Islam, Liberalism, and Ontology: A Critical Re-evaluation

ically held in Christ’s hands’ (p. 127). Even though this space is private, in the sense that it is not part of the street culture of visual media that much of the book focuses on, it still exists as part of the ‘visibility contest’ that reflects the insecurities, fears, and anxieties of the Indonesian Christian population in Ambon (p. 130). Throughout this book, there is an emphasis on visual culture that is focused on painting, clothing (expressing religious themes), and other objects in the category of material religion. The paintings provide a sense of comfort, and on occasion are considered ‘sacred, efficacious presences’ (p. 119). Spyer also includes religious objects that provide protective power for both Christians and Muslims. In a sense, these are examples of how both religious communities see the power of their religion invested in material objects. Miniature Bibles and Qur’ans, amulets, and even the rosaries adopted by Protestants from Catholics were used to provide safety in times of peril. In one case, a miniature Bible took a bullet for a man who wore it nestled against his chest (p. 187). Orphaned Landscapes begins and ends with the symbol of a family ripped apart by conflict. The symbol of the Indonesian leader as the father of the nation is challenged by the sense of abandonment felt by Protestant communities who felt orphaned, left with ‘feelings of insecurity, vulnerability, and general disorientation’ (p. 23). As Spyer notes, the child is victimized by conflict, and serves an important role in various Indonesian political campaigns, both Christian and Islamic, both in promoting conflict and, as she discusses at the end of the book, in working to end to conflict. The orphaned community includes the child who is in a perilous situation, needing protection by one group or another. The child is often centred in the visual culture explored in this study. When Christ is ‘overlooking the conflict’ (p. 76), he is offering his protection to the most vulnerable. As Spyer notes, ‘what mattered most was the connection between violence and the figure of the child,’ which could be ‘mobilized for quite different ends’ (p. 50). In the final chapter of the book, Spyer shows how in the media surrounding reconciliation work, the child is often presented as the reason for peace and reconciliation. Here, too, Spyer shows how visual media are used to provide messaging to a population that has chosen to live together, ‘provoking peace’ (p. 191) after a period of violence and terror for both Indonesia’s Christians and Muslims. Orphaned Landscapes is an important study of the topics of violence, religion, and visual discourse that deserves our attention.