Martyrdom and Terrorism

Pre-Modern to Contemporary Perspectives

Bibliographic Data

ID23402387
EditorsDominic Janes (0000-0003-3751-5326), Alex Houen
Year2014
Pages366
Publication date2014-06-02
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueMartyrdom and Terrorism (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199959853.001.0001
OpenAlexW2243154095
ISBN9780199959853
Open LibraryOL27556734M
LanguageEN
Citations received5

Many of those committing recent terrorist attacks have been intent, and have often succeeded, in killing themselves in the process. This volume explores and compares religious and secular traditions of martyrdom and terrorism. Martyrdom is, in a certain sense, central to the Christian tradition, insofar as this is an appropriate description for Christ’s Passion. Islamic notions also link shahadat (martyrdom) to “bearing witness” to faith and God. In Christianity, martyrdom is not necessarily limited to those who are persecuted or die in having their faith opposed; a martyr can be one who leads a good, charitable life. Martyrdom in Islam is similarly a manifold matter. In both instances, the association of religious martyrdom with political terror has a complex legacy. Not only does this volume outline the complexity of these legacies—following, for example, Christian martyrdom from its origins in the Roman world, to the experience of the deaths of the “terrorist” leaders of the French Revolution, to parallels in the contemporary world—it also explores how Islamic and Christian traditions compare historically..

Christian faith · Christianity · Faith · Islam · Martyr · Passion · Political science · Terrorism · Theology · Witness · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Religious studies · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence · Martyrdom · Religious aspects · Terrorism, religious aspects

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