Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence (Updated Edition with a New Preface) (Comparative Studies in Religion and Society)

Beneath the histories of religious traditions, from biblical wars to crusading ventures and great acts of martyrdom, violence has lurked as a shadowy presence. Images of death have never been far from the heart of religion's power to stir the imagination. The author asks one of the most important and perplexing questions of our age: Why do religious people commit violent acts in the name of their god, taking the lives of innocent victims and terrorizing entire populations? This, the first comparative study of religious terrorism, explores incidents such as the World Trade Center explosion, Hamas suicide bombings, the Tokyo subway nerve gas attack, and the killing of abortion clinic doctors in the United States. Incorporating personal interviews with World Trade Center bomber Mahmud Abouhalima, Christian Right activist Mike Bray, Hamas leaders Sheik Yassin and Abdul Azis Rantisi, and Sikh political leader Simranjit Singh Mann, among others, the author takes the reader into the mindset of those who perpetrate and support violent acts. In the process, he helps us understand why these acts are often associated with religious causes and why they occur with such frequency at this moment in history. This book places these acts of violence in the context of global political and social changes, and posits them as attempts to empower the cultures of violence that support them. He analyzes the economic, ideological, and gender-related dimensions of cultures that embrace a central sacred concept, cosmic war, and that employ religion to demonize their enemies. The narrative is engaging, incisive, and sweeping in scope. He convincingly shows that while, in many cases, religion supplies not only the ideology but also the motivation and organizational structure for the perpetrators of violent acts, it also carries with it the possibilities for peace. Front Cover ......Page 1 Front Matter ......Page 3 Contents ......Page 7 Preface to the Paperback Edition ......Page 9 Preface and Acknowledgments ......Page 11 Introduction ......Page 16 1. Terror and God ......Page 17 Cultures of Violence ......Page 30 2. Soldiers for Christ ......Page 31 3. Zion Betrayed ......Page 56 4 Islam's "Neglected Duty" ......Page 72 5 The Sword of Sikhism ......Page 96 6. Armageddon in a Tokyo Subway ......Page 114 The Logic of Religious Violence ......Page 129 7. Theater of Terror ......Page 130 8. Cosmic War......Page 167 9. Martyrs and Demons ......Page 186 10. Warriors' Power ......Page 209 11. The Mind of God ......Page 238 Notes ......Page 266 Interviews and Correspondence ......Page 296 Bibliography ......Page 300 Index ......Page 319 Documents the global rise of religious terrorism and seeks to understand the odd attraction of religion and violence. The author examines the large religious community of supporters who make violent acts possible rather than the relatively small number who carry them out. Using case studies along the spectrum of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism, he examines religious communities that often perceive themselves and their way of life as under attack When plastic explosives attached to a Hamas suicide bomber ripped through the gentrified Ben Yehuda shopping mall in Jerusalem in September 1997, the blast damaged not only lives and property but also the confidence with which most people view the world. Examines such incidents as the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Tokyo subway nerve gas attack, and the killing of abortion clinic doctors in the U.S. to explore the reasons behind acts of violence committed for religious causes