https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/123684 Sun, 05 Apr 2026 14:25:35 GMT 2026-04-05T14:25:35Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/124115 Title: [Book review] Laws of the postcolonial Authors: Zammit, David E. Abstract: In 1926 the pioneering social anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski wrote a short book called: "Crime and Custom in Savage Society". In this book, he challenged the curiously paradoxical notions held by his contemporaries about law in tribal societies. On the one hand "savages" were thought of as lawless people unable to follow a rule. On the other they were conceived as robotic automata, "mechanically" fallowing custom-hallowed norms. He went on to claim that the tribal "customs" he had observed functioned, to all intents and purposes, similarly to a modern legal system. While this identification of law with custom has been heavily criticized, it is the great merit of the text being reviewed here that it explains both the importance of Malinowski's insight and why it continues to be received so tepidly. [excerpt] Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/124115 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/124114 Title: [Book review] The wrath of Jonah. The crisis of religious nationalism in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Authors: Dalli, Charles Abstract: This thought-provoking essay aptly derives its title from the story of Jonah, the pathetic character who preaches death and destruction to the people of Nineveh, only to suffer the unbearable displeasure of seeing the repentant Assyrian city saved by his divine master. Jonah asks God to take his life, insisting 'I have every right to be angry, mortally angry!', but God reminds him that he is God to all nations. This book is, in a sense, a sobering historical and moral reflection on this message. [excerpt] Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/124114 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/124113 Title: [Book review] Hamas : political thought and practise Authors: Fsadni, Ranier Abstract: Published in 2000 to wide acclaim, printed for a second time in 2002, it is difficult to resist the temptation to re-read this book in the light of the escalation of violence in Israel/Palestine since late 2002, and in particular in the light of the assassinations of two leaders of Hamas this year. [excerpt] Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/124113 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/124112 Title: Palestinian christians : silent victims of a zero-sum game? Authors: Weiner, Justus Reid Abstract: In November 2002, the Vatican offered $400,000 to the Palestinian Christian community to improve their lives and convince them to stay in their ancestral residences. This unusual offer was provoked by a massive wave of emigration from formerly Christian-dominated areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, endangering the very future of Christianity in the Holy Land. This article, the product of six years of research, including numerous interviews with members of various Christian denominations, evaluates the human rights conditions of the Christian minority living under the Palestinian Authority. Contrary to international law, Palestinian Christians are subject to systematic abuses of human rights, including theft of real property, rape, attacks by PA police officials, and arbitrary imprisonment and torture. By examining the context surrounding the persecution of Christians, including explanations, denials, and the phenomena of Christian fear and self-blame, the author attempts to shed light on the striking silence surrounding the plight of this endangered community. Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/124112 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z