US Religious Engagement in the Global War on Terrorism

Abstract

This chapter examines United States' use of religious engagement to build international coalitions as part of its global war on terrorism. Like Saudi Arabia, religion has a high moral authority in the United States, playing an important part in American politics even if it is officially secular. The global war on terrorism—the US response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks—was likewise an ideologically charged crisis, in which al-Qaeda attempted to mobilize Muslims against US dominance, and the United States appealed to common values—including shared “moderate” religiosity—to create a countervailing coalition. The chapter demonstrates that these led the United States to adopt religious appeals as part of its effort to mobilize states and societies against al-Qaeda. The United States' credibility on “moderate Islam” and engagement with Muslims was often limited, but Muslim states and social groups faced material incentives to work with the United States. Convenient coalitions thus formed; some deeper connections emerged, but many of the interactions were stymied by the United States losing control of the religious narrative and its general unfamiliarity with the religious policies it proposed.