509 Concerns on the Political Agenda. It Has Not Proved Easy for Any
Reviews 509 concerns on the political agenda. It has not proved easy for any gov- ernment to destroy their movement because of the international stigma which would attach if they did so: Morocco even tried to coopt the movement, but failed. The movement has had some successes, usually in relation to individuals whom they have succeeded in getting released or better treated. The notorious Tazmamart prison in Morocco, whose very existence had been consistently denied, was finally admitted to after being quietly emptied. Of particular current interest is the section dealing with the Gulf War of 1990. The human rights groups found it very difficult to know how to respond to this, feeling themselves torn in different directions. They were concerned about the plight of Iraqi civilians, aware of American double standards over Iraq on the one hand and Israel on the other, and tended to share popular resentment of the over-rich oil states such as Saudi Arabia. The Maghribi states did not all toe the same line during the crisis, nor did the human rights groups. The inci- dent highlighted the difficult and sensitive situations such groups have to find their way through. This is a study which can be warmly recommended for the depth and extent of its coverage and its thought-provoking examination of a subject of major concern in today's world. It has much to say about ethics, religion and secularist tendencies in societies not yet fully absorbed into global capitalism. Cambridge M. LOUISE PIROUET VILLA-VICENCIO, Charles, The Spirit of Freedom: South African Leaders on Religion and Politics, Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1996, xxxii, 301 pp., 0 520 20045 4 During 1991-92 Charles Villa-Vicencio, Professor of Religion and Society in the University of Cape Town, interviewed 21 people noted, in varying ways, for their part in the long struggle against apartheid, focusing on the connection between their political commitments and religious beliefs (if any).
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