How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror
Written by Reza Aslan
Narrated by Sunil Malhotra
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
The hijackers who attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, thought they were fighting a cosmic war. According to award-winning writer and scholar of religions Reza Aslan, by infusing the United States War on Terror with the same kind of religiously polarizing rhetoric and Manichean worldview, is also fighting a cosmic war-a war that can't be won.
How to Win a Cosmic War is both an in-depth study of the ideology fueling al-Qa'ida, the Taliban, and like-minded militants throughout the Muslim world, and an exploration of religious violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Surveying the global scene from Israel to Iraq and from New York to the Netherlands, Aslan argues that religion is a stronger force today than it has been in a century. At a time when religion and politics are increasingly sharing the same vocabulary and functioning in the same sphere, Aslan writes that we must strip the conflicts of our world-in particular, the War on Terror-of their religious connotations and address the earthly grievances that always lie behind the cosmic impulse.
How do you win a cosmic war? By refusing to fight in one.
From the Hardcover edition.
Reza Aslan
Reza Aslan (he/him) is a writer and scholar of religions. He lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and 4 kids, so he knows a thing or 2 about trying to solve conflicts. Reza always wanted to be a writer. But his mom told him he had to get a "real job" first. So, he spent years at school earning a bunch of degrees so he could become a scholar of religions. Now, he gets to do both of those things: study religion and write books! A recipient of the prestigious James Joyce Award, Reza has written several internationally bestselling books, including the #1 New York Times Bestseller, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. Reza is also an Emmy- and Peabody-nominated scholar and public intellectual who tries to help people make sense of the sometimes nonsensical things we all do in the name of religion and politics.
Related to How to Win a Cosmic War
Related audiobooks
Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Knowing the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives have Penetrated Washington Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam Is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Name of the Enemy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fight: A Christian Case for Non-Violence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hidden Enemy: Aggressive Secularism, Radical Islam, and the Fight for Our Future Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Global Jihad: Understanding September 11 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Revolution of Values: Reclaiming Public Faith for the Common Good Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dark Agenda: The War to Destroy Christian America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Neighbour's Faith: Islam Explained for Christians Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Terrorism, Jihad, and the Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Battle for the Soul of Islam: An American Muslim Patriot's Fight to Save His Faith Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Awakening to Justice: Faithful Voices from the Abolitionist Past Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and its Responsibility for 9/11 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Global Jihad: A Brief History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5MUSLIM: What You Need to Know About the World's Fastest Growing Religion Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Name Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Wholly Different: Islamic Values vs. Biblical Values Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Religious Freedom in a Secular Age: A Christian Case for Liberty, Equality, and Secular Government Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Case for Peace: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can be Resolved Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Zondervan Essential Companion to Christian History: Audio Lectures Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Abrahamic Religions: A Very Short Introduction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The New Crusades: Islamophobia and the Global War on Muslims Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Politics For You
All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 48 Laws of Power Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Romney: A Reckoning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Enough Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5While Time Remains: A North Korean Girl's Search for Freedom in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Small Mercies: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Out of the Wreckage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Can't Joke About That: Why Everything Is Funny, Nothing Is Sacred, and We’re All in This Together Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Elon Musk Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Razorblade Tears: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Behold a Pale Horse Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An American Marriage: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for How to Win a Cosmic War
35 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Interesting and thoughtful, though history, internationally and domestically, has proven wrong its hopeful and optimistic thesis, summed up in the epilogue. The cosmic war still rages. Neither ISIS nor Trumpism, both of which rose to power and prominence after the book's release, have any interest in not fighting a cosmic battle. The Arab Spring, which occurred shortly after the book's release, does vindicate Aslan's claim that the Muslim world thirsts for democracy. Regrettably and paradoxically, recent history vindicates an important feature of Aslan's thesis: a cosmic war cannot be won.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5If one were writing for a creative writing course, this book would serve the purpose & it is quite creative...except that the author insists on being taken seriously. It's propaganda purpose with its usual tripe about perceived grievances & illusory historical dreams have nothing to do with the reality. The author repeats gossip & rumors in order to paint a very different picture of who's innocent & who's guilty yet history stands against him as a glaring light exposing inaccuracies & dishonesty he writes. Like Michael Belisiles' Arming America, this book serves as an example of those who's "axes to grind" sounds like a nonmusical person attempting to pass himself off as a concert violinist.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5First and foremost, Aslan is an excellent author. His books fly by and read more like fiction than non-fiction. If you're someone who's normally afraid of non-fiction because it can sometimes be so slow, dry, and boring, then you'd probably love either of Aslan's books.How to Win a Cosmic War is based off of the lecture I saw him give last winter (thought it might be more accurate to say his lecture is based off of the book), so a lot of it was very familiar to me. Aslan puts this "War on Terror" into a new, and in my opinion, more correct perspective. Aslan claims that after 9/11, Bush played right into the hands of bin Laden and did exactly what he wanted. He made this into a cosmic war by dividing the world into good and evil: if you're not with the US, then you're with the terrorists. So what is a cosmic war, exactly, and how do you win one? It's a war where all parties involved believe God is on their side, and that they are fighting on behalf of God. It is good vs evil - Satan vs God - and the only way you can win a cosmic war is by refusing to fight one in the first place.Surprisingly, a lot is covered in under 200 pages. Aslan gives the reader a short history on the "Jihadist" movement and what that word actually means, as well as a little bit of history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the rise of the Evangelical movement in the US, a bit of Old Testament history, and different fanatical factions of both Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. It's all very interesting, but I think the most important thing for readers to understand is how the "Jihadists" differ from the majority of Muslims, and what we can do to put an end to it. You can't successfully fight them with weapons because there's an infinite supply of soldiers. There's countless angry, Muslim teens in the West who see the horrible things going on in Palestine, Iraq, etc. If Western governments address their legitimate grievances (and there are plenty of them), then people will stop being inspired to take up arms.I can't recommend this book enough, and I think it, just like No god but God, is a book everyone should read in order to gain a better and more accurate understanding of todays political climate, as well as the social, cultural, religious, and economic factors that brought us here.
1 person found this helpful