Abstract
This book is a valuable and well-researched survey of the ways in which governance is applied in contested sacred sites. It aims to fill a gap in the available literature. The authors are both senior lecturers at universities in Israel: Yuval Jobani lectures in Jewish Philosophy and Education at Tel-Aviv University, and Nahshon Perez lectures in the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University. They choose for their examples and their focus the contested sacred sites of: Devil’s Tower National Monument/Bear Lodge, Wyoming; the Babri Masjid/Ram Janmabhoomi, Uttar Pradesh; the Western Wall, Jerusalem; and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Temple Mount/Haram esh-Sharif, Jerusalem. In order to give substance and analysis to their survey they explore five different models of governing such sites: non-interference, separation and division, preference, status quo and closure. Through the use of this typology, the book aims to assist democratic governments in their attempt to secure public order and mutual toleration among opposed groups in contested sacred sites. It is clear from their survey that the authors recognize that the ideal of fairness in governing such sites may be sought but hardly achieved; rather, it is the exercise of mitigating the threat of violence and conflict that employs the attention of politicians and governments.
The authors bring us nicely down to earth from the realm of typology at the end of their work, by quoting a memoir of Nikos Kazantzakis from his visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1926. After listening to the hateful utterances of an Orthodox priest regarding all other Christian sects and their claims, Kazantzakis responded: ‘I hope to God the day come … when your hearts will fill with love. When the divine light no longer comes down to your candles but into your dark, anti-Christ mind!’ (p. 163).
There is certainly plenty in this book to remind us how far human beings have yet to travel in their spiritual journey, when religions still provoke hatred between their adherents, often with the loss of life. However, the authors conclude on a more positive note: ‘even amid extreme human conflicts, one can find a measure of coordination and even cooperation among rivals. The study of sacred sites conveys, therefore, some of the light for which Kazantzakis called; rather than being sites of violence and hatred, such sites can be managed to steer religious rivals into prolonged, stable, co-existence’ (p. 164).
The extensive bibliography will be useful for those who wish to research in the area of governance and religions. It is worth celebrating that this helpful and positive book is published at a time when the Middle East needs fresh impetus towards conflict resolution at all levels.