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In an age when the Western world is preoccupied with worries about weapons of mass destruction in terrorist hands, terrorists across many parts of the globe are using a more basic device as a weapon – life itself. Suicide bombing has become a weapon of choice among terrorist groups because of its lethality and unrivalled ability to cause mayhem and fear, but what is the real driving force behind these attacks? For the first time, Suicide Bombings analyzes concrete data from The Suicide Terrorism Database at Flinders University, Australia, to explain what motivates the perpetrators. The results serve to largely discredit common wisdom that religion and an impressionable personality are the principal causes, and show rather that a cocktail of motivations fuel these attacks which include politics, humiliation, revenge, retaliation, and altruism. Suicide Bombings provides a short but incisive insight into this much publicized form of terrorism, and as such is an informative and engaging resource for students, academics, and indeed anyone with an interest in this topic.
The East Asian Challenge for Human Rights shows that critical intellectuals in East Asia have begun to chart a middle ground between the extremes of the international debate on human rights, making particular headway in the areas of group rights and economic, social, and cultural (ethnic minority) rights. The chapters form a collective intellectual inquiry into the following areas: critical perspectives on the "Asian values" debate; theoretical proposals for an improved international human rights regime with greater input from East Asians; the resources within East Asian cultural traditions that can help promote human rights; and key human rights issues facing East Asia as a result of rapid economic growth in the region.
The Problem with Survey Research makes a case against survey research as a primary source of reliable information. George Beam argues that all survey research instruments, all types of asking-including polls, face-to-face interviews, and focus groups-produce unreliable and potentially inaccurate results. Because those who rely on survey research only see answers to questions, it is impossible for them, or anyone else, to evaluate the results. They cannot know if the answers correspond to respondents' actual behaviors (objective phenomena) or to their true beliefs and opinions (subjective phenomena). Reliable information can only be acquired by observation, experimentation, multiple sources o...
A ground-breaking comparative study of contemporary Islamic consciousness, Inside Muslim Minds is an important insight into aspects of the Muslim faith, and its place in the twenty-first century. Using data gathered from more than six thousand Muslim respondents from Southeast, South and Central Asia and the Middle East, Raiz Hassan examines attitudes to issues such as religious commitment; the status of women; the concept of jihad and its alleged links to terrorism; Islamic philanthropy; attitudes towards blasphemy; and Muslim perceptions of the 'other'. Hassan offers a theory of Islamic consciousness by examining its evolution over several centuries. His findings demonstrate the diversity of the Muslim world: the many variations of social, political and religious views. Inside Muslim Minds argues for a new intellectual commitment that honours Islamic heritage yet simultaneously confronts Islamic reassertion and the sense of powerlessness felt by Muslims as they strive to reaffirm their faith in the twenty-first century.
This book presents the proceedings of the twelfth Building Bridges Seminar in Doha, Qatar in 2013, an annual gathering of Christian and Muslim scholars founded by the Archbishop of Canterbury. This volume is organized according to three major sub-themes: The Nature and Purpose of the Community, featuring essays by Gavin D'Costa on the Church and Abdullah Saeed on the Umma (nation or community); Unity and Disunity in the Life of the Community, featuring essays by Lucy Gardner and Feras Hamza; and Continuity and Change in the Life of the Community, featuring essays by Ahmet Alibasic and Brandon Gallaher. The final part of the book is a reflection by Lucinda Mosher on the spirit and tone of the exchanges between Christians and Muslims in Doha.
Building upon the success of previous editions, this fully revised edition of Sociology lays the foundations for understanding sociology in Australia. The depth and breadth of the book ensures its value not only for first-year students, but for sociology majors requiring on-going reference to a range of theoretical perspectives and current debates. This fifth Australian edition continues to build on the book’s reputation for coverage, clarity and content, drawing upon the work of leading Australian sociologists as well as engaging with global social trends and sociological developments.
Muslims in Australia investigates the basis of Australian society's fear of Muslims by tracing their history since the Afghan settlement in 1860. The author investigates how events such as September 11 and Bali terrorist attacks reinforce suspicion and fear, giving an insight into what it means to be a Muslim in contemporary Australia, and how the actions of militant Islamic groups have impacted upon Muslims in general in Western society.
Intercultural Variation in Family Research and Theory sets forth 23 critical reviews in a 2-volume set that document the development of family research and theory in various societies around the world. Focusing on modern research while drawing on the historical roots of theoretical and methodological approaches employed in the study of family, this collection not only increases your knowledge about the status of family research in various countries, but also inspires cross-national research among researchers and scholars. The societies being studied have been grouped by region: Volume I contains the set’s Introduction and contributions from the Far East, the Baltic region, Australia, and S...
This book addresses issues of space, historicity, architecture and textuality by focusing on Singapore's singular position in the region and as a global city. The articles consider how various experiences of Singapore, both from within and from outside, help to complicate existing assumptions about global urbanism, postcolonialism, and architectural theory while producing challenging new ideas from a variety of disciplines concerned with how space, historicity, architecture and textuality inform one another.