How Violence Shapes Religion : Belief and Conflict in the Middle East and Africa

In today's world, we are facing increasing reports of violent incidents involving religious actors. This engaging examination of one of the most serious problems facing us today reveals that the relationship between religion and violence runs deep, and it is violence that leads to and shapes religion.

Is there an inevitable global violent clash unfolding between the world''s largest religions: Islam and Christianity? Do religions cause violent conflicts, or are there other factors at play? How can we make sense of increasing reports of violence between Christian and Muslim ethnic communities across the world? By seeking to answer such questions about the relationship between religion and violence in today''s world, Ziya Meral challenges popular theories and offers an alternative explanation, grounded on insights inferred from real cases of ethno-religious violence in Africa and the Middle East. The relationship between religion and violence runs deep and both are intrinsic to the human story. Violence leads to and shapes religion, while religion acts to enable violence as well as providing responses that contain and prevent it. However, with religious violence being one of the most serious challenges facing the modern world, Meral shows that we need to de-globalise our analysis and focus on individual conflicts, instead of attempting to provide single answers to complex questions.