Religion in Global Conflict PDF

RELIGION IN GLOBAL CONFLICT MARK JUERGENSMEYER  Scholars have predicted that the secularization of the societies in the world would result to the withering of religion in the modern period. To their surprise, religion has publicly appeared in the 20th and 21st century, taking a role in glob...

RELIGION IN GLOBAL CONFLICT MARK JUERGENSMEYER  Scholars have predicted that the secularization of the societies in the world would result to the withering of religion in the modern period. To their surprise, religion has publicly appeared in the 20th and 21st century, taking a role in global conflicts.  “The conflicts have been about identity and economics, about privilege and power – the things that most social conflicts are about.” “When these conflicts are religionized – when they are justified in religious terms and pre-sented with the aura of sacred combat – they often become more intractable, less susceptible to negotiated settlement. FIVE STAGES OF THE GLOBAL RELIGIOUS REBELLION AGAINST SECULAR POLITICS Isolated Religious Outbursts Internationalization of Religious Rebellion in the 1980s Anti-American and Anti-European Sentiments in the 1990s The Global War in the 2000s Non-violent Uprisings ISOLATED RELIGIOUS OUTBURSTS The “Total Revolution in 1974” (Non-violent Hindu revolution against corruption in the government) Revolt led by Ayatollah Khomeini against the secular regime of the Shah of Iran in 1979 The reign of violence unleashed by the Khalistani movement of Sikh separatism against the north Indian state of Punjab throughout the 1980s, killing tens of thousands. Violent resistance of Buddhist activists against the attempt of the Sri Lankan government to appease Tamil separatism movement The consolidation of power by Muslim Extremists which led to the assassination of President Mohammad Anwar al Sadat in 1981. Common denominator of outbursts: moral critique of secular politics INTERNATIONALIZATION OF RELIGIOUS REBELLION IN THE 1980S Development of international coalition of radical Muslim Jihadis during the Afghan war (Afghanistan v. Soviet regime) in the 1980s. (Jihadi soldiers came from Muslim countries like Pakistan, Northern Africa, and Egypt. ) Development of Muslim movements in Israeli controlled Palestine in the 1980s Development of Hezbollah Shi’ite movement against the westernization of Lebanon by Israel in 1982 Formation of Hamas in the Palestine resistance movement ANTI-AMERICAN AND ANTI-EUROPEAN SENTIMENTS IN THE 1990S Attacks shifted from local regimes to international centers of power The economic and political powers of America and Europe were perceived to be a problem locally and globally. Religious violence (Muslim initiated) in Algeria against French colonial regime Religious social dissent against the American-led secular new-world-order Buddhist violent protests in Japan (by Aum Shinrikyo), predicting the apocalyptic and catastrophic world war of America against Japan. Muslim activists calling USA as a global bully, exposing its economic interests in oil reserve in the Middle East.  “A whole new outburst of Christian cultural nationalism occurred in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in the 1990s. “In the early 1990s, Buddhist nationalism emerged in Mongolia and Muslim nationalism gained strength in areas far from the Middle East: in Afghanistan, in Tajikistan, and in other Central Asian countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.” Reason: “Secular ideologies often lead to frustration because their material promises usually cannot be fulfilled in one’s own lifetime; the expectations of religious ideologies do not disappoint in the same way because they are not fulfilled on the worldly plane. Religious nationalism raised new hopes, and it also came along in time to res- cue the idea of the nation-state.” THE GLOBAL WAR IN THE 2000S The Attack of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by Al Qaeda Network led by Osama bin Laden on September 11, 2001 “the goal of bin Laden’s and the other jihadi activists was not just to get American influence out of Saudi Arabia but out of the whole Muslim world. This meant a confrontation of global proportions on multiple fronts.” The global jihadi terrorist attacks “were aimed at bringing to public consciousness the notion that the world was at war.” America’s response: Global War on Terror (bombardment of Afghanistan; Invasion of Iraq in 2003)  “throughout the Muslim world the Iraq invasion was widely perceived as an attempt to control Middle East politics and its economic resources. Many saw it as part of America’s war on Islam. Those who perceived it this way were apt to accept the al Qaeda vision of a global war and to morally justify what was regarded as a defence of the Muslim faith – if necessary through violence.”  Global terrorist attacks associated with Muslim Jihadis increased dramatically Bombings of Bali resorts in 2002 and Jakarta hotels in 2003 Madrid train bombings in 2004 London subway and bus bombings in 2005 Mumbai train blasts in 2006. “In the twenty-first century, the Internet provided a whole new arena for radical religious activism.” NON-VIOLENT UPRISINGS Uprising in Tahrir Square in Egypt which toppled the Mubarak regime in 2011 Uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain,Yemen, and Syria “What brought down the tyrants in Egypt and Tunisia, as it turned out, was about as far from jihad as one could imagine. It was a series of massive nonviolent movements of largely middle class and relatively young professionals who organized their protests through Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of electronic social networking.”  “as Tahrir Square showed, God does not always have to fight, at least not in the terrorist ways that the jihadi warriors imagined. In a couple of weeks of protests, the peaceful resis- tors demonstrated the moral and strategic legitimacy of nonviolent struggle.” “Tahrir Square has challenged both the strategic value and the moral legitimacy of the jihadi stance” SYMBOLIC EMPOWERMENT Religion provides empowerment both in violent and non-violent protests “‘To die in this way’ – through suicide bombings – the political head of the Hamas movement told me, ‘is better than to die daily in frustration and humiliation’ (Rantisi, 1989). He went on to say that, in his view, the very nature of Islam is to defend ‘dignity, land, and honor’.” “dishonouring someone is the worst act that one can do, and the only thing that can counter it is dignity – the hon- our provided by religion and the courage of being a defender of the faith. In a curious way, then, both religion and violence are seen as antidotes to humiliation. “ “success consisted simply in waging the struggle – the heady confidence they received by being soldiers for a great cause, even if the battles were not won, or even winnable, in ordinary military terms.”  “Hence, acts of religious violence are about religion as much as they are about violence. They are about religion because religion provides a way of thinking about the world that provides a sense of ultimate order. It takes the messy uncertainties of life, the dangers and the nagging sense of chaos, and gives them meaning. It locates disorder within a triumphant pattern of order. It does this especially effectively in thinking about the most difficult moment of chaos in one’s personal life – in thinking about death." RELIGIOUS RESURGENCE IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION “Because religious ideas, values, symbols and rites relate to the deep issues of existence, it should not be surprising when religion enters the picture in times of crisis. “The era of globalization is certainly one of those moments of social crisis, although in this case one experienced on a global scale. This is why the response has been virtually global as well." THREE PROBLEMS BROUGHT ABOUT BY GLOBALIZATION “The first was identity, how societies could maintain a sense of homogeneity when ethnic, cultural, and linguistic communities were spread across borders, in many cases spread across the world. “The second problem was accountability, how the new transnational economic, ideological, political and communication systems could be controlled, regulated, and brought to jus- tice. “The third problem was one of security, how people buffeted by forces seemingly beyond anyone’s control could feel safe in a world increasingly without cultural borders or moral standards.” RELIGION PROVIDES ANSWERS FOR THE THREE PROBLEMS “Traditional definitions of religious community provide a sense of identity, a feeling of belonging to those who accept that fellowship as primary in their lives. “Traditional religious leadership provides a sense of accountability, a certainty that there are moral and legal standards inscribed in code and enforced by present- day leaders who are accorded an unassailable authority. “And for these reasons, religion also offers a sense of security, the notion that within the community of the faithful and uplifted by the hands of God, one has found safe harbor and is truly secure.” SOURCE: Juergensmeyer, Mark (2014). Religion in Global Conflict. In The Sage Handbook of Globalization edited by Manfred Steger, Paul Battersby, and Joseph Siracusa. London: Sage Publications Ltd. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=nlebk&AN=839 692&site=edslive&cu stid=s6273593