AMHP 22A01 - Religion, Politics and Violence

Why do we associate Islam with violence and tradition and Judeo-Christianity with peace and modernity when, in fact, Islam is a discursive tradition (Asad, 1986) and political Islamism is a product of the modern era? Why do we focus on identitarian entrepreneurs and jihadi groups when it comes to define religion when it is the modern secular state that plays a major role in the regulation of public affairs? How has political violence been progressively understood as terrorism, and jihadism later? Where do these misconceptions come from? Religion has never disappeared from the public sphere. On the contrary, since the Iranian Revolution and 9/11, the religious dimension of electoral politics and political violence has been exacerbated. These two major contemporary events have shed light on a discourse of essentialization of Islam produced in the West that became almost synonymous with violence and thread. In reaction, Muslims, more specifically new generations, came to define their identities in regard to various religious, ethnic and cultural criteria. Some emphasizing on piety (women group discussions), some on modesty (hijab, burqa) and some on more cultural aspects (fasting during Ramadan and/or celebrating Eid). Nonetheless, religious subjects are not merely the product of the modern Western imagination (Brekke, 2015). Within Muslims-majority countries, this resulted into political Islamism becoming a dominant force, either in the context of elections (Egypt, Turkey) – or at the scale of the whole society (Bangladesh, Pakistan). The process of Islamization of politics and the politicization of Islam produced negative effects on minorities lives. Citizens who speak out against religious bigotry might be threatened and even killed. The global political context and the local specificities imbricated triggered the rhetoric of the intolerable (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan). Nationalism and secularism are two political projects that have caused violent conflicts, be them considered religious or political. They reinforced religious differences and created minority categories. In fact, nationalist states that have promoted secular governance (Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Turkey) have also created the ideological and cultural conditions for the growth of religious and political movements that have been originally opposed to the emergence of the nation-state. Starting in the 2000s, new waves of jihadi attacks, new generations of jihadi groups, locally or globally affiliated, allowed to reevaluate conflict and violence through two point of views: The particularizing view which sees religiously grounded conflict and violence as sui generis and the generalizing view which treats religion as simply one of a number of functionally equivalent bases of identity and mobilization (Brubaker, 2016). Everywhere, gradually, violence against the State resulted in producing authority within violence, and, in fine, made the State more powerful. The deconstruction of essentialist categories allows to reinstate historicity of ideas and cultural specificities. Religion, politics and violence cannot be mere analytical categories however it is necessary to also reaffirm the historicity and universality. They are dynamic notions, with various meanings and ways in which they affect each other. They must be articulated to key concepts such as the State, nation-state, secularism, political Islamism, authority, legitimacy, monopoly of violence, symbolic violence. Throughout the semester, the students will realize that the social fabric – political or religious – is first and foremost a construction without falling in the pitfall of an unbounded constructivism. This course will focus on Muslim majority States and on the Indian subcontinent with a strong focus on countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Charza SHAHABUDDIN

Cours magistral seul

English

Spring 2022-2023

To validate the course, the student is expected to pass the following assignments (at least three grades): 1°) A midterm exam (1/3 of the final mark) 2°) A group (3 or 4 persons) presentation of 20 minutes (1/3 of the final mark) 3°) A final exam (1/3 of the final mark)

At the end of the course, the student is expected to possess both generic skills and module specific skills. 1/ General skills To develop their capacity to critically assess and engage with academic sources. To avoid the pitfall of reifying concepts The capacity to test theories against the available evidence. The capacity to engage in debates by presenting well-reasoned and well-structured arguments supported by relevant evidence. The ability to identify and explain how trends in religion and society mutually affect each other. The capacity to critically assess sociological explanations of the origins and impact of political violence and religious violence. To argue against the use of religious explanation as a causal explanation 2/ Specific module skills To emphasize on the various meaning and dimensions of concepts such as religion, politics and violence To reaffirm both the historicity and universality of the concepts of religion, politics and violence To deconstruct the idea of identity as the continuity between a past and a present Master the few but primordial concepts covered during the sessions (monopoly of violence, nationhood, statehood, communalism, Islamism, jihadism, secularism, subaltern studies etc.) and to be able to step back and critize them ; This course will help the students better understand the present social, political and religious challenges in the contemporary political word with a focus on India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.