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Legal Theory Bookworm

By Lawrence Solum

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Freedom from Religion (Terrorism and Global Justice) by Amos Guiora. Here is a description:

Although many books on terrorism and religious extremism have been published in the years since 9/11, none of them written by Western authors call for the curtailment of religious freedom and freedom of expression for the sake of greater security. Rather, those terror-related debates have addressed what other civil liberties should be honored. Issues like torture, domestic surveillance, and unlawful detentions have dominated the literature in this area, but few, if any, major scholars have questioned the vast allowances made by Western nations for the freedoms of religion and speech.

Freedom from Religion challenges the almost sacrosanct inviolability of these two civil liberties. By drawing the connection between politically-correct tolerance of extremist speech and the rise of terrorist activity, this book sets the context for its unique proposal that governments should introduce new limits on religious practice within their borders. To demonstrate the wisdom of this course, the author presents the disparate policies and security circumstances of five countries: the U.S., the UK, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Israel. The book benefits not just from the author's own counter-terrorism experience in Israel and the U.S. but also from an international advisory group of leading scholars from all five of the countries under review.

And from the reviews:

"Guiora's book distinguishes itself from much of what has been written in the field by a realistic estimate of the threat which terrorism poses. It is also the first book that convincingly tackles the problem of how freedom of speech and terrorism are related. Guiora's expert knowledge makes him an ideal guide through this subject. He gives a vivid impression of the way many policy makers, politicians, and civil servants think about the problem of terrorism." -Professor Paul Cliteur, University of Leiden, Netherlands

"This book will provoke much debate in the legal community and far beyond. While I disagree with Amos Guiora's conclusions, I applaud his candid and compelling discussion of a challenging question that should certainly be forthrightly debated: whether legal protections for religious speech and conduct should be reduced in order to counter the threat posed by religiously motivated terrorists. Even for those of us who urge that the answer should be 'No,' Guiora's impassioned work must be reckoned with." -Nadine Strossen, Professor of Law, New York Law School, Former President, American Civil Liberties Union (1991-2008)

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on August 28, 2010 (boomark / email).