Treading on hallowed ground : counterinsurgency operations in sacred spaces / edited by C. Christine Fair and Sumit Ganguly.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Counterinsurgency and the problem of sacred space / Ron E. Hassner -- The golden temple : a tale of two sieges / C. Christine Fair -- A mosque, a shrine, and two sieges / Sumit Ganguly -- The battle for the soul of Pakistan at Islamabad's Red Mosque / Manjeet S. Pardesi -- Fighting for the holy mosque : the 1979 Mecca insurgency / Pascal Ménoret -- Insurgency and counterinsurgency in Iraq's sacred spaces / David Siddhartha Patel -- Iron fists without velvet gloves : the Krue Se mosque incident and lessons in counterinsurgency for the southern Thai conflict / Joseph Chinyong Liow -- Conclusion : Counterinsurgency in sacred spaces / Nora Bensahel.

Addresses the unique aspect of waging a counterinsurgency campaign : fighting against an insurgency that often strategically positions itself on the "hallowed ground" that surrounds holy places of worship. Assembled expert's essays explore this widespread phenomenon of counterinsurgency efforts on religiously contentious terrain in Iraq, India, Kashmir, Pakistan, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia. The first comprehensive account of this increasingly pivotal component of contemporary war.