With contributions from a range of regions and disciplines, this open access volume offers theoretically compelling and empirically rich new insights on the relationship between religion and violent extremism.
The role of religion and religiosity in processes of radicalisation to violence has been at the forefront of debates around terrorism and extremism for decades. The events of 9/11 gave new impetus to these debates, cementing assumptions about the role of Islam as the key driver for religiously inspired violent radicalisation, and defining the way in which radicalisation to violence is understood. The years since 9/11 have seen a striking diversification in the terrorist and violent extremist landscape, yet the treatment of how religious beliefs, concepts and histories are entangled with established and emergent violent ideologies and social movements has changed far less. By looking beyond Islamist-inspired or attributed terrorism, this volume explores how violent extremists instrumentalise religion and religiosity in unexpected ways, from Orthodox Christianity and Hindutva to ‘conspirituality’, far-right extremism, and single-issue social movements.
The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com
List of contributors Acknowledgements Section 1: Religion and violent radicalization: Concepts and contestations Introduction: Remapping the terrain of religion, radicalization and extremist violence Michele Grossman and H. A. Hellyer Religion, radicalization and violence: Conceptual and interpretive issues Lorne Dawson The Racialized Logic of The UK’s countering extremism strategy Tahir Abbas Section 2: Violent radicalization and the governance of religious diversity The governance of religious diversity and the challenge of (violent) radicalization in Western Europe Thomas Sealy and Tina Magazzini Religiously attributed radicalization and violent extremism: Policy responses and impacts on the governance of religion in South-Eastern Europe Liliya Yakova and Rositsa Dzhekova The determinants of radicalization in Russia: Is religion to blame? Marat Iliyasov The evolution of Salafi jihadi terrorism and state responses in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines Greg Barton Section 3: Religion and violence across extremist movements and contexts A majority with a minority complex: Examining Anti-Muslim violence in Sri Lanka and India Amar Amarasingam and Shweta Desai The convergence of land- and blood-centric political theologies in Israel Atalia Omer Hindu radicalization in contemporary India Pralay Kanungo Section 4: Political mobilizations of religion on the extremist right Marriage of convenience? The nexus of religious extremism and far-right militancy in Israel and the United States Alejandro Beutel and Arie Perliger ‘Orthodoxy or Death’: The embrace of Orthodox Christianity by the modern far right Lydia Khalil Preparing for Day X: Looking into Germany’s extreme right-wing radicalization Frederic Heine and Tina Magazzini Mapping conspiritual radicalization: The intersection of conspiracy movements, spirituality and radicalization Vivian Gerrand
Dr Michele Grossman, AM is Professor and Research Chair in Diversity and Community Resilience at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, where she leads the Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies. Dr H.A. Hellyer FRHistS is a Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London, and also a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC.
Reviews for Rethinking Religion and Radicalization: Terrorism and Violence Twenty Years After 9/11
This superlative collection of essays sheds new light on the complex connections between violent extremism and religion across nations, ideologies and faiths. Infused with rich, thoughtful engagement from leading scholars, the book is a captivating contribution to our knowledge and understanding of these challenging and urgent issues. * John Horgan, Georgia State University, USA *
