Violence in the Name of God: The Militant Jihadist Response to Modernity

Description

This book traces the trajectory of militant jihadism to show how violence is more intentionally embraced as the centre of worship, social order and ideology. Undertaking an in-depth analysis of militant jihadist groups and utilising the work of Rene Girard, Joel Hodge argues that the extreme violence of militant jihadists is a response to modernity in two ways that have not been sufficiently explored by the existing literature. Firstly, it is a manifestation of the unrestrained and escalating state of desire and rivalry in modernity, which militant jihadists seek to counter with extreme violence. Secondly, it is a response to the unveiling and discrediting of sacred violence, which militant jihadists seek to reverse by more purposefully valorising sacred violence in what they believe to be jihad. Relevant to anyone interested in Islam, philosophy of religion, theology, and terrorism, Violence in the Name of God imagines new ways of thinking about militancy in the name of Islam in the twenty-first century.

Joel Hodge is Senior Lecturer in Systematic Theology at Australian Catholic University, Australia. He is the author of Resisting Violence and Victimisation: Christian Faith and Solidarity in East Timor (2012) and co-editor of the series, Violence, Desire, and the Sacred.

Hodge's book is to be commended and is well worth engaging. * Modern Theology * The book is a masterly dissection of this complex and disconcerting topic... Hodge provides a lucid analysis of the core drivers that lead to terror, and offers carefully thought-out pathways in response ... He exemplifies modern, informed Catholic scholarship at its best ... I think Joel Hodge's book will be one of the best theological texts of 2020. -- Ivan Head * Quadrant * [T]his is a superb book, well worth reading by anyone who is interested in developing a deeper understanding of how Muslim extremists can become derailed in the particular way their tradition allows for, and by anyone who wants to see Rene Girard's thought applied to the topic of Islamist violence, which Girard treated only briefly before his death in 2015. * Reading Religion * In a lucid and comprehensive study of violent jihad, Joel Hodge advances Rene Girard's mimetic theory of religiously sanctioned violence. Girard himself was not in a position to develop his intuition, that extreme Islamism is an attempt to 're-sacralize' violence; but Hodge makes the necessary connections, time and again. This book will be a standard reference point on this urgent theme. * Michael Kirwan, Adjunct Associate Professor at the Loyola Institute, School of Religion, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland * A careful and systematic analysis of the contemporary discussions on the relationship between religion and violence in the context of modernity. Hodge raises many unspoken questions courageously and brings new insights to this old topic. An interesting book which I strongly recommend to those who take this issue seriously. * Ismail Albayrak, Research Fellow, Faculty of Theology and Philosophy, Australian Catholic University, Australia * Violence in the Name of God brilliantly brings a new dimension to the debates of jihadism by showing militant jihadists' sacralization of violence. It invites readers to understand the identity and motivations of contemporary militant jihadism and its trajectories in Islamic and Western modernities. Readers will benefit from Dr. Hodge's mastery of Girard's mimetic desire and its application in understanding rivalry, victimhood, and scapegoating in the contemporary contexts of violent jihadism and terrorism. * Etin Anwar, Associate Professor, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, USA * To understand Jihad-its origins, spread, dynamics, methods, aims, and prospects-from a position of powerful practical and theoretical insight, Hodge's bold yet measured study provides a reliable and accessible guide...Hodge ends his comprehensive, clear-eyed, unsentimental assessment with a summons to the better angels of our nature. -- Scott Cowdell * St Mark's Review *