Popular Religion

Despite the intense media focus since 9/11, many Western policymakers have little understanding of the distinction between Islam as a religion and the political movement known as Islamism. Drawing on three decades of research in 20 Muslim countries, this courageous study subjects Islamism's political ideology to trenchant analysis and warns of its dangers, while demonstrating how Islam as a religion and culture is open to tolerance and coexistence with other faiths.

The West's embrace of Buddhism, seemingly a relatively recent phenomenon, actually came about over the course of two millennia, despite the obstacles of language, cultural difference and colonial and post-colonial politics. From early exchanges between the ancient Greeks and Indian Buddhists to the current fascination with the Dalai Lama, Sutin describes how the West discovered that Buddhism offers teachings and practices which can be used within disciplines such as Western philosophy, psychology and politics.

The unique art inspired by Tibet's cultural amalgam of Shamanism and Buddhism is meant to be of specific use and spiritual benefit to everyone. Rawson discusses a wealth of photographs which depict not only the artistic productions of the past but also the activities of the present-day monks who continue ancient traditions, with their mandalas, mantras and meditation offering 'powerful, untarnished and coherent alternatives to Western egotistical lifestyles'.