Weapon of peace : how religious liberty combats terrorism / Nilay Saiya

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 30 Aug 2018)

A global view of religious repression and terrorism -- Minority religious discrimination and terrorism across faith traditions -- Majority religious cooptation, terrorism and the Arab Spring -- Religious liberty and American foreign policy

Religious terrorism poses a significant challenge for many countries around the world. Extremists who justify violence in God's name can be found in every religious tradition, and attacks perpetrated by faith-based militants have increased dramatically over the past three decades. Given the reality of religious terrorism today, it would seem counterintuitive that the best weapon against violent religious extremism would be for countries and societies to allow for the free practice of religion; yet this is precisely what this book argues. Weapon of Peace investigates the link between terrorism and the repression of religion, both from a historical perspective and against contemporary developments in the Middle East and elsewhere. Drawing upon a range of different case studies and quantitative data, Saiya makes the case that the suppression and not the expression of religion leads to violence and extremism and that safeguarding religious freedom is both a moral and strategic imperative