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The Dangers Extremism Poses to Society

Amos N. Guiora

in Tolerating Intolerance: The Price of Protecting Extremism

This chapter examines the dangers posed by extremism to society. It discusses how the danger resulting from a government's failure to minimize the potential threat of extremism is no less potent than ... More

This chapter examines the dangers posed by extremism to society. It discusses how the danger resulting from a government's failure to minimize the potential threat of extremism is no less potent than the harm caused by extremists; the toleration of intolerance; extremist speech; and religious extremism.Less

The Threat of Religious Extremism

Amos N. Guiora

in Freedom from Religion: Rights and National Security

This chapter examines the threat of religious extremism and proposes legal measures that democratic governments could and should take to counter it in order to minimize its impact and reach. It first ... More

This chapter examines the threat of religious extremism and proposes legal measures that democratic governments could and should take to counter it in order to minimize its impact and reach. It first defines extremist religion and draws the distinction between secular law and religious law, along with the link between extremist religion and absolutism. It then considers the threats posed by religious extremism and how religious rights can be curtailed to protect civil democratic society. In particular, it calls on governments to provide legal protection for religious freedom and take effective action against religious conduct that includes violence predicated on religious scripture. It argues that religion extremism, as distinct from religion, motivates wide-scale acts of terrorism, justifies individual acts of violence and promotes hatred of the “other.” To prove its point, the chapter looks at the secular-religious debate in Turkey, the use of fatwas by Muslim extremists to promote violence in the Netherlands, and the fundamentalism of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the United States.Less

Looking Forward

Amos N. Guiora

in Tolerating Intolerance: The Price of Protecting Extremism

This chapter summarizes the preceding discussions and presents some final thoughts. It argues that extremists pose a threat to individuals and the larger society. It suggests three viable ... More

This chapter summarizes the preceding discussions and presents some final thoughts. It argues that extremists pose a threat to individuals and the larger society. It suggests three viable alternatives to combating the dangers posed by extremism: limiting the free speech of extremist inciters; enhancing and broadening educational opportunities for those living in extremist cultures; and engaging in dialogue with extremists. There is also a fourth alternative that is morally unconscionable and legally deeply troubling: ignoring the threat and hoping for the best.Less

Multiculturalism

Amos N. Guiora

in Tolerating Intolerance: The Price of Protecting Extremism

The essence of multiculturalism is the acceptance and accommodation of practices and conduct that violate laws of the host country. This chapter asks whether an embrace of all aspects of all cultures ... More

The essence of multiculturalism is the acceptance and accommodation of practices and conduct that violate laws of the host country. This chapter asks whether an embrace of all aspects of all cultures comes at a cost. It examines the effects of multiculturalism; the state's role and responsibility in protecting both vulnerable members of the internal community and the larger civilian population; and responding to the harm produced at the intersection of multiculturalism and religious and secular extremism.Less

Religion and Society: Social Insights

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

in In the World, Yet Not of the World: Social and Global Initiatives of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

The Ecumenical Patriarchate has sought to assist in the reconstruction of the moral, ethical, religious, and social fabric that was torn asunder by ... More

The Ecumenical Patriarchate has sought to assist in the reconstruction of the moral, ethical, religious, and social fabric that was torn asunder by decades of atheistic totalitarian regimes. The pilgrimage to America will be cause for an awakening of the historical, religious, and cultural significance of the civilizations of the East. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew discusses that the hallmark of modernity is that social empowerment is centered on the individual's self-conscious understanding of his place in the world. Human rights are seen as an outgrowth of individual rights, rights that have been described in increasingly secular terms since the Enlightenment. Contemporary society is puzzled by, and often in conflict with, an interpretation of human rights that is centered on a religious understanding. Doctrinaire religious extremism is the dangerous prelude to religious fanaticism and persecution. Bartholomew reiterates their deeply held belief that violence in the name of religion is violence against all religion.Less

Religious Reason and Secular Affect: An Incommensurable Divide?

Saba Mahmood

in Is Critique Secular?: Blasphemy, Injury, and Free Speech

This chapter examines a different dimension of the religiously based presumptions and affect of Euro-Atlantic secularism. It challenges the way the conflict between secular necessity and religious ... More

This chapter examines a different dimension of the religiously based presumptions and affect of Euro-Atlantic secularism. It challenges the way the conflict between secular necessity and religious threat is conceptualized, with an emphasis on religious extremism. It also looks at the Danish cartoon controversy—the protests and debates sparked by the 2005 Danish newspaper publication of a series of cartoons satirizing the Prophet Muhammad—and argues that the violence or moral injury that the cartoons cause to believing Muslims cannot be fathomed by the Christian secular understanding of blasphemy. This is due to profound differences in the so-called “reading practices” flowing from Islamic piety and secular Protestantism and, more specifically, different semiotics of iconography and representation pertinent to religious deities and prophets. Such differences pertain to a particular (and contestable) modality of belief and hermeneutics in certain traditions within Islam and Christianity.Less

The Limits of Freedom of Speech

Amos N. Guiora

in Freedom from Religion: Rights and National Security

This chapter examines the limits of freedom of speech, which is part of religious speech along with freedom of religion. It first defines religious speech and the problems that arise when it is given ... More

This chapter examines the limits of freedom of speech, which is part of religious speech along with freedom of religion. It first defines religious speech and the problems that arise when it is given additional protection. More specifically, it considers the possibility that religious speech can no longer hide behind the shield of freedom of expression and when a threat becomes criminal incitement, citing as an example the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. It also discusses what Israel should have done prior to the Rabin assassination and argues that religious extremism is a threat that must be directly addressed without violating constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of religion and speech. The chapter suggests three proposals to limit free speech protections to extremist religious speech and looks at the experiences of Turkey, UK, and the Netherlands to make its case.Less

Religious Patriotism and Conciliation

Sebastian Elsässer

in The Coptic Question in the Mubarak Era

An influential discourse in modern Egypt fuses religion with nationalism, and allocates to religion (or the religions) a socially and politically integrating function. The main point made in this ... More

An influential discourse in modern Egypt fuses religion with nationalism, and allocates to religion (or the religions) a socially and politically integrating function. The main point made in this discourse concerning the Coptic question is that the intense religiosity of all Egyptians strengthens their patriotic bond because both religions stand for the same social values, including non-violence and tolerance. Although religious patriotism thus implied a search for common values that help bridge religious differences (especially in a time of heightened religious identities), the religious and political authorities of the Mubarak era were incapable of initiating substantial dialogue and compromise on contentious religious issues like conversion or family law. The general stereotyping of religious extremism prevented the proponents of religious patriotism from realizing or admitting the potential for conflict contained within ostensibly moderate mainstream religious discourse.Less

Ignoring the Storm

Amos N. Guiora

in Freedom from Religion: Rights and National Security

This book explores the threat of religious extremism and proposes actions that governments could and should take in addressing it. Focusing on the disparate policies and security circumstances of ... More

This book explores the threat of religious extremism and proposes actions that governments could and should take in addressing it. Focusing on the disparate policies and security circumstances of five countries—Turkey, Israel, UK, the Netherlands, and the United States—it analyzes the limits of freedom of speech, separation of church and state, and freedom of religion and highlights the connection between politically correct tolerance of extremist speech and the rise of terrorism. It challenges the almost sacrosanct inviolability of the freedoms of religion and speech and argues that governments should set new limits on religious practice within their borders. By way of introduction, this chapter considers religious extremism in the UK and the government's unwillingness or hesitation to acknowledge the problem or, if it does, tends to paint the problem in a different, non-religious, light. It also cites the British media's unwillingness to lay blame where it belongs. It also examines the notion that extreme Muslims in the UK are engaged in self-radicalization, rather than acting on religious incitement articulated by imams.Less

Cultural Considerations and the Price of Religious Liberty

Amos N. Guiora

in Freedom from Religion: Rights and National Security

This chapter examines cultural relativism within the context of religious liberty and religious extremism. It presents two examples of religious practices that are deemed harmful by larger society ... More

This chapter examines cultural relativism within the context of religious liberty and religious extremism. It presents two examples of religious practices that are deemed harmful by larger society but important and legitimate to particular groups: female genital mutilation and honor killings. It also considers the views of Justice Yitzhak Zamir of the Israel Supreme Court about ideological offenses and the consequences of the price of religious liberty for freedom of religion. Finally, it argues that the rule of law must be enforced in the face of religious extremist violence in order to protect civil democratic society.Less

Afterword

Sarah Weiss

in Ritual Soundings: Women Performers and World Religions

The afterword provides an overview of the main themes in the book. The author argues that meta-ethnography is only the beginning of the return of comparative studies in ethnomusicology. She suggests ... More

The afterword provides an overview of the main themes in the book. The author argues that meta-ethnography is only the beginning of the return of comparative studies in ethnomusicology. She suggests that in the future, a combination of meta-ethnography with ethnographic accounts of fieldwork and musical analysis will set the stage for an integrated approach called comparative ethnomusicology. Finally, the author argues that in a time of global conflict and religious extremism, scholars have a responsibility to demonstrate possibilities for religious harmony and peaceful coexistence whenever possibleLess

The Role of the Media Regarding Religion

Amos N. Guiora

in Freedom from Religion: Rights and National Security

This chapter focuses on how the media portrays religion, religious extremists, and religious violence. More specifically, it examines whether the media has largely ignored the dangers posed by ... More

This chapter focuses on how the media portrays religion, religious extremists, and religious violence. More specifically, it examines whether the media has largely ignored the dangers posed by religious extremism by focusing on the mainstream press in Israel and the United States with regards to coverage of Jewish religious extremists and the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter-Day Saints, respectively. It first considers what media is in the context of extreme religion and how it treats religion before suggesting that there is no systematic, serious journalistic monitoring of extremist religious terrorist threats. It argues that the media's lack of systematic coverage, whether due to limited resources or an inability to recognize the centrality of religious extremism to contemporary society, is not good for the public.Less

Separating Church and State

Amos N. Guiora

in Freedom from Religion: Rights and National Security

This chapter examines religious extremism in the context of national security by highlighting the relationship between the state and organs of religious extremism. It first considers the notion that ... More

This chapter examines religious extremism in the context of national security by highlighting the relationship between the state and organs of religious extremism. It first considers the notion that governments come and go whereas religion is permanent. It then turns to the separation of church and state, which is predicated on the primacy of civil law over religion and religious institutions, and how that primary is challenged by the essence of religious extremism. It also discusses church-state relations by looking at the relationship between state organs (law enforcement, intelligence community, and security services) and religious extremists and stresses the need for the separation of church and state in the context of the contemporary age. The chapter illustrates this paradox by focusing on Israel and its policy regarding settlers in the West Bank and Gaza. Finally, it presents examples to make its case regarding the separation of church and state.Less

Confronting the Storm

Amos N. Guiora

in Freedom from Religion: Rights and National Security

This chapter reiterates the need for contemporary society to more proactively and effectively protect itself against the dangers posed by religious extremism. It proposes policy recommendations, ... More

This chapter reiterates the need for contemporary society to more proactively and effectively protect itself against the dangers posed by religious extremism. It proposes policy recommendations, predicated on the rule of law, that would counter the threats of religious extremism, mainly by curtailing freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Owing to the absolutism of religious extremism, the chapter suggests that people of faith should work in close cooperation with nonbelievers and decision makers to confront the danger posed by religious extremists. It advocates the so-called multiple audience theory, in which dilemmas and paradigms must be viewed from the perspective of particular audiences. In that regard, it argues that religious moderates, nonbelievers, and government have a common interest that they must protect by working together: to preserve our rights, liberties, and protections.Less

Europe and the United States in the Modern Period

in Pledges of Jewish Allegiance: Conversion, Law, and Policymaking in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Orthodox Responsa

The Nazis killed one-third of the world's Jews during the Holocaust, and leaders of world Orthodoxy had the daunting task of helping the survivors recover from such a trauma. Their goal was to ... More

The Nazis killed one-third of the world's Jews during the Holocaust, and leaders of world Orthodoxy had the daunting task of helping the survivors recover from such a trauma. Their goal was to enhance Jewish unity and increase the number of Jews around the world. Some of these leaders reached out to Jews everywhere (and to non-Jews who wished to join their ranks), while others sought to protect the integrity and standards of whatever was left of the traditional Jewish world. This chapter examines the post-Holocaust responses of Orthodox rabbis in Europe and the United States with regards to helping Jews recover from the destruction they suffered at the hands of the Nazis. It explores how Orthodox rabbinical authorities interpreted Jewish law in matters such as conversion and intermarriage, from the flexibility of Yehiel Yaakov Weinberg to the so-called religious extremism of Mordecai Yaakov Breisch. It also discusses the theory proposed by sociologist Charles Liebman to explain the rise of a new, more stringent, Orthodox rabbinate in the mid- to late twentieth century.Less

From Reproductive Choice to Reproductive Barbie: The Politics of Visibility

Laurie Shrage

in Abortion and Social Responsibility: Depolarizing the Debate

Evaluates “pro‐life” and “pro‐choice” media campaigns, featuring fetuses and coat hangers respectively, and shows how both reflect individualistic ideologies about responsibility and freedom. Rather ... More

Evaluates “pro‐life” and “pro‐choice” media campaigns, featuring fetuses and coat hangers respectively, and shows how both reflect individualistic ideologies about responsibility and freedom. Rather than participate in public discourses that construe individual responsibility and liberty as simple moral alternatives, considers feminist political art that raises questions about our collective responsibilities to support others. Also considers visual and performance artwork that draws attention to the way that pregnancy and persons are culturally constructed. Urges reproductive rights activists to jettison the coat hanger image in favor of images that would promote constructive public dialog on access to contraception, child and family support, the duties of all citizens to provide life‐saving help, the positive aspects of enabling women to control their fertility, and the dangers of religious extremism.Less