Murder in Amsterdam, The Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance PDF
Preview Murder in Amsterdam, The Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance
M U R D ER IN A M S T E R D AM The Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance I AN B U R U MA ADVANCE PRAISE FOR MURDER IN AMSTERDAM "Buruma is one of the planet's wisest heads and best writers about the politics of national identity, civilization, and culture. With the eye of a novelist and the erudition of scholar, he finds in the frenzy of soccer fans no less than in the history of the last several centuries an explanation for the violence that has erupted in the land of Rembrandt and tulips. This is a book about much more than a single crime in a single city. It is a brilliant insight into what ails Europe and, more broadly, our globalized world." —STROBE TALBOTT, president, Brookings Institution "I heartily recommend Buruma's book. He has written a vivid account that is both serious and witty, and cuts through the clichés about multiculturalism. This book is not just about the murder of Van Gogh in Holland; it is about the nature of Islam in Europe and, by extension, about the soul-searching quest among the Europeans themselves for a European identity." -OLIVIER ROY, author of Globalized Islam "Ian Buruma's Murder in Amsterdam provides the reader with an extraordinary understanding of the dramatic change in European societies in the age of multiculturalism. An eye-opener." —GILLES KEPEL, author of The War for Muslim Minds "Ian Buruma is surely one of the finest literary journalists at work today. In Murder in Amsterdam, he delivers a searching and brilliant meditation on Holland's—and by extension much of the West's—encounter with Islam. With great care he dissects the interaction of Dutch culture, with its paternalistic tolerance and xenophobic nostalgia, with the alienation and cultural traditional ism of Muslim immigrants. It is a deeply humane and troubling book on a subject that will be with us for a long time—not the last book on the subject but the one that will inform all that follow." -DANIEL BENJAMIN, coauthor of The Age of Sacred Terror and The Next Attack U.S. $24.95 Canada $32.50 IAN BURUMA RETURNS TO HIS NATIVE LAND TO EXPLORE, THROUGH THE STORY OF THE MURDER OF A FAMOUS FILMMAKER AT THE HANDS OF AN ISLAMIC EXTREMIST, THE GREAT DILEMMA OF OUR TIME • IT WAS THE EMBLEMATIC CRIME of our moment: On a cold November day in Amster dam, an angry young Muslim man, Mohammed Bouyeri, the son of Moroccan immigrants, shot and killed the celebrated and controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, great-grandnephew of Vincent and iconic European provocateur, for making a movie with the Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali that "insulted the prophet Mohammed." After Bouyeri shot Van Gogh, he calmly stood over the body and cut his throat with a curved machete, as if performing a ritual sacrifice, which in a very real sense he was. The murder horrified quiet, complacent, prosperous Holland, a country that prides itself on being a bastion of tolerance, and sent shock waves across Europe and around the world. Shortly thereafter, Ian Buruma returned to the country of his childhood to investigate the event (continued on back flap) 0906 (continued from front flap) and its larger meaning. The result is his master piece: a book with the intimacy and narrative control of a crime novel and the analytical brilliance for which Buruma is renowned. Ian Buruma's entire life's work has led him to this story—the tale of what happens when political Islam collides with the secular West, and toler ance finds its limits. IAN BURUMA is currently the Luce Professor at Bard College. His previous books include God's Dust, Behind the Mask, The Missionary and the Libertine, Playing the Game, The Wages of Guilt, Anglomania, and Bad Elements. The A MEMBER OF PENGUIN GROUP CUSAI INC. Penguin 375 Hudson Street, New York. N.Y. 100H Press www.penguin.com Murder in A m s t e r d am ALSO BY IAN BURUMA Behind the Mask God's Dust Playing the Game The Wages of Guilt The Missionary and the Libertine Anglomania: A European Love Affair Bad Elements Inventing Japan Occidentalism Conversations with John Schlesinger THE PENGUIN PRESS NEW YORK 2006 M u r d er in A m s t e r d am The Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance IAN BURUMA THE PENGUIN PRESS Published by die Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA * Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) » Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England » Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) • Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) * Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110 017, India * Penguin Group (NZ), Cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) * Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England First published in 2006 by The Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 1 3 5 79 10 8 6 42 Copyright © Ian Buruma, 2006 All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Buruma, Ian. Murder in Amsterdam : the death of Theo van Gogh and the limits of tolerance / Ian Buruma. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 1-59420-108-0 1. Gogh, Theo van—Assassination. 2. Netherlands—Ethnic relations. 3. Europe—Ethnic relations. 4. Toleration—Netherlands—History— 21st century. 5. Toleration—Europe—History—21st century. I. Title. DJ91.B87 2006 364.152'40892—dc22 2006043606 Printed in the United States of America Designed by Stephanie Huntwork Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this pub lication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopy ing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials. Your support of die author's rights is appreciated.
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