Terror in the Mind of God, Fourth Edition: The Global Rise of Religious ViolenceWhy would anybody believe that God could sanction terrorism? Why has the rediscovery of religion’s power in recent years manifested in such a bloody way? What, if anything, can be done about it? Terror in the Mind of God, now in its fourth edition, answers these questions and more. Thoroughly revised and expanded, the book analyzes in detail terrorism related to almost all the world’s major religious traditions: European Christians who oppose Muslim immigrants; American Christians who support abortion clinic bombings and militia actions; Muslims in the Middle East associated with the rise of ISIS, al Qaeda, and Hamas; Israeli Jews who support the persecution of Palestinians; India's Hindus linked to assaults on Muslims in the state of Gujarat and Sikhs identified with the assassination of Indira Gandhi; and Buddhist militants in Myanmar affiliated with anti-Muslim violence and in Japan with the nerve gas attack in Tokyo’s subway. Drawing from extensive personal interviews, Mark Juergensmeyer takes readers into the mindset of those who perpetrate and support violence in the name of religion. Identifying patterns within these cultures of violence, he explains why and how religion and violence are linked and how acts of religious terrorism are undertaken not only for strategic reasons but to accomplish a symbolic purpose. Terror in the Mind of God continues to be an indispensible resource for students of religion and modern society. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 17 | |
Illustrations | 134 |
PART TWO THE LOGIC OF RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE | 147 |
Notes | 303 |
List of Interviews and Correspondence | 339 |
| 345 | |
| 369 | |
Common terms and phrases
Abdul abortion clinic acts of terrorism acts of violence Al-Qaeda American Anders Breivik Arabs Asahara assassination assault attack Aum Shinrikyo Baruch Goldstein battle Bhindranwale Buddhist Christian Identity Church claimed cosmic cultures of violence defend enemies forces Gandhi Gaza global Goldstein government’s Hamas Hindu Ian Paisley Ibid ideology images India Interview Iraq ISIS Islamic Israel Israeli January Jerusalem Jewish Jews jihad Kahane’s killed leaders Lerner Mahmud Abouhalima Mann Mark Juergensmeyer Meir Kahane ment Michael Bray militant military moral mosque movement Muslim Myanmar Nakamura Oklahoma City one’s Paisley Palestinian party perpetrators political Protestant Punjab Rabbi Rabin radical Rantisi regarded religion religious activists religious terrorism religious violence role secular Sheikh Sikh Singh Sinn Féin social society spiritual Sprinzak struggle suicide bombings symbolic target terrorist acts Timothy McVeigh tion Tokyo told tradition Turner Diaries United University Press warfare West Bank Wirathu World Trade Center York young