entails reducing the humiliation, despair, and rage that drive many Palestinians to support militant Islamic groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad. …

Soumis et rebelles au Maroc: les jeunes au Maroc, by Mounia Bennani-Chraïbi. Preface by Rémy Leveau. 335 pages, bibliography. Paris: CNRS Éditions, 1994. ISBN 2-272-05270-X

Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, Dec 1, 1995

The Islamic Movement in North Africa, by François Burgat & William Dowell. Foreword by Robert Fernea. (Middle East Monograph Series) 310 pages, tables, notes. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. $13.95 (Paper) ISBN 0-292-70793-2

Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, Jul 1, 1994

Religion and violence

Religion, Oct 1, 2005

Religion kills. Throughout human history, people have killed in the name of their gods. Emile Dur... more Religion kills. Throughout human history, people have killed in the name of their gods. Emile Durkheim rightly stressed that religion serves to strengthen the bonds of solidarity among those who worship the same god, in the same way. But the flip side of this solidarity is enmity towards those who worship other gods or worship the same god differently. Religious boundaries separate the pure and virtuous ‘us’ from the impure and evil ‘them’. We who worship our god our way are truly human. The Other, who worships other gods, or the same god differently, is less than human and thus killable. Yet while the hostility towards the Other found in most sacred scriptures has often had lethal consequences, one cannot assume that these texts dictate the actual behaviour of believers for all time. Scriptures are constantly being reinterpreted as historical circumstances change. And some conflicts in which sacred texts get invoked may infact have secular causes.

Between Pipes and Esposito

ISIM Newsletter, 2002

Islamic Militancy

The Iraq War, 2006

Fundamentalism'Ancient & Modern

Daedalus, 2003

... Scholars should of course avoid demo nizing militant religious conservatives. ... In his book... more ... Scholars should of course avoid demo nizing militant religious conservatives. ... In his book Listen World, Listen few, Kahane of fers a Zionist interpretation of the con cept of Qiddush ha-shem (Kidush Ha shem), &amp;#x27;the sanctification of the name [of God],&amp;#x27; which is the traditional He ...

Religion and Violence: An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict from Antiquity to the Present201253Edited by Jeffrey Ian Ross. Religion and Violence: An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict from Antiquity to the Present . Armonk, NY and London: M.E. Sharpe 2011. , ISBN: 978 0 7656 2048 4 £300/$349 3 v...

Reference Reviews, 2012

Still Ready: Three Women From the Moroccan Resistance [Morocco] 1998 51 min. VHS Dir: Hakim Belabbes. Prod: Alison Baker. Distributed by Alison Baker, 22-D Hollywood Avenue, Hohokus, NJ 07423. Tel: 800-343-5540. Fax: 201-652-1973. Moroccan Arabic and French with English subtitles and some English...

Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, 1998

Globalized Islam: the search for a new ummah

Choice Reviews Online, 2005

This text is a translation of the first chapter of Globalised Islam 1 , a book by Olivier Roy, on... more This text is a translation of the first chapter of Globalised Islam 1 , a book by Olivier Roy, one of the most distinguished scholars and commentators on political Islam. Roy argues that Islamic revival, or 're-Islamisation', results from the efforts of westernised Muslims to assert their identity in a non-Muslim context. One-third of the world's Muslims now live as members of a minority. At the heart of this development are the voluntary settlement of Muslims in Western societies and the pervasiveness and influence of Western cultural models and social norms. The revival of Islam among Muslim populations is often wrongly seen as a backlash against westernisation rather than as one of its consquences. A schism has emerged between mainstream Islamist movements in the Muslim world and the uprooted militants who strive to establish an imaginary ummah, or Muslim community. Roy provides a detailed comparison of these transnational movements, whether peaceful like Tablighi Jama'at and the Islamic brotherhoods, or violent like al-Qaeda. He shows how neofundamentalism acknowledges without nostalgia the loss of pristine cultures, constructing instead a universal religious identity that transcends the very notion of culture. Thus contemporary Islamic fundamentalism is not a simple reaction against westernisation but a product and an agent of the complex forces of globalisation.

Between Pipes and Esposito

Islamism and Nationalism

The Permeable Boundary between Christian Anti-Judaism and Secular Antisemitism

Explaining, Interpreting, and Theorizing Religion and Myth, 2020

The Demonization of the Jew in the New Testament Hostility toward Jews and Judaism pervades much ... more The Demonization of the Jew in the New Testament Hostility toward Jews and Judaism pervades much of the New Testament, yet Jesus and his early followers were themselves Jewish-and Christianity began as a Jewish sect. Common sense would thus suggest that the anti-Jewish passages of the New Testament do not reflect antisemitism in the sense of hatred of all Jews as an ethnic group, just hostility toward those Jews who did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. But as time went by, the boundary lines between Judaism and Christianity became more sharply defined and many of the anti-Jewish passages in the New Testament came to be seen as referring to all Jews as an ethnic group. And in some cases, it is hard to interpret them any other way. Consider, for example the story of how Jesus drove the money changers and merchants out of the temple in Jerusalem, a story that occurs in all four gospels. The Gospel of Matthew's version goes as follows: "And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves" (Matthew 21:12-13).1 The Gospels of Mark (11:15-17) and Luke (19:45-46) have virtually identical versions of this story. The Gospel of John's version is a bit more graphic and violent: And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 1 Throughout, I am utilizing the King James version.

The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion, 2021

Knowledge and Power in Morocco: The Education of a Twentieth-Century Notable, by Dale F. Eickelman. 202 pages, index. Princeton University Press, Princeton1985. $32.50

Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, Dec 1, 1985

Messianic Religious Zionism Confronts Israeli Territorial Compromises

Politics, Religion & Ideology, Dec 1, 2013

practical engagement’ (p. 4). This aim is certainly an achievable one, since the collected articl... more practical engagement’ (p. 4). This aim is certainly an achievable one, since the collected articles are of fine quality. However, as it is always the case with collected reprints (which all of the chapters are) or ‘essential readings’, there is always the question of whether the selection taken is indeed of really essential pieces. However, it is certainly not the place of a review to begin a discussion of who should be in and who should be out. In this particular case there are, however, two additional problems. The first is that many of the chapters are reprints from the Review of Faith and International Affairs. Due to that, the chapters greatly vary in terms of their length and theoretical approach. The other problem is one common to most of the recent studies in this field: the attachment to mainstream Western political opinion – that is, for example, the focus on religious freedom – and mainstream scholarship. The former is not surprising, since most of those studies are focused on US foreign policy. The latter is a general problem leading, eventually, to theoretical grievances and shortcomings. Religion, for example is, by and large, taken as a monolithic concept. In other words, religion is treated as an actor. Religion, however, is never religion. Not so in theological or sociological terms and also not in terms of political science. At least implicitly, the editors – and the single chapters alike – do agree on the consequences of such a one-size-fits-all approach: ‘the only thing worse than ignoring religion is to approach it in an ill-informed way’ (p. 8) – that is true for believers and analysts alike.

A Cultural History of Genocide, 6 volumes

Religion, Feb 7, 2023

When Politics are Sacralized: Comparative Perspectives on Religious Claims and Nationalism. Edited by Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian

Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Feb 22, 2022

Review of When Politics are Sacralized: Comparative Perspectives on Religious Claims and National... more

Islamism and Nationalism

ISIM Newsletter, 2000

Islamism and nationalism are conventionally thought of as antithetical ideologies, yet there is i... more Islamism and nationalism are conventionally thought of as antithetical ideologies, yet there is in fact often a nationalistic dimension to Islamism. One is reminded of the relationship between Marxism and nationalism. In principle, Marxists condemn nationalism, as do Islamists. Yet the revolutions waged in the name of Marxist ideology since World War II were all fuelled by nationalistic resentment of foreign domination. Such resentment, among other things, also fuelled the principal Islamist movements of the late 20 t h century. In both cases, an ostensibly universalistic ideology has actually often had a more parochial nationalistic character in practice.

Lifting the Veil: Understanding the Roots of Islamic Militancy

Harvard international review, 2004

In the wake of the attacks of September 11,2001, many intellectuals have argued that Muslim extre... more In the wake of the attacks of September 11,2001, many intellectuals have argued that Muslim extremists like Osama bin Laden despise the United States primarily because of its foreign policy. Conversely, US President George Bush's administration and its supporters have insisted that extremists loathe the United States simply because they are religious fanatics who "hate our freedoms." These conflicting views of the roots of militant Islamic hostility toward the United States lead to very different policy prescriptions. If US policies have caused much of this hostility, it would make sense to change those policies, if possible, to dilute the rage that fuels Islamic militancy. If, on the other hand, the hostility is the result of religious fanaticism, then the use of brute force to suppress fanaticism would appear to be a sensible course of action. Groundings for Animosity Public opinion polls taken in the Islamic world in recent years provide considerable insight into the roots of Muslim hostility toward the United States, indicating that for the most part, this hostility has less to do with cultural or religious differences than with US policies in the Arab world. In February and March 2003, Zogby International conducted a survey on behalf of Professor Shibley Telhami of the University of Maryland involving 2,620 men and women in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia. Most of those surveyed had "unfavorable attitudes" toward the United States and said that their hostility to the United States was based primarily on US policy rather than on their values. This was true of 67 percent of the Saudis surveyed. In Egypt, however, only 46 percent said their hostility resulted from US policy, while 43 percent attributed their attitudes to their values as Arabs. This is surprising given that the prevailing religious values in Saudi Arabia are more conservative than in Egypt. Be that as it may, a plurality of people in all the countries surveyed said that their hostility. toward the United States was primarily based on their opposition to US policy. The issue that arouses the most hostility, in the Middle East toward the United States is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and what Muslims perceive as US responsibility for the suffering of the Palestinians. A similar Zogby International survey from the summer of 2001 found that more than 80 percent of the respondents in Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia ranked the Palestinian issue as one of the three issues of greatest importance to them. A survey of Muslim "opinion leaders" released by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press in December 2001 also found that the US position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the main source of hostility toward the United States. It is true that Muslim hostility toward Israel is often expressed in terms of anti-Semitic stereotypes and conspiracy theories--think, for example, of the belief widely-held in the Islamic world that Jews were responsible for the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001. Muslim governments and educators need to further eliminate anti-Semitic bias in the Islamic world. However, it would be a serious mistake to dismiss Muslim and Arab hostility toward Israel as simply a matter of anti-Semitism. In the context of Jewish history, Israel represents liberation. In the context of Palestinian history, it represents subjugation. There will always be a gap between how the West and how the Muslim societies perceive Israel. There will also always be some Muslims (like Osama bin Laden) who will refuse to accept any solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict other than the destruction of the state of Israel. That said, if the United States is serious about winning the so-called "war on terror," then resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be among its top priorities in the Middle East. Eradicating, or at least curbing, Palestinian terrorism entails reducing the humiliation, despair, and rage that drive many Palestinians to support militant Islamic groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad. …

Soumis et rebelles au Maroc: les jeunes au Maroc, by Mounia Bennani-Chraïbi. Preface by Rémy Leveau. 335 pages, bibliography. Paris: CNRS Éditions, 1994. ISBN 2-272-05270-X

Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, Dec 1, 1995

The Islamic Movement in North Africa, by François Burgat & William Dowell. Foreword by Robert Fernea. (Middle East Monograph Series) 310 pages, tables, notes. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. $13.95 (Paper) ISBN 0-292-70793-2

Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, Jul 1, 1994

Religion and violence

Religion, Oct 1, 2005

Religion kills. Throughout human history, people have killed in the name of their gods. Emile Dur... more Religion kills. Throughout human history, people have killed in the name of their gods. Emile Durkheim rightly stressed that religion serves to strengthen the bonds of solidarity among those who worship the same god, in the same way. But the flip side of this solidarity is enmity towards those who worship other gods or worship the same god differently. Religious boundaries separate the pure and virtuous ‘us’ from the impure and evil ‘them’. We who worship our god our way are truly human. The Other, who worships other gods, or the same god differently, is less than human and thus killable. Yet while the hostility towards the Other found in most sacred scriptures has often had lethal consequences, one cannot assume that these texts dictate the actual behaviour of believers for all time. Scriptures are constantly being reinterpreted as historical circumstances change. And some conflicts in which sacred texts get invoked may infact have secular causes.

Between Pipes and Esposito

ISIM Newsletter, 2002

Islamic Militancy

The Iraq War, 2006

Fundamentalism'Ancient & Modern

Daedalus, 2003

... Scholars should of course avoid demo nizing militant religious conservatives. ... In his book... more ... Scholars should of course avoid demo nizing militant religious conservatives. ... In his book Listen World, Listen few, Kahane of fers a Zionist interpretation of the con cept of Qiddush ha-shem (Kidush Ha shem), &amp;#x27;the sanctification of the name [of God],&amp;#x27; which is the traditional He ...

Religion and Violence: An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict from Antiquity to the Present201253Edited by Jeffrey Ian Ross. Religion and Violence: An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict from Antiquity to the Present . Armonk, NY and London: M.E. Sharpe 2011. , ISBN: 978 0 7656 2048 4 £300/$349 3 v...

Reference Reviews, 2012

Still Ready: Three Women From the Moroccan Resistance [Morocco] 1998 51 min. VHS Dir: Hakim Belabbes. Prod: Alison Baker. Distributed by Alison Baker, 22-D Hollywood Avenue, Hohokus, NJ 07423. Tel: 800-343-5540. Fax: 201-652-1973. Moroccan Arabic and French with English subtitles and some English...

Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, 1998

Globalized Islam: the search for a new ummah

Choice Reviews Online, 2005

This text is a translation of the first chapter of Globalised Islam 1 , a book by Olivier Roy, on... more This text is a translation of the first chapter of Globalised Islam 1 , a book by Olivier Roy, one of the most distinguished scholars and commentators on political Islam. Roy argues that Islamic revival, or 're-Islamisation', results from the efforts of westernised Muslims to assert their identity in a non-Muslim context. One-third of the world's Muslims now live as members of a minority. At the heart of this development are the voluntary settlement of Muslims in Western societies and the pervasiveness and influence of Western cultural models and social norms. The revival of Islam among Muslim populations is often wrongly seen as a backlash against westernisation rather than as one of its consquences. A schism has emerged between mainstream Islamist movements in the Muslim world and the uprooted militants who strive to establish an imaginary ummah, or Muslim community. Roy provides a detailed comparison of these transnational movements, whether peaceful like Tablighi Jama'at and the Islamic brotherhoods, or violent like al-Qaeda. He shows how neofundamentalism acknowledges without nostalgia the loss of pristine cultures, constructing instead a universal religious identity that transcends the very notion of culture. Thus contemporary Islamic fundamentalism is not a simple reaction against westernisation but a product and an agent of the complex forces of globalisation.

Between Pipes and Esposito

Islamism and Nationalism

The Permeable Boundary between Christian Anti-Judaism and Secular Antisemitism

Explaining, Interpreting, and Theorizing Religion and Myth, 2020

The Demonization of the Jew in the New Testament Hostility toward Jews and Judaism pervades much ... more The Demonization of the Jew in the New Testament Hostility toward Jews and Judaism pervades much of the New Testament, yet Jesus and his early followers were themselves Jewish-and Christianity began as a Jewish sect. Common sense would thus suggest that the anti-Jewish passages of the New Testament do not reflect antisemitism in the sense of hatred of all Jews as an ethnic group, just hostility toward those Jews who did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. But as time went by, the boundary lines between Judaism and Christianity became more sharply defined and many of the anti-Jewish passages in the New Testament came to be seen as referring to all Jews as an ethnic group. And in some cases, it is hard to interpret them any other way. Consider, for example the story of how Jesus drove the money changers and merchants out of the temple in Jerusalem, a story that occurs in all four gospels. The Gospel of Matthew's version goes as follows: "And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves" (Matthew 21:12-13).1 The Gospels of Mark (11:15-17) and Luke (19:45-46) have virtually identical versions of this story. The Gospel of John's version is a bit more graphic and violent: And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 1 Throughout, I am utilizing the King James version.

A Cultural History of Genocide

Religion, 2023

When Politics are Sacralized: Comparative Perspectives on Religious Claims and Nationalism

Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 2022

Review of When Politics are Sacralized: Comparative Perspectives on Religious Claims and National... more