Martyrdom and Terrorism: Pre-Modern to Contemporary Perspectives

ISBN-13: 9780199959877 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 336 str.

Dominic Janes; Alex Houen

Opis

In recent years, terrorism has become closely associated with martyrdom in the minds of many terrorists and in the view of nations around the world. In Islam, martyrdom is mostly conceived as "bearing witness" to faith and God. Martyrdom is also central to the Christian tradition, not only in the form of Christ's Passion or saints faced with persecution and death, but in the duty to lead a good and charitable life. In both religions, the association of religious martyrdom with political terror has a long and difficult history. The essays of this volume illuminate this history--following, for example, Christian martyrdom from its origins in the Roman world, to the experience of the deaths of "terrorist" leaders of the French Revolution, to parallels in the contemporary world--and explore historical parallels among Islamic, Christian, and secular traditions. Featuring essays from eminent scholars in a wide range of disciplines, Martyrdom and Terrorism provides a timely comparative history of the practices and discourses of terrorism and martyrdom from antiquity to the twenty-first century.

Recenzje

This book offers an important and timely contribution to debates about terrorism. By tracing the meanings of martyrdom, sacrifice, and terrorism across a range of cultural and historical contexts, the essays in this book shed new light on the role of religion, secularism, and sovereignty in shaping our understanding of political violence.

O autorze

Dominic Janes is Senior Lecturer in History of Art and Culture at Birkbeck College, University of London. Alex Houen is Senior University Lecturer in Modern Literature in the Faculty of English, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Pembroke College.