Examining contestation and conflict management within holy cities, this book provides both an overview and a range of options available to those concerned with this increasingly urgent phenomenon. In cities in India, the Balkans and the Mediterranean, we can see examples where religion plays a dominant role in urban development and thus provides a platform for conflict. Powerful religious hierarchies, the generation of often unregulated revenues from donations and endowments, the presence of holy sites and the enactment of ritualistic activities in public spaces combine to create forms of conflicts which are, arguably, more intense and more intractable than other forms of conflicts in cities. The book develops a working definition of the urban dimension of religious conflicts so that the kinds of conflicts exhibited can be contextualised and studied in a more targeted manner. It draws together a series of case studies focusing on specific cities, the kinds of religious conflicts occurring in them and the international structures and mechanisms that have emerged to address such conflicts. Combining expertise from both academics and practitioners in the policy and military world, this interdisciplinary collection will be of particular relevance to scholars and students researching politics and religion, regional studies, geography and urban studies. It should also prove useful to policymakers in the military and other international organisations.

Table of Contents:
Part I Overview: Urban Dimensions of Religious Conflict Introduction: The Urban Dimension of Religious Conflicts Chapter 1: Contextualising Urban Religious Conflicts - How Do Cities Shape Conflicts? Chapter 2: Crisis in Galasi - Simulating the Urban Dimensions of Religious Conflict Part II Genealogies of Urban Conflict Chapter 3: Vishweshwur Temple and Gyan Vapi Mosque: Entangled Histories in Banaras Chapter 4: Managing Conflict amidst Development and Developmentalism - George Town, Penang Chapter 5: Jerusalem’s Ramadan Fridays: Pilgrimage through the Bottlenecks of Occupation Chapter 6: Hebron - Holy and Divided Part III Conflict Management and Resolution Chapter 7: Protecting Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict - the Work of the Blue Shield Chapter 8: Swimming in Dark Waters - Recent Conservation in Afghanistan Chapter 9: The Protection of Cultural Heritage: The Experience of the Italian Carabinieri Command Chapter 10: The Protection of Religious Sites in the Western Balkans – Some Lessons from Recent History.