Book

Fighting in God’s Name

This book underscores the interplay between religion and politics (local and global) in the production, escalation, management, mitigation, and resolution of conflict.

Author

Corey Williams, Afe Adogame and Olufunke Adeboye

Date

03 November 2020

Links

Rowman & Littlefield

It is already nearing two decades since the 11 September 2001 U.S. terrorist attacks, popularly dubbed “9/11”, shocked the world and ushered in a new discourse on the global “war on terror.” With the subsequent upsurge and proliferation of so-called ‘religious conflicts’, this has led to a dramatic reappraisal of the role of religion in conflict, tolerance, and peacebuilding.

Fighting in God's Name provides a critical, inter-disciplinary exploration of the relationship between religion, conflict, violence, and tolerance from local-global perspectives. It focuses mainly on theoretical issues and approaches, with contrasting case studies drawn from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South Asia. Taken together, the 14 chapters in this volume seek to not only situate and explain particular contexts, but also to compare and contrast local cases with global trends.

The book provides a unique and important addition to the current literature for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, and serves as a point of reference for academics from a wide-range of related fields, including religious studies, cultural studies, conflict and war studies, history, sociology, anthropology, political science, peace studies, and strategic studies. The book will also be of interest to policy makers, NGO’s, FBO’s, professionals, and relevant agencies who wish to adopt a more “holistic” approach to their work. Although a scholarly study, it employs a language accessible to the nonspecialist, and will therefore also appeal to audiences involved in sustainable development, conflict resolution, and human rights issues.

About the Editors

Afe Adogame is the Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Religion and Society and chair of the History and Ecumenics Department, Princeton Theological Seminary.

Olufunke Adeboye is Professor of Social History and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Corey L. Williams is Chair of Religious Studies programs and Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Global Christianity at Leiden University

Table of Contents

Introduction: Religion and Conflict in Local-Global Perspectives by Afe Adogame, Olufunke Adeboye, and Corey L. Williams

Part I: Global Perspectives

1. Who Worries About Religious Violence? Images of Religion in Politics Under a Neoliberal Economic Regime by James V. Spickard
2. Researching Religion and Violence: Reflections on Symbolic Interactionism and Fieldwork by Corey L. Williams
3. Clash of Civilizations or Racializing Religion? Muslims and Membership in the United States and Europe by Paul Spickard
4. Religion and Conflict in a Globalised Cyber Sphere: Dynamics and Implications by Najimdeen Ayoola Bakare
5. Religion and Terrorism in Africa: The Challenge of Traditional Counterterrorism Strategies by Dodeye U. Williams
6. Expanding the Universe of Violence: A Discourse on the Linkage between Religion and Terrorism by Tunde Agara

Part II: Local Perspectives 

7. Waging War on Peace in Jos Plateau Communities: Traditional Strategies of Conflict Resolution and Management by Umar Habila Dadem Danfulani
8. Islamophobia or Space Contestation? Christian Churches and the Kadhi Courts Controversy during the Constitution Review Process in Kenya (1990-2010) by Damaris Parsitau
9. Does ZANU (PF) and MDC Manipulate religion? The Role of Religion in the Zimbabwean Political Conflict by Lovemore Ndlovu
10. From Agonism to Antagonism? The Effects of the Response of the Leaders of Muslim Organizations to Expressions of Criticism of Islam in the Netherlands Sipco J. Vellenga
11. Attitudes to ‘Religion and Conflict’ within Religious Jewish Peace Organisations in Israel by George R. Wilkes
12. The Agency of Women in Peace Building: Sinqee Women-led Customary Institution of Dispute Resolution in Ethiopia by Meron Zeleke
13. ‘Clemency oh Waaqa for the Blood of the Oromo’: Praying to Sooth Social Suffering by Serawit Bekele Debele
14. The Rise of Jihadi, Killing of ‘Apostate Imams’ and Non-Combatant Christian Civilians: Kenya Jihadists’ and al-Shabaab’s Identification of the ‘Enemy’ on Religious Lines by Hassan J. Ndzovu