After Terror

After Terror presents sustained reflections by some of the world's most celebrated thinkers on the most pressing question of our time: how can we find ways to defuse the ticking bombs of terrorism and excessive interventions against it? It offers an antidote to the fatalistic global holy war perspective that afflicts much contemporary thought, focusing instead on the principles, issues, and acts needed to shift course from alienation and conflict to a path of sanity and goodwill among cultures and civilizations. The central aim of the book is to advance contemporary thinking on the causes and implications of 9/11 and thus provide the essential elements of a blueprint for humanity. It features 28 original essays by some of the world's leading public figures, scholars, and religious leaders, including Benjamin Barber, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Amitai Etzioni, Bernard Lewis, Martin Marty, Queen Noor, Joseph Nye, Judea Pearl, Jonathan Sacks, Ravi Shankar, Bishop Desmond Tutu, E.O. Wilson and James D. Wolfensohn. After Terror attests to the power of dialogue and mutual understanding and the possibility of tolerance, respect, cooperation, and commitment. Without ignoring the dangers of the modern world, it points to a future in which people can celebrate both the fundamental sentiments and interests that we share and the diversities that make us human.

After Terror presents sustained reflections by some of the world'smost celebrated thinkers on the most pressing question of our time:how can we find ways to defuse the ticking bombs of terrorism andexcessive interventions against it? It offers an antidote to thefatalistic global holy war perspective that afflicts muchcontemporary thought, focusing instead on the principles, issuesand acts needed to shift course from alienation and conflict to apath of sanity and goodwill among cultures and civilizations.The central aim of the book is to advance contemporary thinkingon the causes and implications of 9/11 and thus provide theessential elements of a blueprint for humanity. It features 28original essays by some of the world's leading public figuresscholars, and religious leaders, including Benjamin BarberZbigniew Brzezinski, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Amitai Etzioni, BernardLewis, Martin Marty, Queen Noor, Joseph Nye, Judea Pearl, JonathanSacks, Ravi Shankar, Bishop Desmond Tutu, E.O. Wilson and James D.Wolfensohn.After Terror attests to the power of dialogue and mutualunderstanding and the possibility of tolerance, respectcooperation, and commitment. Without ignoring the dangers of themodern world, it points to a future in which people can celebrateboth the fundamental sentiments and interests that we share and thediversities that make us human.

Acknowledgments xContributor Biographies in Brief xiiPart I Introduction 11 Toward a More Civil Twenty-first CenturyAkbar Ahmed and Brian Forst 3Part II The Nature and Sources of the Problem 132 The Simple Power of Weakness, the Complex Vulnerability of PowerZbigniew Brzezinski 153 Dialogue and the Echo Boom of Terror: Religious Women's Voices after 9/11Diana L. Eck 214 Closing Chapters of EnmityRajmohan Gandhi 295 Benjamin Franklin's Gift of ToleranceWalter Isaacson 366 God's Word and World PoliticsArchbishop Desmond Tutu 39Part III Pathways to Dialogue and Understanding 457 The Role of the Media in Promoting ToleranceShashi Tharoor 478 Civilization, Human Rights, and Collective ResponsibilitySergio Vieira de Mello 559 Endless Enemies or Human SecurityJody Williams 6610 Dialogue among Civilizations and CulturesPresident Seyed Mohammed Khatami 7211 Transnational Moral DialoguesAmitai Etzioni 7912 In Other People's ShoesDame Marilyn Strathern 8513 A Universal Language, without Boundary or PrejudiceSir Ravi Shankar 9014 Dialogue among CivilizationsKofi Annan 9415 The Productive Airing of GrievancesLord George Carey 9816 All of Man's TroublesEdward O. Wilson 10617 Turning Enemies into FriendsChief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks 11218 Security through DialogueQueen Noor of Jordan 11919 The Power of Dialogue: Redefining "Us"Tamara Sonn 13120 On Clash, Morality, Renaissance, and DialogueJudea Pearl 13821 The Just War Tradition and Cultural DialogueJean Bethke Elshtain 14522 Celebrating Differences on our Melting Pot PlanetPrince El Hassan bin Talal 149Part IV From Concern to Action 15523 Clash or Dialogue of Cultures?Bernard Lewis 15724 The Fellowship of DialogueJames D. Wolfensohn 15925 Hard Power and Soft PowerJoseph S. Nye Jr 16626 Global Governance in an Interdependent WorldBenjamin R. Barber 17127 Getting to Peace: Awakening the Third SideWilliam L. Ury 17928 Risking HospitalityMartin Marty 186Index 191