Open AccessThe Holy Land in Transit
Author(s) -
Doug Kiel
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
american journal of islam and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2690-3741
pISSN - 2690-3733
DOI - 10.35632/ajis.v25i2.1475
Subject(s) - destiny (iss module) , indigenous , pathos , narrative , colonialism , mythology , manifest destiny , history , ethnology , environmental ethics , philosophy , political science , theology , law , archaeology , literature , art , politics , ecology , physics , astronomy , biology
In The Holy Land in Transit: Colonialism and the Quest for Canaan, StevenSalaita explores not just similar, but identical aspects of settler colonialismin the New World and the Holy Land. Indeed, on both continents ethnocentriccolonial discourse forged the “noble savage” and “chosen people”dichotomy. On this basis, the author compellingly argues that the UnitedStates and Israel are not merely bound politically and strategically, but alsohistorically and philosophically: both have transformed theological narrativesinto national histories. In this groundbreaking comparative analysis of theHoly Land pathos (labeled “pernicious mythology” and “messianic extremism”)across national boundaries, Salaita explicates theManifest Destiny processof “wresting Edenic land from savages in the name of prophesy andprogress” (p. 119).Armed with Biblical narratives and garrison force, covenantal “chosenpeople” set out to cultivate a bountiful “promised land” presumed to bevacant in the New World and the Near East. Newcomers escaping persecutionon a quest for Canaan justified their occupation of foreign territory byplacing the subjugation of inferior indigenous “Canaanites” within a Biblical ...