Ideological Violence Research Articles

Addressing the Practice of Religious Tolerance by Panji Gumilang (In the studies of Wahbah Az-Zuhaili and Quraish Shihab)

Studying the subject of religious tolerance is always fascinating. This research holds a significant place in the field of religion studies because to the fluctuations in relationships between religious groups throughout different regions of the world, including Indonesia. Numerous Islamic scholars, particularly those who study tafsir, attempt to define tolerance normatively by drawing on passages from the Quran. Wahbah al-Zuhayli is a modern scholar who takes tolerance very seriously. Al-Zuhayli's interpretation, while methodologically sound, generally adopts the methodology of ancient ulama literature. But the issue of tolerance that he highlights stems from the social reality that religious communities currently inhabit. Al-Zuhayli opens his discussion on tolerance by elucidating the notion of wasatiyyah al-Islam, or Islamic moderation. Al-Zuhayli then categorized the four primary themes of tolerance found in the Koran. First, the interactions amongst the Samawi faiths. Forming a moderate and tolerant mindset is made possible by the heavenly religion's shared core doctrines. The second is the freedom to select one's religion. This point demonstrates how Islamic law upholds the Ri'ayah al-Din concept. The third is the ban on inciting hate. Fourth, the advice to put justice first and the outlawing of acts of terror. Each and every person is entitled to protection for their soul's freedom. According to Al-Zuhayli's perspective, religious groups generally get along well and are tolerant of one another. This is also a scientific refutation of the violent ideologies that radical organizations frequently advance.

Распознавание лиц, склонных к распространению экстремистской идеологии в местах лишения свободы

<p style="text-align: justify;">The problem of the research is to identify persons potentially capable of spreading violent ideology at the stage of arrival in a penal institution, during the mandatory psychodiagnostic examination of inmates. The aim of the study was to build a probabilistic model for identifying disseminators of extremist-terrorist ideology. The subject of the study was behavioural characteristics and profiles of protective mechanisms of those convicted of extremist-terrorist crimes. The research methods were expert assessment of behavioural characteristics of convicts and the LSI (Life Style Index) test, which allows to determine behavioural and emotional features of an individual based on the defence mechanisms. Comparison of the behavioural characteristics of persons capable, according to the assessment of the staff, of spreading the ideology of violence, largely corresponded to the behavioural characteristics of the functioning of such defence mechanisms as projection, compensation and reactive formation. At the same time, the behavioural characteristics of individuals with a low probability of propagating extremist-terrorist ideology corresponded to the functioning of defence mechanisms: suppression, regression and intellectualisation. Further research is expected to identify the personal characteristics of inmates vulnerable to radicalisation in prison.</p>

Analyzing Incels through the lens of evolutionary psychology

AbstractIncels, also known as “involuntary celibates,” are an online subculture comprised of mostly heterosexual men who describe themselves as unable to obtain a sexual partner despite their desire and effort to do so. The group often externalizes the reasons for this failure, blaming societal structures and ideals as well as feminist movements. In recent years, some within this subculture have become radicalized. The violent ideologies of Incels have been linked to several mass shootings, including those committed by Elliot Rodger and Jake Davison. Although some Incels have attempted to use evolutionary psychology to justify their anger and ideology, this paper aims to turn the evolutionary lens back on Incels to explore Incels' core features of misogyny, group identity, suicidality and violence. Incels attempt to establish and maintain a social “in-group,” strive to eliminate sexual competition, and attempt to bypass female mate choice. The paper explores how Incels use of evolutionary psychology principles and highlights the benefits that studying Incels, both in general and through an evolutionary lens, can yield.

Innovative Technologies in Countering Extremism and Terrorism

Terrorism and extremism are distinct concepts often interconnected in discussions about political, religious, or ideological violence. Terrorism mentions to the use of vehemence, pressure, or force to attain party-political, spiritual, or conceptual areas, disrupting normal life and exerting pressure on governments or societies. Extremism, characterized by extreme political or religious views, often involves radical ideologies and intolerance towards opposing beliefs, often seeking dramatic changes in society or politics, rejecting moderation. Extremist ideologies can sometimes lead to terrorist acts, but not all extremists resort to violence. It's crucial to differentiate between extreme beliefs and violent actions, as not all terrorists are driven by extremism. Recommendations to safeguard against security threats are proposed.

THREAT ACTORS SEEKING TO EXPLOIT AI CAPABILITIES. TYPES AND THEIR GOALS

Artificial Intelligence’s advancement has led to ethical and privacy concerns due to the ability of algorithms to mine personal data and conduct surveillance on a large scale. The influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in cybersecurity extends beyond private entities and individuals. In this scenario, it is important to highlight the threatening actors and their objectives in order to counter AI-based cyber threats. We are dealing with different entities, each having its own interests: cybercriminals are interested in making profit, terrorist groups cause ideological violence and nation-states target geopolitical influence. Moreover, they are increasingly interested in developing AI-driven cyber warfare capabilities for either attacking their enemies or enhancing their defence measures against such attacks. This trend will most likely aggravate the global cyber arms race as countries compete to surpass each other in the development and deployment of AI-driven cyber capabilities. Consequently, it has become crucial for organizations and individuals to understand how AI affects cybersecurity and, thus, adapt their strategies accordingly. Traditional defences must be supplemented with AI-powered tools and techniques to stay ahead of the curve, while security experts must continually update their skills and expertise to cope with the changing threat landscape.

Conspiracies Gone Wild: A Psychiatric Perspective on Conspiracy Theory Belief, Mental Illness, and the Potential for Lone Actor Ideological Violence

ABSTRACT Conspiracy theory belief (CTB) has been increasingly recognized as a driving force of extremist violence. This paper provides a psychiatric perspective on the phenomenon of CTB-driven violence in an effort to bridge the gap between psychiatry and terrorism studies. First, it makes a case for the growing relevance of CTB to ideologically-motivated violence and lone actor violence in particular. Next, acknowledging common themes of shadowy forces, clandestine plots, and malevolent motives, it argues that CTB can be reliably disentangled from delusional belief and examines the association between mental illness and terrorism with a critical and skeptical eye. Finally, after reviewing the association between CTB and terrorist radicalization within existing models from psychiatry and terrorism studies, it outlines five stages of ideological commitment to characterize the link between CTB and the perpetration of ideological violence. Rather than alternately “explaining” terrorism on the basis of mental illness or “blaming” it on ideological extremism depending on biased attributions, modeling ideological commitment through a normalizing cognitive and socio-epistemic framework can facilitate a less stigmatizing understanding of the link between CTB and ideologically-motivated violence.

More Than Abortion: Why Reproductive Justice Matters in Cincinnati Post-Roe

ABSTRACT This study examines Reproductive Justice (RJ) for Black women in Cincinnati. While recognizing the importance of ensuring safe, legal, and affordable abortion access, RJ extends beyond this narrow focus and delves into the complex intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and social class. Employing principles from Black feminist praxis in utilizing Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods, we conducted qualitative interviews to center the voices and experiences of 24 self-identified Black women. The research uncovers three main themes: 1) Ideological violence against Black women, with subthemes: beauty and body image, strength and resilience, and stigmatized mothering; 2) Distrust in daycare services; and 3) Hurdles for low income women in accessing abortion care. These findings shed light on a post-Roe reproductive justice landscape for Black women in Cincinnati.

Iliados komentaras kaip priešprieša karui. Simone Weil ir graikai

The article focuses on some of Simone Weil’s philosophical writings against war, which she published in the context of the Second World War. Her translations and commentaries on Greek myths, philosophy, and poetry were at the core of her political thought and action. One of the main purposes of this article is to study Weil’s idea of the Trojan war as paradigmatic in human history. The philosopher’s interest in ancient authors was determined by her philosophical, pedagogical, as well as social activities. Weil’s translations and commentaries on Homer’s Iliad were deeply influenced by her reflexions on the origins of Hitlerism. Weil’s philosophical gloss on the Iliad was based on a radical cultural and political confrontation between Greek philosophy, which she associated with spirituality, and ideology of violence, which she attributed to Roman imperialism. Within the broader context of Weil’s philosophy, the article focuses on the key concepts that the philosopher introduced in her commentaries on the Iliad, such as hero, misfortune, thing, and force. Weil’s philosophy seems to be very timely in wartime because it underscores the demand for a pure inner and courageous view of war by philosophers – just like Homer’s view of the Trojan war.

Sabotage and terrorist act, qualification problems

This article examines the problems of distinguishing the components of criminal offenses provided for in Art. 113 (sabotage) and Art. 258 (terrorist act) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (hereinafter Criminal Code). With the help of the legislative framework: norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as doctrinal studies of scientists. The relevance of the topic of this study is due to the fact that in modern conditions in Ukraine there is a tendency to increase the number of subversive and terrorist acts, and the analysis of court practice shows that the question of the ratio of such crimes is solved in different ways. One of the leading areas of development of any country in the world is security, the threat of which is terrorist acts. And this is quite understandable, given its nature and migration processes in economically developed countries. As you know, terror (from the Latin terror - fear, horror) is a purposeful terrifying action, as well as an ideology of violence and the practice of influencing public consciousness, associated with intimidation of the population with various forms of illegal violent actions. This issue was studied by the following scientists: A.A. Music, E.V. Laschuk, V.V. Sychevskyi, E.I. Kharitonov, D.O. Oleinikov. Separate aspects of the terrorist act are considered by: V.F. Antipenko, V.V. Burega, G.S. Berest, V.A. Lipkan, V.V. Litvin, R.V. Mukoida, A.I.Pyasetskyi, M.V. Semikin, S.O. Solodovnikov and M.V. Ushich, as one of the ways of political struggle with the use of ideologically motivated violence.The article highlights the analysis of the elements of the composition of a criminal offense, such as a terrorist act and sabotage.To solve the task, the following algorithm for the analysis of relevant legislative provisions and theoretical concepts was proposed, which includes the following structural elements: 1) comparative analysis of criminal law norms on «sabotage» and «terrorist act»: a) establishing the same and different mandatory legal features included in the composition of these criminal offenses; b) comparison of the legislative constructions of the elements of a criminal offense and establishing their significance for the qualification of the latter; c) the punishment of criminal offenses and its significance for solving issues of their qualification; 2) establishment of the possibility of competition of norms provided for in Art. 113 and Art. 258 of the Criminal Code and the development of rules for the qualification of sabotage in such cases, as well as the separation of competition from the ideal and real combination of «sabotage» and «terrorist act».

Women Who Don’t Want To Be Saved: A Gendered Analysis Of “Acceptable” vs. “Unacceptable” Female Violence

The voluntary departure of hundreds of young women, born and socialised in Europe, to Daeshcontrolled territories has raised many legitimate questions. Why do women choose to adhere to ideologies that appear to disempower them? Can they really embrace such patriarchal violence? Women have traditionally been seen as the victims of violence, particularly Islamic terrorist violence, often thought of as a male prerogative. Even years after Daesh’s defeat on the ground, the ambiguity of female violence remains a compelling issue, particularly when faced with social and legal challenges posed by female returnées. To offer a gendered analysis of women in/with violent ideologies and address their agency this paper will analyse representations of “acceptable”and “unacceptable” forms of female violence by focusing on the intersection between femininity, vulnerability, empowerment, sexuality and violence.

Root causes of radicalization: the terror‐contagion hypothesis

AbstractWhat are the root causes of mass violence terrorism? Examining this question led to a novel hypothesis that violent radicalization leading to terrorism operates as a system of social contagion. A terror contagion exploits existing grievances and moral outrage well suited for radicalizing within a high‐risk population. After a terrorist incident, media broadcasts of cultural scripts convey both a template violent ideology and a template method for mass violence. Radicalization can result when high‐risk people receive these cultural scripts sharing self‐similarity and notoriety bias to the perpetrator and their template ideology of grievance and outrage. Following the template method results in subsequent completed terror incidents creating their own media broadcasts, perpetuating the contagion. In this article, we share our methods, findings, and discuss the implications of a terror‐contagion hypothesis. We describe experiments and testable predictions to build confidence in the terror‐contagion hypothesis and our progress in them. © 2023 System Dynamics Society.

Anti-Transgender Ideology, Laws, and Homicide: An Analysis of the Trifecta of Violence

In this study we explore homicides and fatal violence against transgender individuals using the framework of the trifecta of violence—violent ideology, violent policies and laws, and violent actions. In recent years, researchers, activists, and the media, particularly the news media, have been warning that the increase in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, especially but not exclusively online, coupled with a surge in anti-transgender legislation, has resulted in increased instances of violence against the LGBTQ+ community, especially transgender people. In this article we examine patterns of transphobic ideology and rhetoric, anti-trans legislation, and fatal violence against transgender people in the United States from 2015 to 2022. We find that increases in all three occurred over this time period, with all three aspects of the “trifecta” correlated.

A subaltern gaze on White ignorance, (in)security and the possibility of educating the White rescue plans

In this article, I, as a subaltern, offer a reverse gaze on White security plans to rescue the world from the tide of violent extremism. Violent extremism has been identified as a global security threat by the United Nations, which announced a Plan of Action to combat the threat in 2016. Education has been considered a valuable tool for preventing violent extremism. In 2017, UNESCO published a policy guide explaining how education can be used to prevent violent extremism. This article offers a critique of the UNESCO policy guide, using the construct of White ignorance as explained by Charles Mills and Jennifer Mueller’s Theory of Racial Ignorance. This critique, coming from a location (Pakistan) where education has been under intense White scrutiny since 9/11, owing to its alleged link with violent ideologies, provides an inverse perspective on the problem of violent extremism. Using Mills’s concept of the epistemology of ignorance, I argue that international security policies view security as maintenance of White hegemony and refuse to listen to the people labelled as a security problem by White epistemic authorities. I contend that it is the White security policy that needs to be educated to prevent violence and maintain durable security.

Irrational rationales: vicarious and fictional justifications among ideological killers

ABSTRACT This article explores the motivations of ideological killers by investigating their justifications for violence. These justifications are divided into three categories: those that are grounded in actual social/political realities that are present in the lives of the perpetrators; those that utilise geographically and/or temporally distant vicarious victimisations; and those that are fictional, i.e., they have no basis in reality. These concepts are illustrated through discussions of a range of perpetrators of ideological violence. The implications of vicarious and fictional motivations are discussed in terms of our understanding of the psychology of perpetrators, the process of radicalisation, and counterterrorism efforts.

Ontology-Based Information Extraction for Labeling Radical Online Content Using Distant Supervision

Social media companies dedicate significant resources to create machine-learning models to label harmful content on their platforms, including content promoting violent, extremist beliefs. These models have to evolve over time to keep up with a dynamic threat landscape. Over time, as new violent ideologies emerge, existing models will fail to detect them. Training fresh models for the task is risky (there are new model biases to understand), time consuming (you will need to see many examples to predict new examples), and cost-ineffective. We propose an approach that prioritizes the evolution and representation of radical ideas by creating a computer program to explicitly keep track of ideologies. We show how this program uses state-of-the art deep-learning models to create human and machine-readable representations of radical ideologies by automatically consuming content symbolic of those ideologies. Our approach validates the notion that violent ideologies differ in content but are homogenous in structure. With just a few examples of content, the program creates powerful representations that can be used to automatically detect additional content with surprising accuracy. This process greatly reduces the time and resources necessary to adapt existing content-labeling models to the changing ideological and rhetorical landscape.

“Put your sword back into its sheath”: A Johannine approach to nonviolent resistance

The Gospel of John challenges the use of violence in both the exercise of power and in resistance to power. This article identifies how power is used in John, discusses who uses it, and examines how power is complicated or inhibited within the narrative. God and the Logos are introduced in the Prologue as the Gospel’s most powerful figures, yet their power is resisted. The Jewish leaders (often co-identified with “the Jews”) hold sociocultural power, though it is limited by Rome. The Empire looms in the background until the passion narrative, in which Roman power is relativized to the power of the empire of God. Cosmic evil co-opts Rome and the Jewish leaders and serves as the most dominant force arrayed against Jesus in the Fourth Gospel, even if constrained. Jesus’s power is superior, yet he exercises self-restraint. The article then explores the resistance practices to dominant power by the Jewish leadership, Peter, then Jesus, focusing on the arrest and (quasi-)trial in John 18. While “the Jews” resort to violence by colluding with Rome, Peter assaults with a sword then denies Jesus. Although greater in power than the arresting party and judicial authorities, Jesus responds to threats with nonviolence, undermining an imperial imagination sustained by ideologies of violence and death.

Clinical Services Addressing Violent Extremism: The Quebec Model

The association of ideologically motivated violence with mental health disorders raises specific challenges for security agencies and clinical services. The aim of this paper is to describe the clientele of a specialized intervention program based in Montreal, Quebec, in terms of type of violent ideology and clinical presentation. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 156 individuals referred for violent extremism who received clinical services between 2016 and 2021. Univariate statistics were used to present a description of client sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Roughly a third of clients referred for violent extremism presented non-ideologically based violence (32.6%), followed by 31.4% affiliated with far-right extremist ideology and over a quarter (25.6%) holding extremist views on gender. Over a third of these individuals had a stress-related (35.7%) and/or mood and anxiety disorder (36.9%), followed by 28% with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. The majority had some previous contact with mental health services. A significant number of clients displaying extremist discourses and/or actions needed psychiatric services but often failed to receive them because of the reluctance of clinicians to work with individuals perceived as high risk; in addition, individuals may be reluctant to engage in services perceived to be part of a socio-political system they reject. Specialized services are important as a means to provide mental health care to this group and also to develop knowledge and best practices for working with this clientele and provide consultation to mainstream mental health service providers.

Nahdatul Ulama, Religious Traditions, and Rural Communities: Narrative of Shifting Religious Traditions of the People of Bangunrejo Kidul Village, East Java

Globalization marked by advances in science and technology is inevitable, including the people of Bangunrejo Kidul Kedunggalar Ngawi Village. They are faced with maintaining traditions and following modernization. In the last three decades, the social, religious, and cultural faces of their people have shifted due to educational, transportation, and economic factors. What is the shape of this shift in religious traditions? This research is qualitative descriptive research, data collection was conducted by three ways: interviews, observations, and documentation. Data analysis using interactive analytical models includes data reduction, data delivery, and conclusions. This study aimed to describe the shift in socio-religious traditions of the people of Bangunrejo Kidul Village due to globalization. This research sharpens the paradigm of socio-religious philosophy in the sociological approach of religion. By the effect of modernization, the people of Bangunrejo Kidul Village are faced with a new religious movement that brings a purification ideology that erodes Islamic traditions and nationalism. As a result, they were uprooted from their own cultural roots and traditions, causing crises of spirituality and moral damage to society. Nahdatul Ulama (NU) strengthens rural Sufism as a form of engaging tradition through spirituality groups, such as recitation, tahlilan, and other religious activities. This spirituality group exists in the public sphere for social, religious, and cultural activities in the presence of Islam in the community. The association spirituality has become a symbol of cultural resistance to violent ideologies and strengthened community resilience. The existence of NU places Islam as a social ethic in two respects: religion as the source and vision of community morality and Islam as a giver of peace. NU strives to educate life through education, social, cultural, and religious to provide a real contribution to realizing a just and civilized society. The spirituality community has an open religious understanding that puts forward the values of brotherhood (al-ukhuwah), idolatry (al-wathoniyah) and humanity (al-insaniyah). A friendly religious model based on the local culture of Bangurejo Kidul Village is expected to shape the character and identity of a polite, tolerant, and civilized nation.

Die Katastrophe der deutschen Kirche als höchste Alarmstufe für die gesamte Weltkirche

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the closest associate of Pope Benedict XVI, theologically as if his Alter-Ego, is certainly one of the best experts in the Catholic Church in Germany. And it is he who compares the present condition of this Church to the catastrophe of such a huge and luxurious Titanic, which, however, is slowly sinking, because those responsible turned out to be reckless and did not predict the worst. Indeed, so far the application of almost all criteria that apply to the evaluation of a religious community has shown that, in fact, since the Second Vatican Council, this Church has been losing its vitality and shrinking. However, the so-called Synodal Way has deteriorated even more dramatically in recent times. Its agenda includes goals and demands that are contrary to both Revelation and the Tradition of the Church, and that are contrary to common sense. These are the goals and demands that have been made by even extreme left and atheistic ideologues and politicians, and which are now to move to the center and foundations of church teaching.It seems that just as almost all English bishops in the 16th century succumbed to the state violence of King Henry VIII and betrayed Christ and the Church, today the vast majority of German clergymen succumb to ideological violence in the area of culture and the state and thus betray their own faith and betray Church and Christ. It seems that many of them are close to the ideas of Georg Wilhelm Hegel, who considered himself wiser and greater than all, also than Christ, and the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche, who wanted to replace the crucified Messiah with Dionysus – a patron of, among other things, debauchery. It seems that many of the faithful and clergy in Germany also want to carry out a sexual revolution in the Church as if the second Reformation, perhaps even more catastrophic than the first. It seems that they are putting gender theory in place of Revelation and Christianity. And gender is, in fact, another neo-Marxist pansexual ideology which elevates eroticism as if it were the most important value, more important especially than God and one’s own salvation.One has to ask, how could such a great spiritual catastrophe of a Church that was once so numerous, so strong, so faithful and creative? We must ask what to do so that no more Church would destroy itself so that such a spiritual disease would not spread to other Churches. This article tries to answer these fundamental questions. It does so by analyzing the cultural, historical, national, economic, spiritual and religious conditions of German society that led to such an advanced process of self-destruction of the Church.

Ideological passion and violent activism: The moderating role of the significance quest.

This research examines how the relationship between passion for an ideology and violent activism is magnified by the personal (vs. collective) loss of significance. In Study 1 (N= 238), the relationship between obsessive (but not harmonious) passion for the Republican Party and violent activism was moderated by personal (but not collective) loss of significance. Study 2 (N= 612) replicated these findings with an experimental manipulation of personal and collective loss of significance in a sample of Black Lives Matter supporters. In Study 3 (N= 416), we set out to attenuate the obsessive passion-violent activism relationship by experimentally manipulating personal and collective significance gain. Echoing the results of Studies 1 and 2, the manipulation of personal (but not collective) significance gain reduced the relationship between obsessive passion for the environmental cause and violent activism. Furthermore, Study 3 examined the psychological mechanism at play by incorporating a measure of goal-shielding - a factor of theoretical relevance to explain extreme behaviour. Personal significance gain reduced individuals' proclivity to inhibit goals unrelated to their ideological pursuit, which in turn reduced their support for violent activism. These findings reveal psychological factors relevant to detecting at-risk individuals and implementing cost-effective prevention programmes against ideological violence.