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Document Type
Book Chapter
Department/Program
History
Publication Date
6-2-2014
Book Title
Martyrdom and Terrorism: Pre-Modern to Contemporary Perspectives
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Editor
Dominic Janes and Alex Houen
First Page
152
Last Page
178
Abstract
In recent years, terrorism has become closely associated with martyrdom in the minds of many terrorists and in the view of nations around the world. In Islam, martyrdom is mostly conceived as "bearing witness" to faith and God. Martyrdom is also central to the Christian tradition, not only in the form of Christ's Passion or saints faced with persecution and death, but in the duty to lead a good and charitable life. In both religions, the association of religious martyrdom with political terror has a long and difficult history. The essays of this volume illuminate this history--following, for example, Christian martyrdom from its origins in the Roman world, to the experience of the deaths of "terrorist" leaders of the French Revolution, to parallels in the contemporary world--and explore historical parallels among Islamic, Christian, and secular traditions. Featuring essays from eminent scholars in a wide range of disciplines, Martyrdom and Terrorism provides a timely comparative history of the practices and discourses of terrorism and martyrdom from antiquity to the twenty-first century.
ISBN
978-0199959877
Recommended Citation
Schechter, R. (2014). Terror, Vengeance and Martyrdom in the French Revolution: The Case of the Shades. Dominic Janes and Alex Houen (Ed.), Martyrdom and Terrorism: Pre-Modern to Contemporary Perspectives (pp. 152-178). Oxford University Press. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/asbookchapters/68
