Religion beyond icon, burial and monument: An introduction

A war is raging in the Middle East as you read this introduction or, at least, one is likely imminent and the world is on high alert. We can assert this with some certainty, regardless of the shelf-life of this volume, because this condition has characterized the region for most of the last 1000 years. During this same period various empires and nations have risen and fallen there. The regional economy region has shifted from mostly small-scale pastoralism, farming and trading to the epicenter of the global energy industry. Yet despite this history of change, there has been one constant in the Middle East. This is war, and its adjunct: whenever and wherever waged, Middle Eastern wars have divided along sectarian lines-Christian against Muslim, Muslim against Jew, Shia Muslim against Sunni Muslim, and factions within factions. Regardless of whether we view religion as consequence or cause, these conflicts have been, and promise to continue to be, religious wars.