Prisoner of Zion

February 25, 2013
In the aftermath of 9/11, Carrier, a journalist and radio producer, sought to make sense of the terrorism that caused the great loss of American life and triggered the Afghan war. In a series of remarkable essays, Carrier, raised among Mormons, noted similarities in the beliefs and practices of the Taliban and the Utah church, stressing the fundamentalist pledge of obedience to authority, and revelations and visions from God to a "Chosen people." Carrier is alternately humorous and serious about the reports from Afghanistan, its people, its culture, and the heavy fighting. Journalists on the front lines fascinate us when they get this close: Carrier gathers opinions from some Afghans who believe that Osama bin Laden was a U.S. creation and that the real goal of the war was capturing oil reserves. Chatty but provocative, Carrier's critique of the true believers teaches us options for reconciliation.

March 15, 2013
A collection of essays centered on the author's experiences of encountering religious fanaticism among the Taliban in Afghanistan and Mormons in Utah. In November 2001, journalist and NPR radio producer Carrier (Journalism/Utah Valley Univ.; Running After Antelope, 2001) traveled to Afghanistan to report on the Taliban and the diverse factions and ethnicities vying for power in the midst of the American invasion. From Carrier's perspective, growing up with the Mormon community of Utah prepared him for encountering instances of religious fanaticism in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He compares his personal experiences with the Mormon community and some of the more notorious incidents related to Mormonism (i.e., the Elizabeth Smart case) with his experiences in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, rather than placing the blame on religion, the author states that he only takes issue with the belief that God has a chosen people to whom he gave land, since this removes land and liberty from another. The comparison between Mormons in Utah and Muslims in Afghanistan is blurred when the chronological sequence of essays discusses the breakup of his marriage, his investigation of sex trafficking in Cambodia alongside a woman with whom he formed a volatile personal relationship and his struggles with taking a teaching position at a public university in Utah. Carrier draws examples from his personal life to make the argument that when dealing with fanaticism, in any form, acting out of fear will only worsen the problem. Mostly engrossing stories of travel interspersed with historical vignettes and the author's private struggles to argue for a move away from persecution of believers.

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