<p>An examination of the ways in which the concept of holy war - the jihad of the East and the crusade of the West - came to acquire the symbolic power it has, and how this still affects the modern world. It shows how the ideals of the crusade permeated Western attitudes, traditions and beliefs, and how this influence still persists today. It discusses the modernity or otherwise of today's Islamic fundamentalist movements and the meaning they give to the concept of jihad. It argues that Christianity has never been a pacifist religion and that the institution of the crusade was central to the policies, prestige and world view of the papacy and many European states. It reveals how present-day Islamic reformers have actually borrowed from the vocabulary of fundamentalism from Western sources, while maintaining their faithfulness to their own traditions and discusses the ways in which they have interpreted the idea of holy war. Above all, it investigates the reasons behind the fear which Islamic fundamentalism excites in the West and warns against allowing views that ultimately derive from 11th-century propoganda to infuence us today.</p>

God of Battles: Holy Wars of Christianity and Islam

History

PETER PARTNER

World

Harpercollins

Peter Partner examines the ways in which the concept of holy war - the jihad of the East and the crusade of the West - came to acquire its symbolic power, and how this still affects the modern world. He shows how the ideal of the crusade permeated Western attitudes and beliefs, and discusses the modernity or otherwise of today's Islamic fundamentalist movements, which so alarm the Western world. He reveals how present-day Islamic reformers have actually borrowed the vocabulary of fundamentalism from Western sources, and discusses ways in which they have interpreted (and occasionally put into practice) the idea of holy war. Above all, this text investigates the reasons behind the fear which Islamic fundamentalism excites in the West, and warns against allowing views that ultimately derive from 11th-century propaganda to influence us today.

God of Battles

Princeton University Press

In Two Thousand Years, Professor Peter Partner looked at the birth of Christianity, from its Jewish roots in the first century, through the Roman Empire and beyond to the first crusade. Now, in book two of this powerful series, Professor Partner takes us through the turbulent and astonishing second millennium, when tensions between Judaism, Christianity and Islam was matched by the tensions between the different theological arguments within Christianity itself. This lavish book combines stunning illustration, populist appeal and academic excellence.

The Story of Christianity

Carlton Publishing

The lands of St Peter;: The Papal State in the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance

Religion & Spirituality

EYRE METHUEN

<p>In The Murdered Magicians, Dr. Peter Partner provides a full and succinct account of the history and mythical metamorphosis of the military crusading order known as the Knights Templar. The Murdered Magicians is both the history of the Knights Templar as it is thought to have occurred, in fact, and an account of the beliefs invented about the Templars in early and modern times.</p>

Murdered Magicians

Barnes&Noble Books

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Books by PETER PARTNER