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Political Violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

From Holy War to Modern Terror

Jonathan Fine

Religious political violence is by no means a new phenomenon, yet there are critical differences between the various historical instances of such violence and its more current permutations. Since the mid-1970s, religious fundamentalist movements have been seeking to influence world order by participating in local political systems. For example, Islamic fundamentalism is at the heart of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Christian fundamental right wing has seen a resurgence in Europe, and Jewish fundamentalism is behind the actions of Meir Kahane’s Kach movement and the settler movement. The shift in recent years from secular to religious political violence necessitates a reevaluation of contemporary political violence and of the concept of religious violence.

This text analyzes the evolution of religious political violence, in both historical and contemporary perspectives. Since religious political violence events are usually associated with the term “terrorism,” the book first analyzes the origins of this controversial term and its religious manifestations. It then outlines and highlights the differences between secular and religious political violence, on ideological, strategic, and tactical levels, before comparing the concept of Holy War in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Lastly, it shows how modern radical monotheistic religious groups interpret and manipulate their religious sources and ideas to advocate their political agendas, including the practice of violence. A unique comparative study of religious political violence across Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, this text features many international case studies from the Crusades to the Arab Spring.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 274 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-4422-4754-3 • Hardback • March 2015 • $121.00 • (£93.00)

978-1-4422-4755-0 • Paperback • March 2015 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

978-1-4422-4756-7 • eBook • March 2015 • $50.00 • (£38.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Security (National & International), Political Science / Terrorism, Religion / RELIGION / Politics & State, Political Science / Peace

Courses: Political Science; International Relations; Security, Political Science; Security; Terrorism

Political Violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

From Holy War to Modern Terror

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Religious political violence is by no means a new phenomenon, yet there are critical differences between the various historical instances of such violence and its more current permutations. Since the mid-1970s, religious fundamentalist movements have been seeking to influence world order by participating in local political systems. For example, Islamic fundamentalism is at the heart of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Christian fundamental right wing has seen a resurgence in Europe, and Jewish fundamentalism is behind the actions of Meir Kahane’s Kach movement and the settler movement. The shift in recent years from secular to religious political violence necessitates a reevaluation of contemporary political violence and of the concept of religious violence.

This text analyzes the evolution of religious political violence, in both historical and contemporary perspectives. Since religious political violence events are usually associated with the term “terrorism,” the book first analyzes the origins of this controversial term and its religious manifestations. It then outlines and highlights the differences between secular and religious political violence, on ideological, strategic, and tactical levels, before comparing the concept of Holy War in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Lastly, it shows how modern radical monotheistic religious groups interpret and manipulate their religious sources and ideas to advocate their political agendas, including the practice of violence. A unique comparative study of religious political violence across Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, this text features many international case studies from the Crusades to the Arab Spring.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 274 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-4422-4754-3 • Hardback • March 2015 • $121.00 • (£93.00)

978-1-4422-4755-0 • Paperback • March 2015 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

978-1-4422-4756-7 • eBook • March 2015 • $50.00 • (£38.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Security (National & International), Political Science / Terrorism, Religion / RELIGION / Politics & State, Political Science / Peace

Courses: Political Science; International Relations; Security, Political Science; Security; Terrorism

Author

Jonathan Fine is a senior researcher at the International Institute for Counter Terrorism and an assistant professor at the Lauder School of Government at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya.

Table of Contents

General Introduction

Part One: The Origins of Political Violence and 'Terror'
Introduction to Part One
Chapter 1: Ancient and Medieval Concepts
1.1 Terror and Political Violence: How to Address the Topic?
1.2 The Ancient Near East
1.3 The Ancient Hebrews
1.4 The Greco-Roman World
1.5 Medieval Europe
1.6 The Arab World
Chapter 2: The Rise of Modern Secular-Agenda Political Violence
2.1 Revolutionizing the Term 'Terrorism'
2.2 Post-French Revolution Terminology
2.3 The Use of the Terms 'Terror' and 'Horror' in Modern Literature
2.4 Post-World War Two Guerrilla and Terrorist Organizations
2.5 Terrorism and the Media
2.6 The “Secular Formative Text"
2.7 Enemy-Definition in Western Culture and its Concept in Secular Terrorist Organizations and Guerrilla Movements
2.8 Secular Middle Eastern Groups
2.9 The Terminology of 'Terror' & 'Terrorism' in a Historical Perspective
Chapter 3: The Rise of Modern Religious-Agenda Political Violence
3.1 Religion and Political Violence in Early-Modern Political Thought
3.2 Political Science, International Relations, and Religion: Social Movement - Theory, Resource Mobilization Theory, Primordialism, Constructivism and Instrumentalism
3.3 Comparative Religion
3.4 Current Research on Holy War in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
3.5 Current Research on Modern Jewish, Christian and Muslim Fundamentalism
3.6 The "Formative Religious Text": between Personality - Cult and Text Cult: a Different Approach
3.7 Enemy-Perception by Radical Religious Groupsp. 74
3.8 Secular and Religious Texts on a Comparative Level: "Who is the -Enemey?"

Part Two: The Early Origins of Holy War in Monotheism:Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Introduction to Part Two
Chapter 4: The Origins of Holy War in Judaism
4.1 Holy War Terminology in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
4.2 The Hebrew Bible
4.3 Classic Jewish Interpretations: the Mishna
4.4 Classic Jewish Interpretations: the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds
4.5 Medieval Commentators: Rashi, Maimonides and Nahmanides
4.6 The Fate of Amalek and the Question of Total Eradication
4.7 Prohibition against National Revival by Force
4.8 The Midrash Interpretation: The Ill Fate of the Tribe of Ephraim
4.9 Apocryphal Literature: Enemy Definition and War in the War Scroll
4.10 Preliminary Changes in Jewish Interpretation towards the Three Vows: Rabbi Yosef Chaim
Chapter 5: The Origins of Holy War in Christianity
5.1 Unique Attributes of Holy War in Christianity
5.2 The Impact of Classic Sources
5.3 The Impact of Jewish Sources
5.4 Concepts of War and Peace in the New Testament
5.5 Government and State in the New Testament
5.6 The Concept of Just War in the Christian Roman Empire: FromConstantine to St. Augustine
5.7 Holy War and the Crusade
5.8 Thomas of Aquinas
Chapter 6: The Origins of Holy War in Islam
6.1 The Concept of Warfare in the Quran and the Meaning of Jihad
6.2 Post-Quranic Interpretations of the Term Jihad
6.3 Attitudes to Non-Muslims and the Concept of Dhimmi during Islam's Expansion

Part Three: From Holy War to Modern Terror
Introduction to Part Three
Chapter 7: The Rise of Modern Religious Violence in Judaism
7. 1 The Rise of Modern Nationalism and Anti-Semitism
7. 2 The British Mandate and the Impact of Rabbi Avraham Kook
7. 3 The Anti-Zionist Orthodox Camp
7. 4 The Impact of the Holocaust and Rabbi Moshe Yoel Teitelbaum
7. 5 Religious Violence Following the Establishment of the State of Israel
7. 6 The Impact of the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War
7. 7 Reclaiming the Temple Mount
7. 8 The Six Day War and the Anti-Zionist Orthodox
7. 9 From Crisis to Violence: The Impact of the Camp David Accords, 1979
7.10 Rabbi Meir Kahane and the Kach Movementp.183
7.11 The Jewish Underground (ha Machteret ha Yehudit) and Yehuda Etzion
7.12 From the Oslo Agreements to the Second Intifada: 1993 – 2000
7.13 The Evacuation of Gaza: 2005
7.14 'Torat ha Melech' ('The King's Way') and its Impact
7.15 'Price Tag' – 'Tag Mechir'
Chapter 8: The Rise of Modern Religious Violence in Christianity
8.1 Early Modern Origins
8.2 Early Modern Pacifist Trends
8.3 The Discovery of the New World and the Attitude towards the Natives
8.4 Christianity, Enlightenment, War and Peace
8.5 Christian Attitudes towards War and Peace during the 19^th Century
8.6 World War One and its Impact
8.7 The Resurgence and Failure of Pacifism: 1919-1939
8.8 World War Two and its Impact
8.9 Christian Attitudes towards War and Peace during the Cold War: The WWC and the 1965 Vatican Council on Modern War
8.10 The Rise of the 'Christian Right' in America
8.11 The Christian Right and the Ideology of Christian Zionism
8.12 Violence in the Name of God and the Christian Identity Groups in the US: From the KKK to the 'Army of God'
8.13 Christian Identity Groups Outside the US and the Massacre in Norway
Chapter 9: The Rise of Modern Religious Violence in Islam
9.1 General Background
9.2 Sunni Radicalism: the Rise of the Society of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
9.3 The Ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood
9.4 Shiite Radicalism: Ayatollah Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution in Iran
9.5 Abduallah Yusuf Azam and the Idea of Global Jihad
9.6 The Use of Violence and Redefining the Status of the Modern Dhimmi
9.7 The 'Afghan Alumni' and the Legacy of Azam
9.8. The Practice of Violence against the Enemy: Past and Present
9.9 The Impact of Radical Islam on the Palestinians
9.10 The Arab Spring
9.11 The Controversy Concerning Political Islam
Summary and Conclusions:
Bibliography

Reviews

Jonathan Fine's timely study is the first comparison of holy wars in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. His work is essential to understand and counters the misinterpretation of religious sources and ideas to serve political agendas.
— Rohan Gunaratna, author of "Inside al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror"

Dr. Jonathan Fine provides a crucial overview of political violence in a comparative way. Using the tools of a historian and a political scientist, Dr. Fine analyzes the phenomenon of terrorism in various context and the origins of ‘holy’ violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. A very timely and important book.
— Boaz Ganor, co-founder and executive director, The International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), Herzliyya, Israel

A brilliant analysis with original ideas that will be of great interest. A work that challenges conventions and commonplaces. A masterpiece.
— José J. Sanmartín, University of Alicante, Spain

Political Violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is a major contribution to our understanding of the relationship between the three major monotheistic religions and violent conflict. Exhibiting a deep knowledge of the subject matter as evidenced in extensive use of primary sources, and combining historical analysis with an interdisciplinary perspective, Jonathan Fine’s comprehensive, informative, and balanced study will appeal to casual readers and specialists alike.
— Assaf Moghadam, author of The Globalization of Martyrdom: Al Qaeda, Salafi Jihad, and the Diffusion of Suicide Attacks

The strengths of Fine’s monumental and ambitious study are its innovative methodological approaches and its impressive first-hand and secondary sources. It deals symmetrically and fairly with the three religions; and its comparative inter-disciplinary nature adds to its analytical value. It is therefore a welcome addition to the existing literature.
— Rami Ginat, Department of Political Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Israel

Jonathan Fine has composed a comprehensive effort, in both breadth and depth, to bridge the textual and ideological foundations of Western religions with the modern religiously-motivated terrorism that emerged from those traditions. His erudite analysis crosses academic fields and draws together disparate theoretical lenses to form an ambitious survey of one of the most pressing challenges of our time.
— Ron E. Hassner, author of Religion on the Battlefield

Political Violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

From Holy War to Modern Terror

Jonathan Fine

Political Violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

From Holy War to Modern Terror

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