Political theologies of Christian missionaries, European colonialism, and postcolonial resistance
| Author | Murad Idris |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/17550882221144473 |
| Published date | 01 February 2023 |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Forum |
https://doi.org/10.1177/17550882221144473
Journal of International Political Theory
2023, Vol. 19(1) 139 –146
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/17550882221144473
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Political theologies of Christian
missionaries, European
colonialism, and postcolonial
resistance
Murad Idris
University of Michigan, USA
Abstract
This review supplements William Bain’s Political Theology of International Order by
sketching out two historical threads that are inseparable from the histories of European
thought and order that occupy the book. There are gestures toward both strands along
the margins of Bain’s account, in a few observations and footnotes. They also have
important implications for the place of political theological difference in this story and
for the status of colonialism, hierarchy, and resistance. First, I expand on some of the
book’s references to non-Christians and discuss the place of Islamic theology. Second,
reflecting on Luther in relation to Muslim empires and adapting Bain’s acknowledgment
of Grotius’s justifications for colonialism, I highlight the significance of hierarchy, enmity,
and violence for a number of the thinkers mentioned, especially what their political
theologies authorize in relation to non-Christians. These two sets of observations can
help us imagine a complementary story less about international order than about the
politics of proselytization and colonization. It also raises questions about the work that
political theology as an analytic can do, especially when we globalize political theory
and international political thought. I conclude by pondering the place of resistance in
relation to imposed order and immanent order.
Keywords
Colonialism, Islam, missionaries, political theologies, resistance, translation
William Bain’s Political Theology of International Order moves the literature on political
theology into a more international terrain and, at the same time, prompts international
Corresponding author:
Murad Idris, University of Michigan, 5700 Haven Hall, 505 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1382,
USA.
Email: midris@umich.edu
1144473IPT0010.1177/17550882221144473Journal of International Political TheoryIdris
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