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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). Rarely have I found a book so compelling to read-and so difficult to review. The compulsion lies in the sheer drama of being taken into the inner soul of the struggle, as revealed in the personal stories told here. The difficulty in reviewing arises from the fact that, so profound are these testimonies at times, one feels one- self to be walking on holy ground so that to comment is like having to make a public report from within the confessional. Nevertheless, the 510 very fact that the interviewees readily co-operated indicates that they felt that matters of public moment were at stake, not just their private inner worlds. Villa-Vicencio's subjects appear in alphabetical order: Neville Alex- ander, Ray Alexander, Franz Auerbach, Cheryl Carolus, Frank Chikane, Sheena Duncan, Ela Gandhi, Nadine Gordimer, Chris Hani, Trevor Huddleston, Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Stanley Mogoba, Ruth Mompati, Itumelung Mosala, Beyers Naud6, Ebrahim Rasool, Albertina Sisulu, Joe Slovo and Desmond Tutu. Thomas G. Karis provides a help- ful overview of the South African political scene and its complexities in recent years, there are two useful maps and each chapter carries a splendid portrait photograph of its subject. The book concludes with Villa-Vicencio's own reflections. It does not detract from the contemporary value of this study that, politically, 1991-92 is already long past in South Africa; that while these interviews were taking place much was still in the balance and that much else has happened since, especially the elections of 1994. For one thing, there is a rich resource here for the historian, and the proper study of the history of the anti-apartheid struggle is surely still in its infancy. For another, in baring their souls these leaders in that struggle also speak of their long-term hopes and fears for the future, and of the values on which they believe the coming society will have to be built. Now to the 'confessions' themselves. What makes the collection so interesting is its range. We have for example the obvious and well- known Christian allegiance of such clerics as Beyers Naud?, Frank Chikane, Desmond Tutu and Trevor Huddleston; the Jewish human- ism of Franz Auerbach; the Hindu socialism of Ela Gandhi; the Muslim faith of Fatima Meer and Ebrahim Rasool engaging with modernity; the atheism of Nadine Gordimer, Chris Hani and Joe Slovo. Summary is obviously impossible, but what unites all these witnesses is their belief that, however expressed, and whether or not they own an allegiance to 'God', their political struggles were deeply motivated by what can only be described as spiritual values. It is the atheists who, perhaps not surprisingly, are the most fascinating here. Most of them admit that an upbringing in a religious tradition was a vital part of their formation. Nadine Gordimer speaks of the value of prayer as a time of quietness and thoughtfulness. Joe Slovo speaks warmly of Jesus as 'a liberation leader in every sense of the term, who resorted to such tactics of strug- gle as the situation required'. Chris Hani, who very nearly became a Catholic priest in his youth, and who a year after his interview became .
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