Nilay Saiya is assistant professor of public policy and global affairs at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
'Weapon of Peace is an extraordinarily refreshing and rare achievement . Just as the early-modern 'Wars of Religion' taught generations of Europeans that schemes of religious conformity would only fuel rather than dampen sectarian violence, Saiya's ground-breaking book promises to make the causal nexus between religious persecution and religious terrorism a more central and serious subject of discussion in our own era of sanguinary religious conflict. There are many valuable studies of religion and terrorism. But Weapon of Peace is an absolute must-read for scholars and policy makers alike.' Timothy Samuel Shah, Director for International Research, Religious Freedom Research Project at the Berkley Center, Georgetown University and Senior Advisor, Religious Freedom Institute 'With prodigious documentation and lucid prose, Saiya shows how state repression of religion propels the violence and fanaticism afflicting our world today - a finding of enormous strategic importance. Elegant, timely, and fateful, this book is a masterful achievement.' Allen D. Hertzke, David Ross Boyd Professor, University of Oklahoma 'This is an important work that challenges core academic assumptions, and should be widely read. ... Highly recommended.' C.J. Wright, Choice 'The argument displays a mastery of the research literature, is very clearly and systematically delivered, and is fairly original - at least in its scope. Everyone with an interest in terrorism should read this book.' Lorne L. Dawson, Political Science Quarterly