In this hard-hitting volume two dozen scholars, activists, military officers, and religious leaders call for an immediate end to the practice of torture, paying particular attention to its use in the American war on terror. Torture Is a Moral Issue begins with background material, including vivid firsthand accounts from a torture survivor and a former U.S. interrogator in Iraq. The heart of the book contains respectively Christian, Jewish, and Muslim arguments against torture, and the final part charts a way forward toward a solution, offering much principled yet practical advice. Included as an afterword is an interview with Darius Rejali, one of the world’s foremost experts on torture and democracy.

Getting away with torture / Kenneth Roth -- A survivor's view of torture / Dianna Ortiz -- Confessions of a torturer / Tony Lagouranis as told to John Conroy -- Military concerns about torture: honor, professionalism, morale / Adm. John Hutson, Gen. Richard O'Meara -- Beyond numbness: a personal meditation / Marilyn McEntyre -- Torture is the ticking time bomb: why the necessity defense fails / George Hunsinger -- Six reasons why torture is always wrong / David P. Gushee -- Torture and eucharist: a regretful update / William T. Cavanaugh -- My enemy, myself: a sermon / Fleming Rutledge -- Torture and Torah: defense of dignity and life in Jewish law / Melissa Weintraub -- Developing a Jewish theology regarding torture / Edward Feld -- These things I remember as I pour out my heart: a sermon for Kol Nidre 5766 Ellen Lippmann -- What we pray for: principles of faith / Rabbis for Human Rights -- Stopping oppression: an Islamic obligation / Ingrid Mattson -- Of torture and abuse / Taha Jabir Alalwani -- A call for dialogue: a sermon / Yahya Hendi -- Fatwa against religious extremism / Fiqh Council of North America -- Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights (1981) / Islamic Council of London -- Islam and human rights today / Ann Elizabeth Mayer -- William Wilberforce: progenitor of the global human rights movement / Scott Horton -- What terrorists want: an overview / Louise Richardson -- Speaking truth to the not so powerful / Carol Wickersham -- How to end torture / George Hunsinger -- Afterword: Torture always comes home: an interview with Darius Rejali / Scott Horton -- Appendix 1: Torture is a moral issue: a statement of conscience by the National Religious Campaign against Torture -- Appendix 2: Statement on interrogation practices.