Wednesday, October 26, 2011
week 8
In chapter 5 of The Colors of Violence, Sudhir Kakar explains how tensions between Muslims and Hindus during riot times are escalated. One example he cites inparticular, stood out to me. In describing how small confrontations quickly escalate into big ones, Kakar gives the hypothetical example of a Hindu policeman and a Muslim boy. He writes, "when the police arrive, there are tense confrontations, say between a young Hindu policeman intent on entering and searching a house and a Muslim youth defending what he believes is the honor of his family" (Kakar 125). Here, we can see that in this context of a riot time, the pride of individuals is elevated to the pride of a religion through centuries of struggle. The policeman not only feels empowered by his legal status and pride in upholding that, but the pride of defending his religion against the enemy and not letting a Muslim boy stand up to him. In addition to this, the Muslim boy not only feels the pride of defending his family, but defending his family against a Hindu man who his family and religious community have been fighting for years. I think this is an important example because it helps illustrate the extent of Juergensmeyer's explanation of the cosmic war.
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Tay, I agree that escalation is a huge part of religious violence. What can begin as a harmless suspicion or interaction can grow, as your example indicates, to include religion as the main staple. Cosmic war, as we discussed in class, is a characteristic and an explanation for this escalation. Cosmic war is not the only avenue for escalation but it is a common way that normal interaction becomes framed in a different light.
ReplyDeleteI had always thought of escalation as a product of religious violence, but your post has caused me to switch the two. Violence is a product of escalation. The example you provide and our readings from class suggest that there humans, or at least actors of religious violence have some kind of fundamental need for escalation. Of course our readings have presented this idea in different words - the mapping of violence onto cosmic war or sacred history - but I think a line can be drawn between those attachments to things larger than oneself and the idea of escalation. I guess what I'm trying to say is thanks for connecting the dots.
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