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This book sheds light on religiously motivated extremism and violence in South Asia, a phenomenon which ostensibly poses critical and unique challenges to the peace, security and governance not only of the region, but also of the world at large. The book is distinctive in-so-far as it reexamines conventional wisdom held about religious extremism in South Asia and departs from the literature which centres its analyses on Islamic militancy based on the questions and assumptions of the West's 'war on terror'. This volume also offers a comprehensive analysis of new extremist movements and how their emergence and success places existing theoretical frameworks in the study of religious extremism into question. It further examines topical issues including the study of social media and its impact on the evolution and operation of violent extremism. The book also analyses grassroots and innovative non-state initiatives aimed to counter extremist ideologies. Through case studies focusing on Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, this collection examines extremist materials, methods of political mobilisation and recruitment processes and maps the interconnected nature of sociological change with the ideological transformations of extremist movements.
List of contents
Chapter 1. Introduction (Howard Brasted, Imran Ahmed, Zahid Shahab Ahmed and Shahram Akbarzadeh).- Chapter 2. The Coloniality of Postcolonial Discourses on Religion: Extremism, Exclusion and Distrust in India and Pakistan (Imran Ahmed).- Chapter 3. Religion, Extremism and Buddhist-Muslim Relation in Sri Lanka (DB Subedi).- Chapter 4. Social Media and Hindu Extremism in India (Stuti Bhatnagar).- Chapter 5. Ram Was a Prophet Too: Syncretism as a Hindu Nationalist Political Strategy (Felix Pal).- Chapter 6. Islamic State's Recruitment Strategies: The Case Study of Bangladesh (Shafi Md Mostofa and Howard Brasted).- Chapter 7. Religious Extremism and Terrorist Recruitment: The Case of Al Qaeda in Bangladesh (Shafi Md Mostofa).- Chapter 8. Mobilizing to Counter Violent Extremism in Pakistan: Innovative Undertakings of Non-State Actors (Anita M. Weiss).- Chapter 9. Between God, the Nation, and the State: Paradoxes of Islamisation in Pakistan (Imran Ahmed).- Chapter 10. Women and Violent Extremism in Pakistan: A Critical Assessment of Policies and Actions (Farah Naz and Zahid Shahab Ahmed).
About the author
Imran Ahmed is Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore.
Zahid Shahab Ahmed is Research Fellow at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University (Australia).
Howard Brasted is Emeritus Professor of History and Islamic Studies at the University of New England (Australia).
Shahram Akbarzadeh is Research Professor in Middle East and Central Asian politics at Deakin University (Australia).
