RT Article
T1 The Charles Strong Lecture 2015
JF Journal for the academic study of religion
VO 29
IS 1
SP 3
OP 12
A1 Bouma, Gary D.
LA English
PB Equinox Publ.
YR 2016
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1571451749
AB Narratives like paradigms offer explanations of some aspects of life which are largely self-contained, self-sustaining, self-validating, and impervious to disconfirming evidence. Anti-Islam discourses in the West and anti-Western discourses among Muslims are two such discourses. That such discourses can legitimate violence is clearly evident in the rhetoric, actions and rationales given for violence among such groups as the Islamic State, Boko Haram, The Lord's Liberation Army, The Spanish Inquisition, and Anti-Islamic movements in Europe and other parts of the West. Narratives of difference, of negative disconnection from some 'other', persist for centuries with minor variation as there is no real contact between those maintaining them. Real encounters would lead to disconfirmation while violent acts by some members of the 'other' group are taken as proof that the stereotypes held about them are true. In each age it must be asked, 'Who Benefits?'
K1 Anti-west
K1 cui bono
K1 Discourse
K1 Islamophobia
K1 Muslims
K1 Narratives
K1 Othering
K1 Religions
K1 Stereotypes (Social psychology)
K1 Violence
DO 10.1558/jasr.v29i1.30375