Table Of ContentOver the years, there have been increasing intersections between religious SR
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claims and nationalism and their power to frame and govern world au
lhh When Politics
politics. When Politics Are Sacralized interdisciplinarily and comparatively oa
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examines the fusion between religious claims and nationalism and studies ba
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its political manifestations. State and world politics, when determined
ed
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or framed by nationalism fused with religious claims, can provoke o
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protracted conflict, infuse explicit religious beliefs into politics, and
ia Comparative Perspectives on
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legitimize violence against racialized groups. This volume investigates
how, through hegemonic nationalism, states invoke religious claims in Religious Claims and Nationalism
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domestic and international politics, sacralizing the political. Studying
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Israel, India, the Palestinian National Movement and Hamas, Sri Lanka,
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Edited by Nadim N. Rouhana and
Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Iran, and Northern Ireland, the thirteen chapters n
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engage with the visibility, performativity, role, and political legitimation of Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian
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religion and nationalism. The authors analyze how and why sacralization l
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affects political behaviors apparent in national and international politics, i
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produces state-sponsored violence, and shapes conflict.
A
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Nadim N. Rouhana is Professor of international Affairs and Conflict
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Studies and Director of the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies a
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at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. His most r
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recent (edited) volume is Israel and its Palestinian Citizens: Ethnic Privileges l
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in the Jewish State (2017).
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Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian is the Lawrence D. Biele Chair in Law at the
Faculty of Law–Institute of Criminology and School of Social Work and
Public Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Global Chair in
Law at Queen Mary University of London. Her latest book is Incarcerated
Childhood and the Politics of Unchilding (2019).
Cover image: John Martin, Joshua Commanding
the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, 1816.
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
when politics are sacralized
Over the years, there have been increasing intersections between religious claims and
nationalism and their power to frame and govern world politics. When Politics Are
Sacralizedinterdisciplinarilyandcomparativelyexaminesthefusionbetweenreligious
claimsandnationalismandstudiesitspoliticalmanifestations.Stateandworldpolitics,
when determined or framed by nationalism fused with religious claims, can provoke
protractedconflict,infuseexplicitreligiousbeliefsintopolitics,andlegitimizeviolence
against racialized groups. Thisvolumeinvestigateshow, throughhegemonic national-
ism,statesinvokereligiousclaimsindomesticandinternationalpolitics,sacralizingthe
political. Studying Israel, India, the Palestinian National Movement and Hamas, Sri
Lanka,SaudiArabia,Serbia,Iran,andNorthernIreland,thefourteenchaptersengage
withthevisibility,performativity,role,andpoliticallegitimationofreligionandnation-
alism.Theauthorsanalyzehowandwhysacralizationaffectspoliticalbehaviorsappar-
entinnationalandinternationalpolitics,producesstate-sponsoredviolence,andshapes
conflict.
Nadim N. Rouhana is Professor of International Affairs and Conflict Studies and
DirectoroftheFaresCenterforEasternMediterraneanStudiesattheFletcherSchool
ofLawandDiplomacy,TuftsUniversity.Hismostrecent(edited)volumeisIsraelandits
PalestinianCitizens:EthnicPrivilegesintheJewishState(Cambridge,2017).
Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian is the Lawrence D. Biele Chair in Law at the Faculty of
Law–Institute of Criminology and School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the
HebrewUniversityofJerusalem,andGlobalChairinLawatQueenMaryUniversityof
London. Her latest book is Incarcerated Childhood and the Politics of Unchilding
(Cambridge,2019).
When Politics Are Sacralized
comparative perspectives on religious claims
and nationalism
Editedby
NADIM N. ROUHANA
TuftsUniversity
NADERA SHALHOUB-KEVORKIAN
TheHebrewUniversityofJerusalem
QueenMaryUniversityofLondon
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CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
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www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781108487863
DOI:10.1017/9781108768191
©CambridgeUniversityPress2021
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
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Contents
ListofFigures pagevii
ListofMaps viii
ListofTables ix
ListofContributors x
PrefaceandAcknowledgments xv
1 AComparativePerspectiveonReligiousClaimsandSacralized
Politics:AnIntroduction 1
NadimN.RouhanaandNaderaShalhoub-Kevorkian
part i israel 31
2 ReligionandNationalismintheJewishandZionistContext 33
AmnonRaz-Krakotzkin
3 ReligiousClaimsandNationalisminZionism:ObscuringSettler
Colonialism 54
NadimN.Rouhana
4 OntheUsesandAbusesofTradition:ZionistTheopolitics
andJewishTradition 88
YaacovYadgar
5 TheRelationsbetweentheNationalizationofIsrael’sPolitics
andtheReligionizationofItsMilitary,1948–2016 113
YagilLevy
6 SacralizedPolitics:TheCaseofOccupiedEastJerusalem 134
NaderaShalhoub-Kevorkian
v
vi Contents
part ii india 159
7 Hindutva:TheDominantFaceofReligiousNationalisminIndia 161
TanikaSarkar
part iii sri lanka 185
8 TheGenesis,Consolidation,andConsequencesofSinhalese
BuddhistNationalism 187
NeilDeVotta
part iv serbia 213
9 SerbianJerusalem:InventingaHolyLandinEurope’s
Periphery,1982–2019 215
VjekoslavPerica
part v iran 245
10 TheCrossingPathsofReligionandNationalism
inContemporaryIran 247
AliBanuazizi
part vi saudi arabia and wahhabism 273
11 SaudiNationalism,WahhabiDaʿwa¯,andWesternPower 275
MichaelA.Sells
part vii northern ireland 307
12 ProtestantismandSettlerIdentity:TheAmbiguousCaseofNorthern
Ireland 309
DavidLloyd
13 DoesReligionStillMatter?:ComparativeLessonsfromthe
Ethno-nationalConflictinNorthernIreland 337
LiamO’Dowd
part viii palestine 363
14 PalestinianNationalism,Religious(Un)claims,andtheStruggle
againstZionism 365
KhaledHroub
Index 387
Figures
12.1–12.5 Loyalistmurals,NorthernIreland.Reproducedbypermission
fromBillRolston,DrawingSupport:MuralsintheNorthof
Ireland(Belfast:BeyondthePalePublications,1992),and
DrawingSupport2:MuralsofWarandPeace(Belfast:
BeyondthePalePublications,1998) page318–20
12.6 Republicanmurals,FallsRoad,Belfast,NorthernIreland.
ReproducedbypermissionfromthePalestinePosterProject
Archives.©2009–13,LiberationGraphics 327
12.7 LoyalistflagincorporatingUlsterBannerandStarofDavid.
©CathalMcNaughton/ReutersPictures.Reproducedby
permissionfromReuters 328
vii
Maps
9.1 HistoricSerbianmonasteriesinKosovo page224
9.2 ProposedterritoryswapbetweenSerbiaandKosovo 237
viii
