Page 112 - Šolsko polje, XXIX, 2018, no. 5-6: Radicalization, Violent Extremism and Conflicting Diversity, eds. Mitja Sardoč and Tomaž Deželan
P. 112
šolsko polje, letnik xxix, številka 5–6
of Islamic extremists. Namely, that radicalism is immanent to a certain
religion as opposed to other religions and spheres of action, which is a
mistaken belief. Radicalism is not an inherent characteristic of any social
sphere, and at the same time no sphere is immune to this phenomenon or
holds monopoly over it. This applies to politics as well as religion, econom-
ics, the arts, dietary practices,4 physical needs, gardening5 and other fields.
Forget this and radicalism can easily be attributed only to the religious6 or
political spheres (as seen in the example of the religious functionaries of
the Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia, who still blame the political au-
thorities from the former socialist system for all the current problems of
their organisation; Štuhec, 2000: p. 21). Simplified qualifications of radi-
calism – particularly in the case of terrorism – are the principal origin of
such wrong reactions (Lerner 2006: pp. 167–171). It is the problem of the
origin of radicalism that is one of the questions to which there is no essen-
tial difference between the religious and political fields. This can be seen
both from the empirical evidence7 as well as the definition of these gener-
al fields, such as in the following examples:
A religion is a complex mixture of beliefs, values, symbols and rituals.
Most mayor religions /…/ contain beliefs and values about this world,
whatever they may say about another, super-empirical one /…/ Religion
can be seen as a part of the ideological sphere of a society when it oper-
ates in a way which helps to maintain the political, cultural and economic
arrangements of that society over time. (Bocock, 1985: p. 207)
“Religion refers to the systems of general compensators”8 (Stark, & Bain-
bridge, 2007: p. 47), with characteristically both politics and religion
latter were still a very marginal political force (Dolenc, 1996; Dragoš, 1998, 2011, 2015; Pelikan,
1997, 2002; Prunk, 1977; Repe, 2015).
4 For example, veganism, particularly in cases, when it is practiced from birth.
5 In Great Britain as many as 17 %of the owners of gardens were victims of thefts, most often
of garden gnomes – which were most frequently the target of the organisations fighting for
the liberation of garden gnomes and for their return to the forest. “The most well-known
phenomenon of this kind was noticed in France, where the Front for the Liberation of
Garden Gnomes took several thousand gnomes from the gardens” (Thieves [Tatovi], 2018).
6 See the list of examples in Lerner, 2006: pp. 41-43.
7 “Sacrifice and self-sacrifice, particularly from young people, is known in numerous national
and liberation movements; we know this also from Slovenian history. Because Islam is
very heterogenous, and can be understood in different ways, it can act as the grounds for
encouraging people to sacrifice and self-sacrifice for religious-political goals /…/ There is
nothing exceptional in this. The Crusaders also left for war, obtaining concessions for their
sins in advance, in case they would die, while fighting with infidels.” (Kerševan, 2015).
8 Compensators are unattainable, unverifiable or non-existent rewards for which there is de-
mand (e.g. an afterlife). Definition: “Compensators are expectations of a reward correspond-
110
of Islamic extremists. Namely, that radicalism is immanent to a certain
religion as opposed to other religions and spheres of action, which is a
mistaken belief. Radicalism is not an inherent characteristic of any social
sphere, and at the same time no sphere is immune to this phenomenon or
holds monopoly over it. This applies to politics as well as religion, econom-
ics, the arts, dietary practices,4 physical needs, gardening5 and other fields.
Forget this and radicalism can easily be attributed only to the religious6 or
political spheres (as seen in the example of the religious functionaries of
the Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia, who still blame the political au-
thorities from the former socialist system for all the current problems of
their organisation; Štuhec, 2000: p. 21). Simplified qualifications of radi-
calism – particularly in the case of terrorism – are the principal origin of
such wrong reactions (Lerner 2006: pp. 167–171). It is the problem of the
origin of radicalism that is one of the questions to which there is no essen-
tial difference between the religious and political fields. This can be seen
both from the empirical evidence7 as well as the definition of these gener-
al fields, such as in the following examples:
A religion is a complex mixture of beliefs, values, symbols and rituals.
Most mayor religions /…/ contain beliefs and values about this world,
whatever they may say about another, super-empirical one /…/ Religion
can be seen as a part of the ideological sphere of a society when it oper-
ates in a way which helps to maintain the political, cultural and economic
arrangements of that society over time. (Bocock, 1985: p. 207)
“Religion refers to the systems of general compensators”8 (Stark, & Bain-
bridge, 2007: p. 47), with characteristically both politics and religion
latter were still a very marginal political force (Dolenc, 1996; Dragoš, 1998, 2011, 2015; Pelikan,
1997, 2002; Prunk, 1977; Repe, 2015).
4 For example, veganism, particularly in cases, when it is practiced from birth.
5 In Great Britain as many as 17 %of the owners of gardens were victims of thefts, most often
of garden gnomes – which were most frequently the target of the organisations fighting for
the liberation of garden gnomes and for their return to the forest. “The most well-known
phenomenon of this kind was noticed in France, where the Front for the Liberation of
Garden Gnomes took several thousand gnomes from the gardens” (Thieves [Tatovi], 2018).
6 See the list of examples in Lerner, 2006: pp. 41-43.
7 “Sacrifice and self-sacrifice, particularly from young people, is known in numerous national
and liberation movements; we know this also from Slovenian history. Because Islam is
very heterogenous, and can be understood in different ways, it can act as the grounds for
encouraging people to sacrifice and self-sacrifice for religious-political goals /…/ There is
nothing exceptional in this. The Crusaders also left for war, obtaining concessions for their
sins in advance, in case they would die, while fighting with infidels.” (Kerševan, 2015).
8 Compensators are unattainable, unverifiable or non-existent rewards for which there is de-
mand (e.g. an afterlife). Definition: “Compensators are expectations of a reward correspond-
110
