The Monks of Tibhirine: Faith, Love, and Terror in Algeria

The story of these trappists who died in Algeria in 1996 is a remarkable one that is told very well by the author. It is rare that such a sad event, the kidnapping and decapitation of these good, harmless men can generate such a feeling of hope and optimism. I lost a lot of my prejudices against Muslims reading this book. What a good and hospitable people most of the folk were. I cannot ever forget the reaction of the imams, refusing to condone such a murder, and even suffering death themselves rather than issue fetwas against innocent people. What a wonderful witness to the gospels these men showed. They were good neighbors who didn't deserve this kind of death. But none of the muslim victims of these terrorists deserved it either. The death of the monks brought attention to all the nameless people who had already died. And finally, I cannot read Christian de Cherge's final testiment without crying at the beauty of it: The forgiveness, the fraternal love shown even to his murderer. I will pray with brother Christian that, as he said, one day he and his murderer will meet with forgiveness before God, two good thieves. Read this book!

This excellent book manages the remarkable task of juggling three important themes at once: the touching personal stories of a community of Trappist monks in Algeria, an uplifting investigation of what it means to be a true Christian and "live the Gospels", and finally an unraveling of the confusing and depressing story of Algeria's civil war. The framework for Kiser's book is the sad and unheard (in the US) story of the kidnapping and subsequent murder of seven Trappist monks in 1996 by a group of Islamic extremists. Using a myriad of French-language sources, including the diaries and journals of several of the monks and their personal letters, as well as interviews with family members and friends, and a trip to the monastery in Algeria, Kiser has crafted an fine work of history.This history is built on his excellent presentation of contextual material. Clear prose takes the reader through brief histories of the formation of the Cistercian order, the Trappist schism, the history of Christianity in Algeria, French colonialism in Algeria, the Algerian revolution, the disastrous rule of the FLN, the rise of the Islamist movement, and the current civil war. Interwoven is the story of the monastery at Tibhirine in the Atlas Mountains and the friendship between the monks and their Muslim neighbors. Most of the French monks had some personal connection to Algeria (several had done military service there), and all felt that their calling demanded that they live a simple life amongst non-Christians, displaying the power of their faith through good works. Kiser takes a great deal of effort to highlight the areas of common ground between the inclusive Christianity of the monks and the Islam of their neighbors. He is also scrupulous in highlighting how the version of violent Islam that plagues Algeria arose from a combination of economic desperation and the influence of those who fought in Afghanistan against the Soviets and returned with Saudi backing to spread Wahabi Islam. Indeed, as Kiser points out, despite the horrific killings of the last decade, there was never a legitimate fatwa (religious decree) issued condoning the killing of noncombatants. While the story of the monk's deaths is certainly tragic, their tale also contains a definite sense of hope for future reconciliation.

Kiser has written a compelling and inspiring account that humanizes the tragedy of the monks of Tibhirine and of the Algerian civil war more generally. What I find particularly impressive is Kiser's refusal to exploit the subject matter, and his determination to dig below the surface level and take the drama of events to a deeper level. He provides the necessary information to situate the drama of the monks within a much larger context of politics, history, and culture, and finds hope in the midst of suffering. Kiser is aware that there are two rights and too many wrongs in Muslim-Christian relations. He affirms that, by remembering what is _right_ on both sides of the cultural divide, we can find sufficient energy, resolve, and inspiration to build bridges of understanding between two estranged religious and cultural traditions.I would recommend this book to anyone who shares Kiser's desire to truly _understand_ what has "gone wrong" and what might "go right" in Muslim-Christian relations. If used in an academic classroom environment, Kiser's well-researched and thoughtful prose narrative would provide valuable supplementation to more standard textbook treatment of Muslim-Christian relations and the modern Middle East.

I love to read good books. It is rare that an author can integrate the chaos of the Muslim terror in Algeria of the last decade and focus it through the eyes of seven Trappist monks so that we can understand man's inhumanity to man and be willing to accept it.John Kiser deservs all the accolades on the dust jacket of his work.

The story of Kiser's book is deceptively simple: in 1996 a small group of Christians from a Trappist monastery in Algeria was kidnapped, then murdered by Islamic extremists. The book explains how the Trappists came to Algeria, why they remained there under conditions of great personal danger, how they earned the admiration of hundreds of Muslims from all over Algeria, and why they became in 1996 a convenient target of Islamists. These elements of the story are reported by Kiser in clear, sensitive, sometimes moving prose.The deeper theme of the book is the prospect of a modus vivendi between Christians and Muslims. Kiser makes the case that living together in community may be possible for those religious peoples with an expansive, inclusive understanding of their faiths. He thinks that the Trappists had such a large, attractive vision of Christianity, and he points out that certain large-hearted Muslims met them half-way. At the end of the book, Kiser speaks of the nineteenth-century Muslim leader Abdel Kader as the heroic model for Muslims who want simultaneously to adhere to their own traditions of worship and to reach out to righteous Christians.Kiser's book is thought-provoking, right-minded, even lofty in its hopes for the future. I must say, however, that the evidence discussed by Kiser can be read in another way -- namely, as an indication that the differences between Christianity and Islam are so vast that even saintliness cannot bridge them.For those interested in Algeria, in Islamism and disciplined spiritual life this book is a must.