Book Review: Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000, 332 pp., £17.50 hbk.)
| DOI | 10.1177/03058298000290030807 |
| Author | Amandeep Sandhu |
| Date | 01 December 2000 |
| Published date | 01 December 2000 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Book Reviews
907
Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God : The Gl obal Rise of Religious
Violence (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 200 0, 332 pp. , £17 .50
hbk.).
In the post-Cold War era, religion has reasserted itself in a forceful and often
violent fashion. In h is earlier works, M ark Juergensmey er has helped us in
understanding this reassertion, and his latest book should be seen as a continuation
of his prev ious efforts. Although parts o f this book have bee n previously published
in edi ted collections a nd journals, the book itself is an imp ortant contributio n that
merits cl ose attention. In J uergensmeyer’s own words, this bo ok is a ‘compa rative
cultural stud y of religious terroris m’ (p. 13).
The book is divided into two parts. In the first part—ch apters one t o six—
Juergensmeye r introduces th e subject mat ter and the n presents case studies of the
use of violence in religious mov ement. In turn , he examin es: the Christi ans Right
in the US; Protestants and Catholic s in Northern Ireland; Hamas and Musli ms
associated with the Wo rld Trade Centre bombing; Jews i n the Israeli Right a nd
Meir Kaha ne supporters in Israel and th e US; Sikhs a ssociated with th e murder of
Indira Gandhi and Beant Singh; and the Au m Shinrikyo movement in Japan. By
interviewin g religious activ ists, Juergensmeyer contextualises thei r deployment of
violence. He argues th at rel igious activist groups share a perceptio n that thei r
communitie s are und er attack, that the world is a violent place. The se sha red
perceptions, based upon a Manichean perception of the world, produce ‘the
cultures of vio lence’ (p. 12).
In the se cond p art of the book the author pro vides th e meat of his argument
while drawing common threads from the case studies detailed in t he first part.
Drawing a distinctio n between ‘performance eve nts’ and ‘performative acts’ in
chapter se ven, Juergensmeyer argues that rel igious violence i s committed in order
to a chieve symbolic objectives rath er than to gain sp ecific politic al goals. This is
different from the oth er forms of political terrorism, because the latter is i ntended
to achieve specific political goals. In chap ters eight and nine, the author draws
attention to the ‘this-worldly’ application of the images of cosmic confrontation
found in differe nt religion s. Religious activists frame the ir ‘this-worldl y foes’ in
the t emplate of ‘cosmic foes’ available i n different re ligions. By identifying the ir
‘this-worldl y foes’ with ‘co smic foes’, the religio us activists rational ise their
killing of others.
In chapter ten, Jue rgensmeyer dra ws attentio n to the connecti on between
marginalit y and religiou s terrorism. Margi nalisation, whether economic or sexual,
provokes anxiety a nd makes the yout h vulnerable to cause s providing a sense of
empowerment. With its symbolism o f warrior, heighte ned masculinit y and male
bonding, religious terrorism provides a measure of symbolic empo werment to the
youth, provi ding a sense of control over the ch aos around them. In the last chapter,
the author connects the loss of control and the resu lting cre ation o f ‘impe riled
selves’ to the rough and tumble of modernity (p. 223). With its fast pace a nd
mindless consumerism, mod ernity assaults communities. This results i n desperate
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