Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2008, Page 48
The author explains the development of the heretical Wahhabi doctrine that dominates
Saudi Arabia with its roots in ―tawhid,‖ or a rigid fundamentalist monotheism. Al-Qaeda and
the Taliban derive their radicalism from Wahhabism. Aslan tells us of the mystics of Islam or
Sufi movement, and so much more worth savoring.
In this brief review, I must overlook mentioning much of the content of all three books. I
hope only to offer an indication of the respective approaches. Personally, I am glad I read
and reread all three authors, who seem to agree on one thing: Islam is in a reformation
period, and violence will certainly attend it. Reza Aslan reminds us that Muhammad
launched a revolution in Mecca to replace an archaic, rigid, and inequitable … tribal society
… It took many years of violence and devastation to cleanse the Hijaz of its ―false idols.‖ It
will take many more to cleanse Islam of its new false idols—bigotry and fanaticism—
worshipped by those who have replaced Muhammad‘s original vision of tolerance and unity
with their own ideals of hatred and discord (page 266).
But Aslan is hopeful, as we all should be, especially if we continue to support Muslims who
seek that same original vision of the Prophet. After having read these books, I can better
appreciate the struggle (jihad) of good Muslims dedicated to rescuing their culture from the
fanatics and angry fundamentalists who would rather kill the infidel than coexist with a
more tolerant and educated civility.
Note: [i] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXGZBs65qMs
Joseph P. Szimhart
Shamans and Religion: An Anthropological Exploration in Critical Thinking
Alice Beck Kehoe, Waveland Press, Inc., 4180 IL Route 83, Suite 101, Long Grove,
IL 60047-9580, 2000. ISBN-10: 1-57766-162-1 ISBN-13: 978-1-57766-162-7
(paperback). $13.50. 125 pages.
Dream Catchers: How Mainstream America Discovered Native Spirituality
Philip Jenkins, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN-10:
0195189108 ISBN-13: 978-0195189100. $16.95
Some books are necessary antidotes to other, incredibly popular books that distort public
perception. One such remedy is Shamans and Religion by Alice Beck Kehoe. Another is
Dream Catchers by Philip Jenkins. Both authors address popular (if surreptitious) New Age
appropriations of Native American religion and misappropriation of traditional shamanism.
More than twenty-five years ago when I was searching for a way out of an intellectual
morass regarding religious ideas, I turned to Mircea Eliade (1907–1986), whose
autobiographies were great reading for errant seekers like me. His densely written studies
titled Yoga (1969) and Shamanism (1964, English ed.) popularized two approaches to
experiential religion. Eliade was the intellectual seeker‘s scholar. He was the head of the
Religious Studies department at the University of Chicago. When he gave academic thumbs-
up to Carlos Castaneda‘s fantastic first novel about an apprenticeship under a Yaqui Indian,
we felt justified in believing in Castaneda (1925–1998). Castaneda was one of the most
successful New Age hoaxers in the twentieth century. Castaneda‘s books, along with Eliade‘s
Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, helped to usher in a New Age industry of neo-
shamans such as Michael Harner and don Jose Luis Ruiz, with their lucrative
transformational workshops. Eliade has had his critics (Robert Ellwood lists some of them
and the criticisms in Politics of Myth).
However, Kehoe‘s small book drives criticism of Eliade and the neoshaman movement into a
compelling if provocative conclusion: Neoshamanism is ―racism.‖ By this Kehoe means an
The author explains the development of the heretical Wahhabi doctrine that dominates
Saudi Arabia with its roots in ―tawhid,‖ or a rigid fundamentalist monotheism. Al-Qaeda and
the Taliban derive their radicalism from Wahhabism. Aslan tells us of the mystics of Islam or
Sufi movement, and so much more worth savoring.
In this brief review, I must overlook mentioning much of the content of all three books. I
hope only to offer an indication of the respective approaches. Personally, I am glad I read
and reread all three authors, who seem to agree on one thing: Islam is in a reformation
period, and violence will certainly attend it. Reza Aslan reminds us that Muhammad
launched a revolution in Mecca to replace an archaic, rigid, and inequitable … tribal society
… It took many years of violence and devastation to cleanse the Hijaz of its ―false idols.‖ It
will take many more to cleanse Islam of its new false idols—bigotry and fanaticism—
worshipped by those who have replaced Muhammad‘s original vision of tolerance and unity
with their own ideals of hatred and discord (page 266).
But Aslan is hopeful, as we all should be, especially if we continue to support Muslims who
seek that same original vision of the Prophet. After having read these books, I can better
appreciate the struggle (jihad) of good Muslims dedicated to rescuing their culture from the
fanatics and angry fundamentalists who would rather kill the infidel than coexist with a
more tolerant and educated civility.
Note: [i] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXGZBs65qMs
Joseph P. Szimhart
Shamans and Religion: An Anthropological Exploration in Critical Thinking
Alice Beck Kehoe, Waveland Press, Inc., 4180 IL Route 83, Suite 101, Long Grove,
IL 60047-9580, 2000. ISBN-10: 1-57766-162-1 ISBN-13: 978-1-57766-162-7
(paperback). $13.50. 125 pages.
Dream Catchers: How Mainstream America Discovered Native Spirituality
Philip Jenkins, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN-10:
0195189108 ISBN-13: 978-0195189100. $16.95
Some books are necessary antidotes to other, incredibly popular books that distort public
perception. One such remedy is Shamans and Religion by Alice Beck Kehoe. Another is
Dream Catchers by Philip Jenkins. Both authors address popular (if surreptitious) New Age
appropriations of Native American religion and misappropriation of traditional shamanism.
More than twenty-five years ago when I was searching for a way out of an intellectual
morass regarding religious ideas, I turned to Mircea Eliade (1907–1986), whose
autobiographies were great reading for errant seekers like me. His densely written studies
titled Yoga (1969) and Shamanism (1964, English ed.) popularized two approaches to
experiential religion. Eliade was the intellectual seeker‘s scholar. He was the head of the
Religious Studies department at the University of Chicago. When he gave academic thumbs-
up to Carlos Castaneda‘s fantastic first novel about an apprenticeship under a Yaqui Indian,
we felt justified in believing in Castaneda (1925–1998). Castaneda was one of the most
successful New Age hoaxers in the twentieth century. Castaneda‘s books, along with Eliade‘s
Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, helped to usher in a New Age industry of neo-
shamans such as Michael Harner and don Jose Luis Ruiz, with their lucrative
transformational workshops. Eliade has had his critics (Robert Ellwood lists some of them
and the criticisms in Politics of Myth).
However, Kehoe‘s small book drives criticism of Eliade and the neoshaman movement into a
compelling if provocative conclusion: Neoshamanism is ―racism.‖ By this Kehoe means an
