Religion and Terrorism

The Use of Violence in Abrahamic Monotheism

Contributions by Gideon Aran, Donna Lee Bowen, Daniel Brown, John David Payne, Douglas Pratt University of Waikato, Mbaye Bashir Lo, Joseph Woolstenhulme Edited by Veronica Ward Utah State University, Richard Sherlock Utah State University

Publication date:

24 December 2013

Length of book:

218 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

235x159mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780739185681

Religion and Terrorism: The Use of Violence in Abrahamic Monotheism provides theoretical analysis of the nature of religious terrorism and religious martyrdom and also delves deeply into terrorist groups and beliefs in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Religious terrorism is found in all three of the great monotheistic faiths, and while the public is most aware of Islamic terrorism, Jewish and Christian faiths have extremist groups that warp their teaching —in ways unrecognizable to most adherents— to support terrorism. This work will be of interest to scholars in religious studies, political science, and sociology.

Introduction
Richard Sherlock and Veronica Ward
Chapter 1: Religious Terrorism and Monotheism
Richard Sherlock
Chapter 2: Martyrdom in the Three Monotheistic Religions: Historical Survey and Analysis Veronica Ward
Chapter 3: From Religion to Terror: Christian Fundamentalism and Extremism
Douglas Pratt
Chapter 4: Jewish and North American Protestant Religious Violence: Contemporary Variations on an Ancient Theme
Gideon Aran
Chapter 5: How Religious is “Islamic” Religious Terrorism?
John David Payne, Donna Lee Bowen and Joseph Woolstenhulme
Chapter 6: Hasan Al-Banna, the Art of Death and Contemporary Muslim Ideologies of Martyrdom
Daniel Brown
Chapter 7: The Role of Religion and Religious Teachings in Al-Qaeda
Mbaye Lo

The urgent necessity of understanding exactly how contemporary terrorism is motivated by monotheism is the focus of this important collection. The topic requires conceptual clarification, doctrinal precision and historical attention to the interplay between doctrine and political and cultural circumstances. These essays, taken individually and as a whole, get the mix of these tasks just right, and the result is an important and readable contribution to the discussion. Required reading-not only for policy makers dealing with security concerns, but also for all the religiously serious descendants of Abraham.