Religious Knives

"A very unique and powerful addition to our understanding of what motivates the use of terrorism as a political tool. The question 'Who are we now?' animates this timely book, exploring the forces that are changing individual and group identity and leading to a rise in religiously motivated terrorism. I especially appreciated the psychocultural dimensions of this work, and the context it provided for creating more systemic approaches to preventing terrorism." Eileen F. Babbitt, PhD, Director, Insitute for Human Security, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
"Suistola and Volkan's tour de force brings a depth, density, and clarity of data to their timely yet timeless topic. Their work is enlivened by the authors' sharing of their poignant personal experiences that give striking context to their profound insights about terror's interconnected etiologic variables and mysteries. They successfully organize their book around three vitally important perspectives: the historical, psychoanalytic and systemic. It is no mean accomplishment to keep such focus when religion, politics, and economics pose highly charged challenges for truth-seeking. The authors provide valuable conceptual tools to understand and potentially prevent terror knives' painful cuts, but remain brutally honest about how much work remains to be done." Peter A. Olsson, MD, retired professor, Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine; Fellow, American Academy of Psychoanalysis
" Religious Knives makes a valuable contribution to the study of terrorism. Written with solid expertise and careful deliberation, it tackles terrorism from several perspectives and presents an in-depth analysis of the root causes of terrorism." Timo Soikkanen, Professor Emeritus, Contemporary History, Turku University, Finland